Before Applying
Registration of a birth within 12 months after birth
It is joyful to have a new member in the family. While parents are busily engaged in the hard work of child-minding, they should not forget to register the birth of their baby within 42 days of delivery. The procedures for registration of a child’s birth will be introduced.
Under the relevant Ordinance, a birth will be registered upon receipt by the registrar of the relevant birth return (a document that records a baby's birth) from the hospital in which the baby is born. Registering the birth of a newborn baby can be made in-person by making prior appointment booking through either the Internet or the telephone booking system, or parents may directly make an online birth registration if they are eligible to use such service.
Important Note:
Under section 7 of the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance, Chapter 174, Laws of Hong Kong, parents of every child born shall apply for the registration of the child's birth at a birth registry within a period of 42 days after the day of such birth. It is a criminal offence if anyone deliberately fails to register the birth of a child as required by the law. Offenders are liable to a maximum penalty of a fine of HK$2,000 fine or up to six months' imprisonment. Parents are required to register the birth of their children in accordance with the law, so as to avoid undermining the rights of their children to medical treatment, education and welfare benefits due to late registration.
Birth registration is free of charge within 42 days of the birth. A registration fee will be charged if the birth is registered after the period of 42 days but within one year. After one year, a birth can be registered only with the consent of the Registrar of Births and Deaths and upon payment of a registration fee. If parent wants to obtain a certified copy of the birth entry (commonly known as birth certificate) after registration of the birth, a prescribed fee will be charged. Parents are advised to register the birth of their baby within the free registration period after the baby's birth return has been electronically transmitted from the hospital to the Births Registry.
Applying
Registration of a birth within 12 months after birth
Registering the birth of a baby can be made in-person at the relevant Births Registry; or via online (if applicable).
Parents are required to make prior appointment booking through either the Internet or the telephone booking system for birth registration of the newborn baby. Both channels provide round-the-clock service and the appointment booking service is free of charge. Before selecting the date of appointment, parents should confirm with the hospital where the child was born to ensure that the birth return has been delivered to the Births Registry concerned. Upon making the appointment, the information provided should match with that on the baby’s birth return. Otherwise, the appointment booking cannot be processed. The appointment is given on a first-come-first-served basis. For telephone booking system users, a touch-tone phone is required and the telephone number is 2598 0888. For Internet users, please click the hyperlink at “Related Topics” for online appointment booking.
After making the appointment, parents can also change or cancel it before the appointment date. For the best use of resources, parents are advised to attend the Births Registry punctually at the reserved time slot, or amend or cancel the appointment as soon as possible when required.
Please read the leaflet "Guidance Notes on the Appointment Booking for Birth Registration" for further details.
Guidance Notes on the Appointment Booking for Birth Registration
To speed up the processing time for registration of birth on the appointment day, parents are advised to submit in advance the required information for registration of birth through the hyperlink at “Related Topics” at least one day before the scheduled appointment. They may also choose to download the ‘Information Required for Registration of Birth’ (Form BDR93A) for completion and submit the completed information sheet at the time of registration. Please note that the information sheet is not an application from.
No registration fee is payable if the birth is registered within a period of 42 days. A registration fee will be charged if the birth is registered after the period of 42 days but within one year. After one year, a birth can be registered only with the consent of the Registrar of Births and Deaths and upon payment of a registration fee. If parents want to obtain a certified copy of the birth entry (commonly known as birth certificate) after registration of the birth, a prescribed fee will be charged.
The birth of a child could be registered at a Births Registry of the district in which it occurred or Tseung Kwan O Births Registry. Parents are not required to bring along the child for birth registration. In the case of legitimate child, the birth can either be registered by father or mother. If the child was born before arrival at a hospital/clinic or the birth has not been registered within one year, the birth should be registered at the Births and Deaths General Register Office.
Addresses and office hours of Births Registries
General Enquiries
Hotline: (852) 2824 6111
Fax: (852) 2877 7711
Email: enquiry@immd.gov.hk
In the case of legitimate child, the attendance of either parent is sufficient. The following original documents are required for the purpose of birth registration:
(a) | parents’ marriage certificate (if the marriage certificate is not written in Chinese or English, certified translation of such is required), and | |
(b) | (i) | parents’ Hong Kong Permanent Identity Cards (for Hong Kong permanent residents); or |
(ii) | parents’ Hong Kong identity cards and valid travel documents (e.g. passports, documents of identity etc.) (for Hong Kong residents); or | |
(iii) | parents’ travel documents upon their arrival in Hong Kong (e.g. passports, Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao etc.) (for non-Hong Kong residents). |
The abovementioned documents are normally required for the purpose of verifying the Hong Kong permanent resident status of the child under the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115).
In the case of illegitimate child, and the father’s name is to be included in the register, the following circumstances will apply:
- at the joint request of both parents, both of them must personally attend the registry to make the joint request; or
- at the request of mother, she must personally attend the registry and produce
- her Declaration, and
- father’s Statutory Declaration to confirm the child’s paternity; or
- at the request of the father, he must personally attend the registry and produce
- his Declaration, and
- mother’s Statutory Declaration to confirm the child’s paternity; or
- at the request of the father or mother, either parent must personally attend the registry and produce
- a certified copy of relevant Court Order to confirm the child’s paternity, and
- if the child has reached the age of 16, the written consent of the child to the registration of that person as his father.
Depending on the nature of the case, you may be required to submit other supporting documents.
Please also provide photocopies of the required documents which were not issued by the Hong Kong Immigration Department for record purpose.
The registration of a birth normally takes 30 minutes to complete, and a certified copy of a birth entry can usually be issued within another 10 minutes.
