Cabo Verde
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 No. 75/VIII/2014 – Civil Registry Code |
| Official authorities in charge of registering births | Directorate of Registries, Notaries and Identification (Ministry of Justice) |
| Organizational structure | Centralized, with civil registration services in all 22 municipalities |
| 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, immediately |
| Legal informant to register a birth | Parents, Legal representative of the minor, Nearest relative, Health unit director, Physician or midwife;
The birth declaration shall be compulsory and successive, to the following persons and entities: the parents or other legal representatives of the minor or to whom they are for this purpose mandated; nearest capable relative who has knowledge of the birth; director of the health unit where the birth took place or in which the birth took place, or another official designated by him or her; the attending physician or midwife who has attended the birth. The fulfilment of the obligation by one of these persons or entities exempts all the others (article 77). |
| Time allowed for registration | 15 days |
| Fee for birth registration | No |
| Can the fee be increased or waived? | No |
| Fee for birth certificate | No |
| Penalty for late registration | No |
| 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 mother, Name of the child |
| Information collected | Regarding the child: Name and surname, Sex, Date and time of birth, Date of registration, Place of occurrence, Place of registration, Name of grandparents
Regarding the mother of the child: Date of birth or age of mother, Marital status of mother, Place of usual residence of mother, Place/country of the mother’s birth Regarding the father of the child: Date of birth or age of father, Marital status of father, Place of usual residence of father, Name of grandparents |
| Processing | Electronically (via computer);
All vital events are directly recorded in the computer using specific applications that are available in all municipalities of the country, located in civil registry conservatories. However, civil registration stations are only available in the urban centres of the 22 municipalities. For rural areas, during implementation of the birth registration project, most of the mobile teams moved to scattered communities where access to register vital events is difficult. Current measures being taken to register births in health structures make it possible to resolve these difficulties. |
| Place of registration | Civil registration office at central and municipal level, Hospital / health centre (place of birth) and mobile station |
| A birth certificate is required for: | Education, Health system, Social security system, Cabo Verdean nationality requirement (on foreigner cases), Passport, Identification |
| Process for establishing vital statistics on births | Within the National Institute of Statistics, a vital statistical service collects, processes, analyses and disseminates statistics on births, deaths, marriages and divorces. In addition, the National Institute of Statistics has annual databases on these events and series that date back to the 1940s.
Coordination between the various institutions involved in civil registration and the production of vital statistics is relatively good. An update of the protocol of collaboration with the civil registry service was carried out in 2014. And a protocol of cooperation was signed between the National Institute of Statistics and the Directorate of Registries, Notaries and Identification (Ministry of Justice) for the improvement of birth registration and the transmission of data. Information on deaths and births circulates between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice and the National Institute of Statistics. The Ministry of Health records events related to birth or death, and delivers to parents a certificate enabling them to obtain services of the Directorate, an authorization for the burial of the deceased person, or an extract of the birth certificate. Once registered, these birth or death certificates are transmitted to the National Institute of Statistics, which is responsible for their treatment and analysis. Regarding marriages, information circulates between the Ministry of Justice, where events are celebrated, and the National Institute of Statistics. Currently, the National Institute of Statistics receives services from the Civil State on request, including the databases of birth, death and marriages. |
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 No. 75/VIII/2014 – Civil Registry Code |
| Official authorities in charge of registering a marriage | Directorate of Registries, Notaries and Identification (Ministry of Justice) |
| Organizational structure | Centralized, with civil registration services in all 22 municipalities |
| Legal age for marriage | 16 years for both sexes, but the minor (16-year-old) must obtain parent’s authorization before marriage (article 129) |
| Is there a legal obligation to register marriages? | Yes |
| Is an official marriage certificate issued as a result of marriage registration? | Yes, immediately |
| Legal informant to register a marriage | Bride or groom; At the wedding ceremony, only one of the spouses must be represented. |
| Time allowed for registration | 3 days (for religious marriage) |
| Fee for marriage registration | No |
| Can the fee be increased or waived? | No |
| Fee for marriage certificate | No |
| Penalty for late registration | No |
| Other official fees involved in the marriage registration process | No |
| Additional registration requirements or fees if one spouse was born outside the country or has dual citizenship | No |
| Requirements for marriage registration | Proof of age of spouses, Witness of marriage, Presence of one of the spouses |
| Information collected | Date of occurrence, Date of registration, Place of occurrence, Place of registration, Date of birth or age of the bride, Place of usual residence of the bride, Date of birth or age of the groom |
| Processing | Electronically (via computer);
All vital events are directly recorded in the computer using specific applications that are available in all municipalities of the country, located in civil registry conservatories. However, civil registration stations are only available in the urban centres of the 22 municipalities. |
| Place of registration | Civil registration office, Place of occurrence of the marriage |
| A marriage certificate is required for: | Transfer or share ownership of land, Inheritance, Petition, Divorce |
| Process for establishing vital statistics on marriage | Within the National Institute of Statistics, a vital statistical service collects, processes, analyses and disseminates statistics on births, deaths, marriages and divorces. In addition, the National Institute of Statistics has annual databases on these events and series that date back to the 1940s.
