Department Of Home Affairs Application For Unabridged Birth Certificate

Birth Certificates

Registering a birth

All children born in South Africa must be registered within 30 days of their birth (in terms of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1992.)
A parent, parents, guardian or any other person legally responsible for the child must complete Form BI-24 (with black ink only) and it must be submitted to the nearest office of the Department of Home Affairs if you are in South Africa, or the nearest South African embassy, mission or consulate if you are overseas.
Once the child’s birth has been registered, an unabridged birth certificate is issued free of charge, usually a day or so after the registration application has been submitted.

Getting copies of birth certificates

Unabridged birth certificates are issued upon request to persons who are:

South African citizens, whether in the Republic or outside the Republic, including persons who are not South African citizens but who sojourn permanently or temporarily in the Republic, for whatever purpose.

If you need additional copies of an unabridged birth certificate you must:

complete Form BI–154 and submit it to the nearest office of the Department of Home Affairs if you are in South Africa, or the nearest South African embassy, mission or consulate if you are overseas
pay the required fee for the application

Undocumented Foreign Nationals who are born in South Africa are issued with a certificate free of charge on registration of their births.