Central African Republic
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. 97 013 on the Family Code (11 November 1997)
Presidential Decree No. 16.370 (28 October 2016) |
| Official authorities in charge of registering births | Directorate General of Decentralization and Local Development, Minister of the Interior and Territorial Administration, Mayors, deputies and municipal councillors, Ambassadors and Consuls General, Civil registration officer of the special centre (Law No. 97 013, article 103) |
| Organizational structure | Decentralized |
| 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, within 2 to 7 days |
| Legal informant to register a birth | Father, mother, an ascendant, nearest relative, other person who witnessed the birth (Law No. 97 013, article 137) |
| Time allowed for registration | 1 month (Law No. 97 013, article 134) |
| Fee for birth registration | Yes, varying fees set by the municipal councils (cost is not fixed in the Family Code) |
| Can the fee be increased or waived? | Yes, cost is increased in case of late declaration of the birth or the parents establish a supplementary judgment |
| Fee for birth certificate | No, birth certificate is officially free; however, maternity wards charge fees for the establishment of certificates. |
| Penalty for late registration | No, but costs of a judgment and legal costs require payment. |
| 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 mother, Name of the child |
| Information collected | The birth certificate must state:
– Year, month, day, time, place of birth; – Sex of the child, surname and given name; – Name, age, profession and domicile of the father and mother; – Where applicable, the surname, forename, age, occupation and domicile of the declarant. (Law No. 97 013, article 136) |
| Processing | Manually (on paper); All vital events are directly recorded on non-standardized forms, their fill fields are free and they are manually filled in cursive writing, which prohibits their subsequent exploitation by optical character recognition. |
| Place of registration | Main or secondary civil registration offices, Place of birth |
| A birth certificate is required for: | Identification, Education, Inheritance, Obtaining social assistance |
| Process for establishing vital statistics on births | The production and use of vital statistics from administrative sources remains insufficient in the Central African Republic, making it difficult to exploit the archives, and resulting in insecurity of data and publications. |
Download sample birth certificate
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. 97 013 on the Family Code (11 November 1997)
Presidential Decree No. 16.370 (28 October 2016) |
| Official authorities in charge of registering a marriage | Directorate General of Decentralization and Local Development, Minister of the Interior and Territorial Administration, Mayors, deputies and municipal councillors, Ambassadors and Consuls General, Civil registration officer of the special centre (Law No. 97 013, article 103) |
| Organizational structure | Decentralized |
| Legal age for marriage | 18 years for both sexes;
Exemptions: a dispensation of age granted by the Public Prosecutor on serious grounds (Law No. 97 013, article 209) |
| Is there a legal obligation to register marriages? | Yes |
| Is an official marriage certificate issued as a result of marriage registration? | Yes, immediately free of charge (family record book) |
| Legal informant to register a marriage | Bride and groom (Law No. 97 013, article 213) |
| Fee for marriage registration | Yes, variable according to municipalities |
| Can the fee be increased or waived? | No |
| Fee for marriage certificate | Yes, filing fees vary from one civil registration centre to another |
| Penalty for late registration | No |
| Other official fees involved in the marriage registration process | Yes, filing fees vary from one civil registration centre to another |
| Additional registration requirements or fees if one spouse was born outside the country or has dual citizenship | No |
| Requirements for marriage registration | Pre-marital medical certificate issued by a doctor, Declaration on the dowry, Birth certificate |
| Information collected | The marriage certificate must state:
– Surnames, forenames, professions, places of residences, ages, dates and places of birth of the spouses; – Surnames, first names, professions and domiciles of the spouses’ fathers and mothers; – Consent of the person exercising parental authority or guardian, if required; – Declaration by the contracting parties that they are to be regarded as spouses, and by the civil registration officer; – Surnames, first names, professions and domiciles of the witnesses and their status as adults; – Choice of the matrimonial regime adopted or governing the spouses as of right; – Statement that a marriage contract has been or has not been made and, if so, the name and domicile of the clerk-notary who received it; – Declaration of monogamy or polygamy. (Law No. 97 013, article 142) |
| Processing | Manually (on paper); All vital events are directly recorded on non-standardized forms, their fill fields are free and they are manually filled in cursive writing, which prohibits their subsequent exploitation by optical character recognition. |
| Place of registration | Main or secondary civil registration centres |
| Process for establishing vital statistics on marriage | Inheritance, Registration of children |
| Information collected | The production and use of vital statistics from administrative sources remains insufficient in the Central African Republic, making it difficult to exploit the archives, and leading to the insecurity of data and publications. |
Download sample marriage certificate
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. 97 013 on the Family Code (11 November 1997)
Presidential Decree No. 16.370 (28 October 2016) |
| Official authorities in charge of registering a death | Directorate General of Decentralization and Local Development, Minister of the Interior and Territorial Administration, Mayors, deputies and municipal councillors, Ambassadors and Consuls General, Civil registration officer of the special centre (Law No. 97 013, article 103) |
| Organizational structure | Decentralized |
| Is there a legal obligation to register deaths? | Yes |
| Is an official death certificate issued as a result of death registration? | Yes, within 2 to 7 days |
| Legal informant to register a death | The declaration of death is the responsibility of the parents of the deceased or by a doctor who has certified the death (Law No. 97 013, article 148) |
| Time allowed for registration | 1 month (Law No. 97 013, article 148) |
| Fee for death registration | Yes, varying fees set by the municipal councils (cost is not fixed in the Family Code) |
| Can the fee be increased or waived? | No |
| Fee for death certificate | Yes |
| Penalty for late registration | No |
| Other official fees involved in the death registration process | Yes, hospital administrative fees |
| 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 |
| Information collected | The death certificate shall state the following information:
– Date and place of death; – Surname, forename, place of birth, sex, occupation and residence of the deceased; – Surname, forename of the spouse of the deceased if the person was married, widow or divorced; – Surname, forename, profession, quality and domicile of the declarant. (Law No. 97 013, Article 147) |
| Information collected in case of fetal death | Fetal death is not registered. |
| Processing | Manually (on paper);
All vital events are directly recorded on non-standard forms, their fields are free and they are filled manually in cursive writing, which prohibits their subsequent exploitation by optical character recognition when transmitted to the Central Registry (DGMEC/MATDSI) for processing. |
| Place of registration | – Main centres located at the headquarters of municipalities, boroughs and diplomatic missions for births, marriages and deaths;
– Secondary centres located in villages, urban areas and health facilities for births and deaths. |
| A death certificate is required for: | Burial, Inheritance, Obtaining social assistance |
| Process for establishing vital statistics on deaths | The production and use of vital statistics from administrative sources remains insufficient in the Central African Republic, making it difficult to exploit the archives, and leading to the insecurity of data and publications. |
Download sample death certificate
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.