Coordination between the various institutions involved in civil registration and the production of vital statistics is relatively good. An update of the protocol of collaboration with the civil registry service was carried out in 2014. And a protocol of cooperation was signed between the National Institute of Statistics and the Directorate of Registries, Notaries and Identification (Ministry of Justice) for the improvement of birth registration and the transmission of data. Information on deaths and births circulates between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice and the National Institute of Statistics. The Ministry of Health records events related to birth or death, and delivers to parents a certificate enabling them to obtain services of the Directorate, an authorization for the burial of the deceased person, or an extract of the birth certificate. Once registered, these birth or death certificates are transmitted to the National Institute of Statistics, which is responsible for their treatment and analysis. Regarding marriages, information circulates between the Ministry of Justice, where events are celebrated, and the National Institute of Statistics. Currently, the National Institute of Statistics receives services from the Civil State on request, including the databases of birth, death and marriages. |
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 No. 75/VIII/2014 – Civil Registry Code |
| Official authorities in charge of registering a death | Directorate of Registries, Notaries and Identification (Ministry of Justice) |
| Organizational structure | Centralized, with civil registration services in all 22 municipalities |
| Is there a legal obligation to register deaths? | Yes |
| Is an official death certificate issued as a result of death registration? | Yes, immediately |
| Legal informant to register a death | Relatives of the deceased, Owners of house where death occurred, Ministers, Administrative or police authorities, Person in charge of the funeral;
The obligation to file a death declaration shall be handed down successively to: the deceased’s relatives, who are present; the owners of the house where the death occurred; the administrator or director of the public or private establishment where the death occurred, or in which the corpse was autopsied; the minister of any faith, present at the time of death, or who has been called to provide religious assistance; the administrative or police authorities, in case of abandonment of the corpse; and the person or entity in charge of the funeral. |
| Time allowed for registration | 2 days, in consideration of different causes of death (article 179) |
| Fee for death registration | No |
| Can the fee be increased or waived? | No |
| Fee for death certificate | No |
| Penalty for late registration | No |
| Other official fees involved in the death registration process | No |
| Registration requirements or fees specific for the deaths of people who were residents in the country and also of foreign nationality | No |
| Requirements for death registration | Medical death certificate, Birth certificate |
| Information collected | Regarding the deceased: Name, Sex, Date of birth or age, Marital status, Place of habitual residence, Place of habitual residence of the mother for deaths under 1 year of age
Regarding the death: Date of death, Date of registration, Place of occurrence, Place of registration, Cause of death, Certifier, Type of place of occurrence (hospital, domicile, etc.), Details of cremation or burial, Indication of the cemetery |
| Information collected in case of fetal death | Date of occurrence of fetal delivery, Date of registration, Place of occurrence, Place of registration, Type of place of occurrence (hospital, home, etc.), Sex of the fetus, Date of birth or age of the mother |
| Processing | Electronically (via computer);
All vital events are directly recorded in the computer using specific applications that are available in all municipalities of the country, located in civil registry conservatories. However, civil registration stations are only available in the urban centres of the 22 municipalities. For rural areas, during implementation of the birth registration project, most of the mobile teams moved to scattered communities where access to register vital events is difficult. Current measures being taken to register births and deaths in health structures make it possible to resolve these difficulties. |
| Place of registration | Civil registration office, Hospital/health centre, Mobile station, Place of occurrence of the death |
| A death certificate is required for: | Burial, Inheritance, Obtaining social assistance |
| Process for establishing vital statistics on deaths | Within the National Institute of Statistics, a vital statistical service collects, processes, analyses and disseminates statistics on births, deaths, marriages and divorces. In addition, the National Institute of Statistics has annual databases on these events and series that date back to the 1940s.
Coordination between the various institutions involved in civil registration and the production of vital statistics is relatively good. An update of the protocol of collaboration with the civil registry service was carried out in 2014. And a protocol of cooperation was signed between the National Institute of Statistics and the Directorate of Registries, Notaries and Identification (Ministry of Justice) for the improvement of birth registration and the transmission of data. Information on deaths and births circulates between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice and the National Institute of Statistics. The Ministry of Health records events related to birth or death, and delivers to parents a certificate enabling them to obtain services of the Directorate, an authorization for the burial of the deceased person, or an extract of the birth certificate. Once registered, these birth or death certificates are transmitted to the National Institute of Statistics, which is responsible for their treatment and analysis. Regarding marriages, information circulates between the Ministry of Justice, where events are celebrated, and the National Institute of Statistics. Currently, the National Institute of Statistics receives services from the Civil State on request, including the databases of birth, death and marriages. |
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.