Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act to come into force on October 1

• The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act will come into force on October 1. 

• The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was passed by both Houses of Parliament and became law after receiving the President’s assent in August. 

• The amended Act tightens regulations for delayed registration of births and deaths, Registrar General of India Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan said.

Why was the amendment Bill introduced?

• The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 was enacted to provide for regulation of registration of births and deaths and for matters connected therewith.

• The registration of births and deaths is mandatory under the Act and the certificate issued under the Act provides legal identity to an individual. 

• A certificate of birth or death is admissible in evidence for the purpose of proving the birth or death of a person. 

• The Act was amended in 2023. 

• The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was introduced in order to make provisions of delayed registration more stringent. 

• It provides for registration after one year and up to two years only with the approval of the competent Executive Magistrate, and after two years only with the approval of a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)