The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969

What the law governs

The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 establishes a national and state system for recording births and deaths. It covers registration authorities, reporting duties, certificates, delayed registration, corrections, record searches, statistics, penalties and appeals.

The law extends to the whole of India. The Central Government appointed 1 April 1970 as the commencement date for Tamil Nadu.

Registration authorities

The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 provides for several levels of administration:

• The Central Government may appoint the Registrar General of India, who coordinates registration work and maintains the national database of registered births and deaths.
• The State Government may appoint a Chief Registrar as the chief executive authority for implementing the law in the State.
• The State Government may appoint a District Registrar for each revenue district and Additional District Registrars as required.
• Registrars may be appointed for local areas within municipalities, panchayats, other local authorities, other areas, or combinations of these areas.
• The State Government may divide Tamil Nadu into registration divisions and prescribe different rules for different divisions.

Records and databases

The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 requires the Chief Registrar to maintain a unified state database using a portal approved by the Registrar General of India. Registrars must share registered birth and death data with that database, and Chief Registrars and Registrars must also share data with the national database.

The national database may, on request and with prior approval of the Central Government, be made available to authorities maintaining specified databases, including those relating to property registration. Access is also contemplated for population registers, electoral rolls, Aadhaar numbers, ration cards, passports and driving licences.

At the state level, registered birth and death data may, on request and with prior approval of the State Government, be made available to authorities dealing with other state databases.

Who may be affected

The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 affects people responsible for reporting births or deaths, registration officials, and anyone seeking a birth or death certificate, delayed registration, correction, cancellation or a records search. Property buyers, owners and professionals may encounter its database provisions because registered birth and death information can be made available to the authority dealing with property registration, subject to the required approval.