Options for Digital Birth Certificates
Birth certificates are the cornerstone for establishing legal identity around the world. Despite their importance, birth certificates are frequently simple, handwritten paper documents or computerized printouts, submitted with little attention to s...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/807381570770265619/Options-for-Digital-Birth-Certificates http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32542 |
| Summary: | Birth certificates are the cornerstone
for establishing legal identity around the world. Despite
their importance, birth certificates are frequently simple,
handwritten paper documents or computerized printouts,
submitted with little attention to security. The birth
certificate issuance process is often decentralized,
potentially leading to different formats within the same
country. These features make birth certificates relatively
easy to forge and difficult to authenticate. In many
countries, applying for a passport requires the submission
of a birth certificate, a process that can be inefficient,
and at the same time may not enable the full authentication
of individuals. A similar situation may exist in other
circumstances, for instance, when applying for school or
university admission, driver’s licenses, marriage and
separation certificates, and welfare benefits; enrolling for
health care or health insurance; or registering to vote. One
way to solve this problem is to make the birth certificate a
highly secure document (like a banknote or passport), with
personalization and issuance completed under highly secure
conditions. Some countries are using a digital birth
certificate (DBC). The birth certificate as a digital
credential has become relevant in the context of sustainable
development goal. Given the increasing digitization of state
records and processes, as well as greater connectivity among
departments, a DBC, if issued in a secure manner, can enable
more timely processing and a greater level of
authentication. In addition to having the capacity and
administrative processes in place to manage DBCs, countries
require a corresponding legal framework to recognize DBCs.
This guidance note provides select country examples of
manual and electronic birth registration and certification
processes and discusses the principal requirements for
moving toward DBCs, with suggestions on how to meet the requirements. |
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