Easy Way to Register a Birth Certificate in Nepal – Process, Requirements, Cost

A birth certificate is a document that is made as proof of a child being born in a certain place or a country. It establishes the facts of birth: mother, legal father, legal name of child, date and time of birth, and location of birth.

With birth registration, a child will have an identity and will have all the necessary documents needed to enroll in school. Otherwise, there will be no proof or documentation of the child’s existence. Here we will talk about a few things that you will need to know before applying for a birth certificate!

Importance of Birth Certificate

We are told quite often by our educated elders that we need to have a birth certificate. However a lot of us don’t know where we use them. The following are just a few places where we will use Birth Certificate.

1. To make Citizenship Card

Evidence of citizenship or residency is required in order to make a Citizenship card. It can also be made through parental referral, but that is not enough. For this, the Birth certificate is the primary source of identification needed in this kind of situation.

2. To enroll in school

There should be a proven document of the child’s exact date of birth and name of guardian which will only be given by birth certificate. So, this needs to be presented while doing admission of a child in school.

3. For District Level Examination (DLE)

DLE, which is held in grade 8 in our course of studies is termed as one of the important examinations in school level. To all those who already have cleared out the schooling level, must have experienced how essential birth certificate was at that phase of time. Along with the examination form, a copy of it was mandatory to be attached.

4. To travel for child under 16

Ever wondered how a child travels from one country to another without having a passport or a citizenship? I have. A child can travel with the help of just a birth certificate.

5. To open bank account of a child under 16

Same like the upper one, if the child is under 16 and needs to have a bank account then, it can be made through a birth certificate.

6. To prove age

People nowadays tend to tell random ages without thinking that it is necessary to be exact in some cases. Cases could be to apply for certain jobs where age plays a vital role in it. This is where we need to prove our accurate birth date.

7. To obtain Passport

The other field where we need a birth certificate is while making a passport. Though we have citizenship with us we need to provide the officials with the copy of our original birth certificate.

Besides these, birth certificates can be used in gaining employment, proving relationships, receiving insurance benefits, and so on. However, if the citizenship card is lost, these things can also be done with a birth certificate.

Marriage certificate
Migration certificate
Transcript for schools and colleges

Process to re-apply for the lost birth certificate

First, submit a request to get the copy of the certificate from the local registrar’s office.

Then, to make sure you have the right to obtain the certificate, manage a valid identification to confirm your identity.

Lastly, pay the application fee and wait for further instructions.

Eligibility to apply for a Birth Certificate in Nepal

To make a birth certificate, one has to be eligible first. The following are the most basic of the qualities that you need to have to be eligible to apply for the Birth certificate.

The child should be born in Nepal.
Proof of the birth of a child in Nepal (via witness or other documents).
Proof of one of the parents being a Nepali.

Now, let’s talk about the two rare cases where a birth certificate is provided.

Case 1: Parents are unknown, missing or dead

In this situation, documents or witness of Tole Sachib and other members from the place of birth regarding the birth of the child needs to be presented.

Case 2: Foreign Parents but child born in Nepal

In this case, the child will be provided with the birth certificate but will be considered as Nepali child or a citizen of Nepal.

Documents needed for birth certificate in Nepal

To make a birth certificate, you need to have a few documents. They are:

Documents regarding the birth of a child from Hospital (If not available there needs to documents of witness)
Birth time, date, and place.
Marriage certificate of parents
Citizenship Card of parents
Migration Certificate
Proof of Birth

Required References

Since you are not mature enough when the need for a Birth Certificate comes, normally a guardian is the one responsible for making the birth certificate of the child. The ones who are eligible to act as the guardian of the child while making birth certificates are:

Father
Mother
Family Head
Uncles and Brothers
Ward Sachiv (if he/s is willing to provide a letter)
(combined with the proof or witness of a child being born in that ward)

Several cases that can come along while making a birth certificate

As with all governmental procedures, this is not as easy as it sounds on paper. Some complications may arrive while applying for one. However, a lot of these exceptions and complications can be categorized into 5 generic cases.

Side note: There are a few more cases but they are not the ones related to lack or loss of documents but rather the evil practices that exist in Nepal. We will cover those cases in another article.

Case 1: Normal case

Both Father and Mother are alive and Together and the child is born in the place where the parents are born.

Case 2: Father being Foreigner

In this case, the citizen of the Mother is used along with other required documents like proof of birth from the hospital, proof of birth from the ward, marriage certificate, and citizenship of parents.

Case 3: Single Mother

Case 4: Orphan Case

In this case district main (nagarpalika adakshya) is considered as the head of the family and s/he acts as the family head of the child to make the birth certificate with the letter from the ward head that certifies that the kid is born in the same location.

Case 5: Loss of Migration Certificate

Make the transmigration certificate if the birth certificate has to be from the current place of stay. If not, go to the location from where the parents made their citizenship and make a birth certificate. Then, get the letter of approval from the ward head saying that the child is born in the location.

Case 6: Loss of Documents

Get the letter of approval from the ward head and remake the lost documents before applying for the birth certificate. Then, provide the proof of the existing documents through an image.

Also, other sources provide proof of birth time, place, and the date and let the government know who the parents are.

Approximate Duration

This is a governmental procedure and as will all, if one needs to make a birth certificate, it is better to take a day off from work or school as it can take:

1 day, if no documents are lost.
Can take longer if no documents are lost.

The best time to make the birth certificate is before 35 days from the date of birth it is free. The longer it takes, the more complications may arise.

Costs and Fees

Free for 35 days from the day of birth.
After 35 days, Rs 50 is charged.

Final words

Birth certificate in Nepal — Image Source: FWLD

All in all birth certificate is an important document that is used as a base for a lot of other vital documents and is the most important one until citizenship certificate is made. In this regard, it can be said that before a person as the citizenship card of Nepal, the birth certificate is the document that represents his/her nationality and shows that s/he is a citizen of Nepal.

If you want to know more about government procedures, you can follow this up with an article where we explain The Complete Guide For Registering a PAN card in Nepal. But we sad as it is, sometimes these documents are lost as well so following this with the Step Wises Process of Renewing a PAN Card in Nepal.

You can find the form of application on the link here.