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Federal Decree by Law concerning the Registration of Births and Deaths Regulations

The last update on this law was listed on 05 Sep 2022

Date of enactment of the legislation

05 Sep 2022

Effective date

15 Oct 2022

Publication date in the official gazette

15 Sep 2022

Official Gazette No

735

Legislation State

Active

Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to produce an accurate and complete English version of this website/ legislation. However, for the purpose of their interpretation and application, reference must be made to the original Arabic text. In case of conflict, the Arabic text will prevail

Index

Index

Article (1) Definitions

In application of the provisions of this Law by Decree, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings assigned to each of them, unless the context otherwise requires:
State: The United Arab Emirates. 
Ministry: Ministry of Health & Prevention. 
Minister: Minister of Health & Prevention. 
Citizen: Anyone who has the nationality of the State in accordance with the legislation in force in the State. 
Health Authority: The Federal or Local Government Health Authority, as the case may be, concerned with regulating health affairs. 
Concerned Department: The Organisational Unit responsible for births and deaths registration and birth and death certificates issuance in the Health Authority or in any other Authority designated by a resolution of the Cabinet. 
The Committee: The Birth and Death Committee in each Health Authority established in accordance with the provisions of Article (20) of this Decree by Law. 
Health Facility: Every place prepared and licensed to conduct medical examinations on patients, provide medical advice to them, or assist in diagnosing their diseases, treating them, nursing them, or housing them for treatment, or carrying out any work related to prevention, treatment, or rehabilitation, whether owned or managed by someone. Natural or legal persons. 
Competent Court: The Court within whose jurisdiction the birth or death occurred, or the Court within whose jurisdiction there is the Office of the Health Authority that undertakes procedures related to birth or death, or the legally Competent Court in other cases in accordance with the legislation in force in this regard. 
Compound name: Name of two words, neither of which alone is suitable as a name for a person. 
Double name: Name of two words, neither of which alone is suitable as a name for a person. 
Live newborn: Newborn that shows any of the symptoms of life after being discharged or removed from the mother, regardless of the duration of the pregnancy. 
Dead newborn: newborn that does not show symptoms of life when it is released or removed from the mother, provided that the duration of pregnancy is not less than (180) one hundred and eighty days. 
Death: Complete departure of life from the body, definitely and authoritatively, either by complete, final and irreversible cessation of the functions of the circulatory and respiratory systems, or complete, final, and irreversible cessation of brain functions, making doctors decide that this cessation is irreversible, in accordance with the precise medical standards determined by a resolution issued by the Minister after coordination with Health Authorities. 
Records: Unified National Registry at the State level and the registry established at the Local Health Authority in accordance with the provisions of this Decree by Law. 

Article (2) Scope of Application

The provisions of this Law by Decree shall not apply to the following:
1. Births and deaths within the State.
2. Births and deaths that occur outside the State include Citizens and those designated by a resolution of the Minister.

Article (3) Birth and Death Records

1. The Ministry shall establish a Unified National Registry for registering births and another for registering deaths at the State level. Each Health Authority shall also establish two other registries within the scope of its jurisdiction, one for registering births and the other for registering deaths. The Executive Regulations of this Decree by Law specify the following:
   A. Records Data.
   B. The supporting documents, conditions and controls that shall be available for registration in the records.
   C. Procedures, methods and periods for keeping records.
   D. Data exchange mechanisms between the Ministry and other Health Authorities.
   E. Methods and procedures for electronic linking between Health Authorities' records and the Unified National Registry.
   F. Health Authorities may add any other data they deem appropriate to their existing records.
   G. The Ministry and other Health Authorities shall coordinate with the relevant authorities in the State concerning data and statistics related to births and deaths.
 

Article (4) Reporting the birth

The Health Facility in which the birth occurred shall inform the Concerned Department within (72) seventy-two hours from the time of birth. This applies to births that take place outside the Health Facility if they take place under medical supervision of the Health Facility.

Article (5) Proof of the birth occurring outside the Health Facility without medical supervision

1. If the birth occurred outside the Health Facility without medical supervision, the persons referred to in the order indicated in this Clause shall inform the nearest Health Facility of this in order to prove the birth incident and issue a birth report within a period of (30) thirty days from the date of birth:
   A. The child father, if present, or his mother.
   B. The person in charge of family affairs in the event of the father absence or death before birth.
   C. Adult relatives up to the fourth degree who attended the birth.
   D. Any other person who attended the birth or was appointed by one of the newborn parents.
2. The Health Facility shall examine the mother and newborn and notify the Concerned Department within (72) seventy-two hours from the date of issuing the birth report.
3. If the Health Facility is notified after the end of the period referred to in Clause (1) of this Article, the Health Facility shall prepare a medical report on the case. The concerned person shall submit a request to the Health Authority, which will refer him to the Committee to take the appropriate action.

Article (6) Birth Notification

1. The Birth Notification is considered proof of the fact of birth and is not considered a document proving parentage.
2. Information related to the circumstances of the pregnancy is considered a medical secret that a health professional is prohibited from disclosing unless he is asked to do so in accordance with the legislation in force in this regard. The Health Facility shall ensure that the confidentiality of the information and data included in the records is maintained.
3. The Health Facility shall issue a birth report by requiring the submission of the ID or passport of the mother and father, if any, and the identity or passport of the person reporting the birth in the event of birth outside the Health Facility, without the need for any other documents.
4. The Birth Notification shall include the following information:

  A. The day of birth, its Hijri and Gregorian date, indicated in numbers and letters, and its time and place.

  B. The sex of the newborn.
 C. The newborn name, if specified. The newborn name may be compound or double, provided that it conforms to the provisions of public order and public morals.

