Sikkim Birth Certificate

The birth certificate is an important identity document that has to be obtained at the time of an individual's birth. The birth certificate is necessary to acquire voting rights, school admissions, to avail government jobs, obtain marriage rights, settling legacies and to obtain property rights. Moreover, the birth certificate is used to obtain government identity documents such as driving license, passport, etc. In this article, we look at the procedure for obtaining a Sikkim birth certificate in detail. According to the Registration of Births Act 1969, every birth taking place in India has to be registered with the respective State or Union Territory Government within 21 days of its occurrence. There are specific officials appointed to monitor if all registrations are done in time with the help of Registrar General at the Centre and the Chief Registrars in the States. These officials would go through various districts, towns and villages to register the births.

Birth Registrations

Every birth has to be registered within 21 days from the date of its occurrence in the respective format. All registration forms are available at free of cost in Hospitals, PHCs and other medical institutions. If an institutional birth has occurred in Gangtok, then individuals can register births in the Chief Registrar office whereas births from other districts can be registered in their respective local municipality offices.

Required Details

The applicant who is applying for the birth certificate can be the child's parents or any family member. Live Birth Report which is form No. 1 has to be duly completed by the applicants.

Documents Required

Given below are the required documents that have to possessed to obtain a birth certificate in Sikkim:

Discharge certificate issued from the hospital or PHC. If this is unavailable, then there is a requirement of the Panchayat report.
Any of the following government certificates; Sikkim Subject Certificate, Identification Certificate, Voter ID card, Ration Card, Trade License, Service Certificate etc.
If there is a delay in registration, there is a verification requirement from DC/DM.

Eligibility Criteria

All newborn infants and those citizens born before the implementation of the Birth Registration Act 1969 in Sikkim are eligible to apply for the certificate.

Application Procedure

Depending on the place of birth, the registration process varies.

If a birth has occurred in a house, the head of the family or the nearest relative of the family has to duly complete the form no. 1,2,3 and 4A.
If a birth has occurred in a hospital or in a health centre, the concerned medical officer from the maternity home or any other nursing institutions has to duly complete the form no. 1,2,3 and 4.
If a birth has occurred in jail, then the registration would be made by the Jail In-charge.
If a birth has occurred in a moving vehicle, the registration would be made by the person in charge of the vehicle.
If a birth has occurred in an abandoned place, then the Headman of the village or the person in charge of the local Police Sation would register the birth.

Fee Structure

If registering birth within one year of its occurrence, then a fee of Rs. 5 is applicable.
For every additional year of delaying, a fee of Rs. 5 is applicable.
For issuing each certificate, a fee of Rs. 5 is applicable.
For issuing a certificate of non-registration of birth, a fee of Rs. 5 is applicable.

Application Details

Sikkim government has appointed Registrars of Birth as birth registering centres in all hospitals and public health centres. The applicants can approach the Registrar anytime between 10 Am to 4 Pm and submit the completed application forms to the Registrars.