A birth certificate is a very important document for every person and comes into play when making various applications such as applying for a National ID, registering for KCSE and KCPE, applying for a passport, and many more government applications.
It is thus recommended to follow up on your
child’s birth certificate to enable him or her to have a smooth sailing where
this document is required. A child born in Kenya should be registered for a
birth certificate immediately after birth or 6 months after.
One can do so at eCitizen Portal, at Huduma
Centre or at the District Birth and Death Registries.
Application For New Borns
Parents are required to submit;
The notification of birth from the hospital
(Copy and original).
The original National ID cards, birth
certificates or passports of the parents.
Application forms (BDA – Birth and Deaths
Registration Form) duly filled.
If you bore your child in the village or were
born in the village, then your Sub-Chief is licensed to register births.
However, if you bore your child in Nairobi or were born in Nairobi, all births
are registered at City Hall. Alternatively, you can register your child at
Huduma Centre. If you have all the necessary documents and meet the
requirements, birth certificate charges are between KES 50 to KES 150. Charges
vary depending on the application; newborn, over 18 years, or amending a birth
certificate.
Applying For Late Registration.
Any birth that has
not been registered or whose birth notification has not been sent to the
Immigration Centre within the first 6 months is deemed late registration. To
apply, the documents required are;
Your National ID Card.
Copies of your parents National ID Cards,
birth certificates or passports.
Your Class Eight or Form Four Leaving
Certificates.
A print out from the National Registration
Bureau in case you can’t access your parents’ IDs.
Your Baptismal card.
Child immunization clinic
card.
Letter from employer indicating the date of
birth.
A filled out application for registration of
late birth.
Application For Lost Birth Certificates
For lost birth certificates, visit Huduma
Centre and they will help you replace and get a new one.
Applying For A Birth Certificate While Living
Abroad
This is only applicable if your child was
born abroad but to
Kenyan parents and takes longer as documents have to be sent from Kenya. Visit
the Kenyan embassy where you live and submit:
- Two Application Forms (BDA –
Birth and Deaths Registration form) duly filled ( Click here to get the Form)
- Two photocopies of both
parents’ passports. The copies of the Kenyan parent’s passport have to
include pages 29-32(for the A SeriesPassport), pages45-48(for the B-series
Passport), pages61-64(for the CSeries Passport), and the photo page.
- Two photocopies of the child’s
Birth certificate or notification issued by the civil authorities or the
hospital in the country of birth (either an international version or
copies of the original and an official English translation)
- Two self-addressed stamped A5
envelopes for postage purposes.
- Two copies of parents’ marriage
certificate either international or translated into English if legally
married.
- A non-refundable fee of $10.00
for each certificate payable only by bank transfer (Embassy of the Republic
of Kenya, IBAN:
DE63100400000266014004) or EC-Debit card at the Embassy. Cash
payments will not be accepted. Overpaid amounts will not be refunded. Enclose a
copy of the bank transfer slips together with the application.
Amending a Birth Certificate
In case you want to amend your birth
certificate, this is what Immigration Kenya says, “ Within a duration
of two years after registration of birth, the names could be changed on
application but after production of relevant documentary evidence in support of
the amendments.
After two years, you can add names to the existing ones but you cannot remove
the names previously on the birth certificate, again documentary evidence will
be required.
It is important to note that the DATE and PLACE OF BIRTH CANNOT be changed
under any circumstances.
To know more on amending a birth certificate, visit Immigration offices and make inquiries.