Registering a birth does not incur a fee if it is made within 42 days of the birth. If it is made after 42 days of the birth but within one year, a registration fee of HK$140 will be charged. After one year, the registration fee will be HK$680. Parents will need to pay HK$140 for a certified copy of a birth entry after the birth registration. If parents did not apply for a certified copy at the time of the birth registration but need to get one afterwards, they are required to apply for a search of birth records first and a search fee will be charged.(HK$140 for Particular Search and HK$680 for General Search. For details, please see Fees Leaflet (BDR 100)). For more information on applying for a birth certificate, please refer to “Application for Search of Birth Records and/or a Certified Copy of a Birth Entry”.
Eligible parents may register the birth of a child through the internet (link) if the following requirements are met:
- the informant is the father or mother of the child;
- one of the parents of the child is a Hong Kong Permanent Resident;
- the child is a legitimate child;
- the informant is registering the birth within 42 days since the birth of the child; and
- the informant is a registered user of “iAM Smart+” mobile app.
Upon online birth registration, the informant is required to:
- provide information required for birth registration;
- upload copies of the Hong Kong identity card / travel document of both parents; and
- upload a copy of the parents’ marriage certificate (applicable to marriage solemnized outside Hong Kong only). If the marriage certificate is not written in Chinese or English, certified translation of such is required.
The abovementioned documents are normally required for the purpose of verifying the Hong Kong permanent resident status of the child under the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115).
Depending on the nature of the case, you may be required to submit other supporting documents as per request.
After the Births Registry has received all the required information and documents online, birth registration will usually be completed within 3 working days (exclude the time for the informant to confirm the contents on the register form of births (“Form 1”) and working days denote Monday to Friday excluding General Holidays). The informant will then receive notifications in email from the Births Registry notifying him/her that the birth registration is completed and the certified copy of the birth entry (if applicable) is ready for collection or delivery by post.
Remarks: These standards may not be achievable during certain daily peak hours or peak periods or in complicated cases.
Registering a birth does not incur a fee if it is made within 42 days of the birth. If it is made after 42 days of the birth but within one year, a registration fee of HK$140 will be charged. After one year, the registration fee will be HK$680.
If parents want to obtain a certified copy of the birth entry (commonly known as “birth certificate”) after registration of the birth, he/she is required to pay HK$140 per copy (for in-person collection/ collect by post locally).
If parents did not apply for a certified copy at the time of the birth registration but need to get one afterwards, they are required to apply for a search of birth records first and a search fee will be charged. (HK$140 for Particular Search and HK$680 for General Search. For details, please see Fees Leaflet (BDR 100)). For more information on applying for a birth certificate, please refer to “Application for Search of Birth Records and/or a Certified Copy of a Birth Entry”.
Under section 9(4) of the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance, Chapter 174, Laws of Hong Kong, any person obtaining registration of any birth under any subsection of section 9 shall be entitled at the time of registration to receive free a certificate of such registration in the prescribed form (Form 3). If the parent wishes to obtain a Form 3, please contact the respective births registry after submitting the required information and documents online for the online birth registration.
After Applying
Registration of a birth within 12 months after birth
In-person Birth Registration
After the birth registration was completed in-person at a Births Registry, the parents can pay HK$140 for a certified copy of a birth entry (commonly known as “birth certificate”).
Payment can be made by cash, EPS, Octopus, FPS, Mainland China’s Licensed Digital Wallets (Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay App only) , or by crossed cheque or cashier's order (payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region”) in Hong Kong currency.
Online Birth Registration
Upon online birth registration, the parent may apply for a certified copy of a birth entry (commonly known as “birth certificate”). The parent may choose to collect the birth certificate either in-person at the Births Registry or receive it by post. If the parent chooses to receive it by post, online payment made by credit card (VISA, Mastercard, UnionPay and JCB only), PPS, FPS or Mainland China’s Licensed Digital Wallets (Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay App only) is applicable. Otherwise, the parent will make payment upon in-person collection of the birth certificate at the specified Births Registry.
For enquiries, please contact Immigration Department by email to gro@immd.gov.hk or, by phone during working hours to the births registry of the district in which your baby was born. For the address, telephone number and working hours of the registries, please click here.
With immediate effect, if an eligible newborn child in Hong Kong is required to apply for travel documents (including HK Re-entry Permit and/or HKSAR Passport) after the birth registration, the parent or legal guardian of the child can make such an application with the Hong Kong birth certificate issued on that day. The parent or legal guardian may approach the reception counter of any of the Immigration branch offices on the same day [Note: Before 3:30 pm for Mondays to Fridays and before 11 am for Saturdays, except Sundays and General Holidays]. In applying for travel documents for the child, the parent or legal guardian should bring the child to the office in person and bring along the following documents to support the application:
- the child's Hong Kong birth certificate [Note: Item (11) of the certificate should read "2(a), Schedule 1 to the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115) established"];
- recent photos of the child [Note: two photos for Re-entry Permit or/and three photos for HKSAR Passport (colour photo with plain white background)];
- consenting parent or legal guardian's Hong Kong identity card or valid travel document;
- completed application form(s) [ID73A(Re-entry Permit) or/and ID842 and ROP3 (HKSAR Passport)]; and
- a completed Form for Countersignature [ID641] with a copy of identity document of the person countersigning the form.
- Online Appointment Booking for Birth Registration (applicable to in-person birth registration)
- Online Submission of Information Required for Registration of Birth (applicable to in-person birth registration)
- Information Required for Registration of Birth (BDR 93A)
- Online Application for Search of Birth Records and/ or Certified Copy of Birth Entry
- Information leaflet - Birth Registration and Addition / Alteration of Child's Name