Democratic Republic Of The Congo
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. 87-010 (1 August 1987), as amended by Law No. 16/008 (15 July 2016) on the Family Code |
| Official authorities in charge of registering births | Ministry of Justice (central registry, control of registrars)
Ministry of Interior (administrative control of civil registrars; issuance of birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates and other documents; establishing the secondary offices and making them operational; appointing and training civil registrars) Civil registrars |
| Organizational structure | Centralized |
| Is there a legal obligation to register the birth of a child? | Yes (Family Code, article 116) |
| Is an official birth certificate issued as a result of birth registration? | Yes, immediately |
| Legal informant to register a birth | Father or mother, Ascendants and relatives, Those present at the birth;
The declaration may be made by a mandatory bearer of a written power of attorney, even under private seal, of the father or the mother (Family Code, article 117). |
| Time allowed for registration | 90 days (Family Code, article 116) |
| Fee for birth registration | No |
| Can the fee be increased or waived? | No |
| Fee for birth certificate | No |
| Penalty for late registration | Yes; Late registrations require financial penalties and additional costs for obtaining a supplementary judgment (Family Code, article 114). |
| Other official fees involved in the birth registration process | Yes; Copies and extracts of acts of birth for administrative use require payment. In health facilities and hospitals, a birth certificate is issued after delivery for a fee that varies by health facility. |
| 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 | Presentation of the medical certificate of birth;
For the registration, the presence and consent of one of the parents (father or mother) is sufficient. Registration can also be done by ascendants, close relatives or any person present at the birth. Another person designated as having a power of attorney in writing and signed by the parents may make the declaration of the child on behalf of the parents to the registry office. |
| Information collected | Regarding the child: Name, Sex, Date of birth, Date of registration, Place of occurrence, Place of registration
Regarding the mother of the child: Date of birth or age, Place of usual residence, Date of birth or age, Place of usual residence, Occupation, Nationality Regarding the father of the child: Date of birth or age, Place of usual residence, Date of birth or age, Place of usual residence, Occupation, Nationality |
| Processing | Manually (on paper) |
| Place of registration | Civil registrar’s office, Mayor’s office, Other district or local authority (place of residence of father or mother, per Family Code, article 116) |
| A birth certificate is required for: | Identification, Travel (obtaining a passport), Inheritance,
Education (the birth certificate will be requested by some schools for enrolment, e.g., Catholic private schools and some universities), Health (medical care of children can only be received upon presentation of the child’s birth certificate) |
| Process for establishing vital statistics on births | Civil status data submitted to the Ministry of the Interior are collected and aggregated regularly for internal use. Ministry experts compile these data in working papers and make regular comparisons with international survey data, such as Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) or Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS). However, data and quality controls are performed only for internal use, without having major consequences on policy design and planning. In cases where internal population data vary considerably from international estimates or from survey data, little is done to understand these differences and their causes. In the virtual absence of official data on levels of mortality, plausibility tests on available data appear to focus mainly on birth rates and national population figures. |
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. 87-010 (1 August 1987), as amended by the Law No. 16/008 (15 July 2016) on the Family Code |
| Official authorities in charge of registering a marriage | Ministry of Justice (central registry, control of registrars)
Ministry of Interior (administrative control of civil registrars; issuance of birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates and other documents; establishing the secondary offices and making them operational; appointing and training civil registrars Civil registrars |
| Organizational structure | Centralized |
| Legal age for marriage | 18 years for both sexes (Family Code, article 352) |
| Is there a legal obligation to register marriages? | Yes (Family Code, article 82) |
| Is an official marriage certificate issued as a result of marriage registration? | Yes |
| Legal informant to register a marriage | Notary officer, Judge |
| Time allowed for registration | 3 months (Family Code, article 370) |
| Fee for marriage registration | Yes |
| Can the fee be increased or waived? | Yes, ceremonial costs; Civil marriage or marriage in front of the registrar is an activity that takes place solemnly in a ceremony, which entails additional costs related to its organization. |
| Fee for marriage certificate | Yes |
| Penalty for late registration | Yes |
| 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 | Husband’s presence at registration, Wife’s presence at registration, Proof of wife’s age, Proof of husband’s age, Witness to the marriage, Affidavit attested by magistrate, public notary, etc.
The Registrar of Civil Status requires the delivery of the following documents: – An extract of the birth certificate of each spouse; – Where applicable, copies of the deeds acknowledging the consent of the parents or guardian, or written proxies (Family Code, article 373) |
| 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 and nationality of spouses
Regarding the marriage: Date of occurrence, Date of registration, Place of occurrence, Place of registration (Family Code, article 392) |
| Processing | Manually (on paper) |
| Place of registration | Civil registration office (usual residence of the bride or place of occurrence of the marriage, Family Code, article 97) |
| A marriage certificate is required for: | Accessing health services |
| Process for establishing vital statistics on marriage | Civil status data submitted to the Ministry of the Interior are collected and aggregated regularly for internal use, but data and quality controls are performed only for internal use, without having major consequences on policy design and planning. In cases where internal population data vary considerably from international estimates or from survey data, little is done to understand these differences and their causes. |
Download sample marriage 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.
Death Registration
| Legal framework for death registration | Law No. 87-010 (1 August 1987), as amended by Law No. 16/008 (15 July 2016) on the Family Code |
| Official authorities in charge of registering a death | Ministry of Justice (central registry, control of registrars)
Ministry of Interior (administrative control of civil registrars; issuance of birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates and other documents; establishing the secondary offices and making them operational;, appointing and training civil registrars) Civil registrars |
| Organizational structure | Centralized |
| Is there a legal obligation to register deaths? | Yes (Family Code, article 132) |
| Is an official death certificate issued as a result of death registration? | Yes |
| Legal informant to register a death | The death certificate shall be drawn up on the declaration of a relative of the deceased or of any person possessing the necessary information on the death (Family Code, article 133). |
| Time allowed for registration | 30 days |
| Fee for death registration | No |
| Can the fee be increased or waived? | No |
| Fee for death certificate | No |
| Penalty for late registration | Yes |
| Other official fees involved in the death registration process | Yes, the burial permit is obtained before the body can be buried for a fee |
| 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, Date of death, Age at death |
| Information collected | The death certificate states:
– Time, if any, day, month, year and place of death, name, date and place of birth, sex, nationality, occupation and domicile or residence of the deceased; – Name, age, nationality, occupation and domicile or residence of the deceased’s father and mother, if possible; – Name, age, nationality, occupation and domicile or residence of the spouse, if the deceased was married; – Name, age, nationality, occupation and domicile or residence of the declarant. As far as possible, mention is made of the death in the margin of the deceased’s birth certificate. (Family Code, article 134) |
| Information collected in case of fetal death | Sex of the child, Name, age, nationality, occupation and domicile of the father and mother, Day, month, year and place of confinement
When an infant is declared stillborn, the declaration is entered into the death registry and not into the birth registry. The act mentions only that the child was declared lifeless without there being a presumption on the point of knowing whether the child lived or not. (Family Code, article 123) |
| Processing | Manually (on paper) |
| Place of registration | Civil registrar’s office, Mayor’s office, Other district or local authority, Place of occurrence of the death (Family Code, article 97) |
| A death certificate is required for: | Inheritance, Obtaining social assistance |
| Process for establishing vital statistics on deaths | Civil status data submitted to the Ministry of the Interior are collected and aggregated regularly for internal use, but data and quality controls are performed only for internal use, without having major consequences on policy design and planning. In cases where internal population data vary considerably from international estimates or from survey data, little is done to understand these differences and their causes. |
Download sample death 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.