Angola
A well developed and functioning civil registration system ensures the registration of all vital events including births, marriages and deaths and issues relevant certificates as proof of such registration. Civil registration promotes efficient government planning, effective use of resources and aid, and more accurate monitoring of progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Birth Registration
| Legal framework for birth registration | Law 47678 on the Civil Registry Code (5 May 1967)
Decree 31/07 (14 May 2007) Decree 80/13 (5 September 2013) |
| Official authorities in charge of registering births | National Directorate for Registry and Notary Services, Ministry of Justice |
| Organizational structure | Centralized |
| Is there a legal obligation to register the birth of a child? | Yes |
| Is an official birth certificate issued as a result of birth registration? | Yes, in some instances some days after registration |
| Legal informant to register a birth | Mother, Father, Relative/caregiver, Nurse, Midwife, Traditional birth attendant, Community health workers;
The law prescribes for any person other than the mother or father authorised to declare the event of a birth to the Civil Registrar (Civil Registry Code, article 120). |
| Time allowed for registration | 30 days |
| Fee for birth registration | No, children aged 0 to 5 years are entitled to free birth registration. |
| Can the fee be increased or waived? | No |
| Fee for birth certificate | No, the issuance of the first birth certificate is free and is provided together with the boletim (cedula) upon registration. Birth certificates expire after 1 year from issuance, and requests for reissuance carry a fee. |
| Penalty for late registration | – Once the legal deadline has elapsed without the declaration of birth being made, both civil registration officials and administrative authorities shall inform the Public Prosecutor, who shall not only prosecute the person required to make the declaration, but also the verification, in the same process, of the elements necessary to draw up the register at the expense of the person responsible;
– Equal participation may be made by any person, even without special interest in the registration; – If there is no one who can be held criminally responsible for the lack of the declaration, the process will only be used to record the record; in this case, the Public Prosecution Service shall order the appropriate steps to collect the necessary information and shall request the court of the district, after obtaining them, to order the registration to be carried out officially (Civil Registry Code, article 121). |
| Other official fees involved in the birth registration process | No |
| Requirements or fees specific to children who are eligible for citizenship but were born outside the country | No |
| Requirements or fees specific to children whose parents are foreign nationals | No |
| Requirements for birth registration | Identification of the child’s father and mother, Nationality of the child’s father and mother, Name of the child |
| Information collected | Regarding the child: Name, Sex, Date of birth, Date of registration, Place of occurrence, Place of registration, Type of birth (single, twin, triplet and so forth), Attendant at birth, Type of place of occurrence (hospital, home, etc.)
Regarding the mother of the child: Place of usual residence, Occupation Regarding the father of the child: Place of usual residence, Occupation |
| Processing | Manually (on paper);
Some registration offices capture electronically, e.g., in Luanda Province. |
| Place of registration | Civil registrar’s office (Conservatoria) according to place of birth;
Registration units (postos) within Municipal Administration Office; Integrated registry services offices (lojas); Registration service points within maternities and health units. |
| A birth certificate is required for: | Education, Vaccination, Identification, Travel |
| Process for establishing vital statistics on births | Civil registration officials are responsible for filling in the demographic statistical records for births, marriages, deaths and stillbirths soon after registration. Once signed and separated by type, with a note indicating their number, the entries are to be sent to the National Institute of Statistics, observing the technical instructions issued by the Institute.
In the civil registry offices, additional entries of the births and deaths declared therein are completed, which must be sent to the Civil registrar’s office with the declaration notices. |
Download birth registration form
Data sources: Information on civil registration systems was compiled over a period from December 2016 to November 2017 using the existing relevant legal frameworks and in consultation with CRVS experts, officials within the relevant national institutions, and UNICEF country offices. All reasonable precautions have been taken by UNICEF to verify this country profile; updates will be made to reflect changes in policy and implementation and/or new information.
Marriage Registration
| Legal framework for marriage registration | Law 47678 – Civil Registry Code (5 May 1967) |
| Official authorities in charge of registering a marriage | National Directorate for Registry and Notary Services, Ministry of Justice |
| Organizational structure | Centralized |
| Legal age for marriage | 18 years for both sexes;
Exemptions: Boys may be allowed to marry at age 16 and girls at age 15, when considering the circumstances of the case and taking into account the interests of minors, whether marriage is the best solution (Family Code, article 24). |
| Is there a legal obligation to register marriages? | Yes |
| Is an official marriage certificate issued as a result of marriage registration? | Yes |
| Legal informant to register a marriage | Spouses |
| Time allowed for registration | 30 days |
| Fee for marriage registration | Yes |
| Can the fee be increased or waived? | – |
| Fee for marriage certificate | – |
| Penalty for late registration | – |
| Other official fees involved in the marriage registration process | – |
| Additional registration requirements or fees if one spouse was born outside the country or has dual citizenship | – |
| Requirements for marriage registration | – |
| Information collected | Regarding the spouses: Date of birth or age of bride, Place of usual residence of bride, Date of birth or age of groom, Place of usual residence of groom, Occupation of the spouses
Regarding the marriage: Date of occurrence, Date of registration, Place of occurrence, Place of registration |
| Processing | Manually (on paper);
Some registration offices capture electronically, e.g., in Luanda Province. |
| Place of registration | Civil registrar’s office, Place of marriage |
| A marriage certificate is required for: | Evidence of marriage |
| Process for establishing vital statistics on marriage | Civil registration officials are responsible for filling in the demographic statistical records for births, marriages, deaths and stillbirths soon after registration. Once signed and separated by type, with a note indicating their number, the entries are to be sent to the National Institute of Statistics, observing the technical instructions issued by the Institute.
