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Birth registration in the civil registry establishes the existence of a person under the law and lays the foundation for safeguarding civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. As a fundamental human right, every child has the right to be registered at birth. To register new-born children in Iraq, parents must:
- Obtain
a birth certificate from the hospital where the child was born
- Bring the birth certificate to the Directorate of Health for validation and recording in the Birth and Deceased logs.
- In Central & Southern governorates: A copy of the endorsed birth certificate should be delivered by one of the parents to the Civil Affairs Directorate to maintain the family record.
Under Iraqi law (Law no.148 for 1971), birth registration procedures must be completed within 15 days in case of hospital birth, and 30 days in case of home birth. If parents miss the deadline, a court procedure is required to obtain a birth certificate and a nominal fee must be paid.