In the civil registry offices, additional entries of the births and deaths declared therein are completed, which must be sent to the Civil registrar’s office with the declaration notices. |
Data sources: Information on civil registration systems was compiled over a period from December 2016 to November 2017 using the existing relevant legal frameworks and in consultation with CRVS experts, officials within the relevant national institutions, and UNICEF country offices. All reasonable precautions have been taken by UNICEF to verify this country profile; updates will be made to reflect changes in policy and implementation and/or new information.
Death Registration
| Legal framework for death registration | Law 47678 on the Civil Registry Code (5 May 1967) |
| Official authorities in charge of registering a death | National Directorate for Registry and Notary Services, Ministry of Justice |
| Organizational structure | Centralized |
| Is there a legal obligation to register deaths? | Relatives, Community chief leader, etc.
In the case of death, the law prescribes for the head of family, closer relatives, family members who might be present, administrator, director or manager of public institution where death took place, person or entity in charge of the funeral. |
| Is an official death certificate issued as a result of death registration? | Yes, immediately |
| Legal informant to register a death | Head of the family residing in the house where the death occurs (except when absent), Nearest capable relative of the deceased, Relatives of the deceased, Administrator, director or manager of the public or private establishment where the death occurred, Minister of any religion present at the time of death or who has been called to render religious assistance to the deceased, Administrative or police authorities in case of abandonment of the corpse, Person or entity in charge of the funeral. |
| Time allowed for registration | 48 hours |
| Fee for death registration | Yes |
| Can the fee be increased or waived? | – |
| Fee for death certificate | Yes |
| Penalty for late registration | Yes
Once the legal deadline has elapsed without the declaration of death being made, civil registry officials and administrative authorities should inform the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will promote not only criminal proceedings against the person required to provide the declaration, but also the verification, in the same process, of the necessary elements to draw the record at the expense of the person in charge. However, if the death occurred more than 1 year ago, participation in court will only have the purpose of prosecuting against the person responsible for the transgression. |
| Other official fees involved in the death registration process | – |
| Registration requirements or fees specific for the deaths of people who were residents in the country and also of foreign nationality | – |
| Requirements for death registration | The death declaration shall be corroborated by the presentation of the death certificate, passed free of charge by the doctor following the template provided by the Directorate-General for Health, or, in the absence of printed matter, on plain paper free of stamps.
In the absence of presentation of the certificate, the civil registry official, who receives the declaration, requests the local health authority to verify the death and the passage of the certificate. |
| Information collected | Regarding the deceased: Name, Sex, Date of birth or age, Place of usual residence, Marital status
Regarding the death: Date of death, Date of registration, Place of occurrence, Place of registration, Cause of death, Cemetery |
| Information collected in case of fetal death | Date of occurrence of fetal delivery, Date of registration, Place of occurrence, Place of registration, Sex of the fetus, duration of pregnancy (in months/weeks) |
| Processing | Manually (on paper);
Some registration offices capture electronically, e.g., in Luanda Province. |
| Place of registration | Civil registrar’s office (place of death) |
| A death certificate is required for: | Inheritance, Communicable diseases |
| Process for establishing vital statistics on deaths | Civil registration officials are responsible for filling in the demographic statistical records for births, marriages, deaths and stillbirths soon after registration. Once signed and separated by type, with a note indicating their number, the entries are to be sent to the National Institute of Statistics, observing the technical instructions issued by the Institute.
In the civil registry offices, additional entries of the births and deaths declared therein are completed, which must be sent to the Civil registrar’s office with the declaration notices. |
Data sources: Information on civil registration systems was compiled over a period from December 2016 to November 2017 using the existing relevant legal frameworks and in consultation with CRVS experts, officials within the relevant national institutions, and UNICEF country offices. All reasonable precautions have been taken by UNICEF to verify this country profile; updates will be made to reflect changes in policy and implementation and/or new information.