  D. The full name of the father and mother, their date of birth, nationality, religion or belief, as well as the identity or passport number of non-residents of the State, for each of them, if any.
  E. The name of the Health Facility where the birth occurred and the name of the birth supervisor if the birth occurred in a Health Facility.
  F. Any other data determined by the Executive Regulation of this Law by Decree.

Article (7) Obtaining a birth certificate for a child born within the State

1. If the birth occurred within the State, either of the newborn parents or anyone who has legal authority over him shall submit a request to obtain the birth certificate to the Concerned Department within (30) thirty days from the date of birth. To issue the birth certificate, the following documents shall be attached:
  A. Birth Notification.
 B. A marriage certificate or document or an acknowledgement from the parents of the child lineage legalised by the Embassy of the State to which they belong or by a Notary Public.
  C. The mother ID or passport, and the father, if any.
2. The employee in charge of entering the data and documents of the Birth Notification and issuing the birth certificate in the Concerned Department shall be careful in entering these data, and verify that the birth certificate matches the Birth Notification.

Article (8) Issuing and delivering a birth certificate and determining registration and data extraction procedures

1. The Concerned Department shall issue a birth certificate for every live birth in Arabic, and another copy may be issued in English upon the request of the concerned parties. The birth certificate shall be delivered to one of the newborn parents, their legal representative, or any of their relatives up to the fourth degree.
2. The Executive Regulations of this Decree by Law shall specify the procedures for registration in the birth register, the controls for extracting birth certificate data, and the procedures for obtaining an official extract from birth records.

Article (9) Application to obtain a birth certificate after the specified deadline

In the event that the application is submitted to obtain a birth certificate after the deadline specified for that in accordance with the provisions of this Decree by Law, the Concerned Department shall accept the application and refer it to the Committee to decide on it in accordance with the controls and standards specified in the resolution to form the Committee.

Article (10) Obtaining a birth certificate for a child born outside the State

1. If the birth occurred for a Citizen outside the State, any of his parents shall inform the State diplomatic mission of the birth according to a birth certificate issued by the Competent Authority in the State in which the birth occurred within the period specified by the Executive Regulations. If notification is not possible by the parents, notification shall be made by those He has legal authority over the newborn.
2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation shall inform the Competent Authorities within the State of birth incidents reported to it by diplomatic missions in accordance with the legislation in force in this regard.
3. Any of the parents of the newborn or whoever has legal authority over him may obtain a birth certificate for the newborn outside the State from the Concerned Department, based on the birth certificate issued from outside the State and certified by the diplomatic mission and after its legalisation by the Competent Authority within the State.
4. If the birth incident occurred in a State where there is no diplomatic mission, or in any other cases of birth outside the State not mentioned in this Article, reporting shall be made to the nearest diplomatic mission that can be reached or to the Concerned Department in that State, as the case may be.
5. The Executive Regulations of this Decree by Law shall regulate the terms, conditions and procedures for obtaining a birth certificate for a Citizen born abroad, in cases where it is not possible to inform the diplomatic mission of the birth incident.

Article (11) Birth Notification and birth certificate for unknown father

1. The Health Facility issues a Birth Notification for the newborn of unknown father based on the mother data through the ID or passport.
2. The Concerned Department issues the birth certificate for the newborn of unknown father based on a judicial order from the Competent Court that includes specifying the name and nationality of the newborn, based on an acknowledgement from the mother in accordance with the legislation in force in this regard.
3. The resolution of the Competent Court shall be entered in the birth registration register, without this being mentioned in the birth certificate.

Article (12) Birth Notification and birth certificate for unknown parentage

1. Immediately after receiving a newborn of unknown parentage, the Health Facility shall issue a birth report for him, in addition to a medical report on the newborn health condition.
2. The Concerned Department shall issue a birth certificate for a person of unknown parentage and he is registered in the birth registry based on a request from the nursing home in which he is placed, after taking all the procedures stipulated in the legislation in force in the State.

Article (13) Reporting the death

1. In the event of a death within a Health Facility, the Health Facility in which the death occurs shall notify the police, who shall take the procedures prescribed in the legislation in force in this regard. The Health Facility shall also inform the Concerned Department of the death incident within a period not exceeding (72) seventy-two days, an hour from the time of death.
2. In the event of a death outside a Health Facility, the police will be notified, who will take the measures stipulated in the legislation in force in this regard, and the Concerned Department will be informed of the death after it is diagnosed medically.

Article (14) Death report

Death report shall include the following information:
1. The day of death, its Hijri and Gregorian date, indicated in numbers and letters, and its time and place.
2. The full name of the deceased, his gender, nationality, religion or belief, age, profession, and place of residence.
3. The cause of death.
4. The full name of the informant, his age, nationality, profession, capacity and signature.
5. Any other data determined by the Executive Regulation of this Law by Decree.

Article (15) Registration in the death registry and issuance of a death certificate

Concerned Department shall issue the death certificate in Arabic, and another copy may be issued in English, upon the request of any of the deceased relatives up to the fourth degree or those legally responsible for him, and the death certificate is delivered to any of them.

Executive Regulations of this Decree by Law shall specify the procedures for registration in the death register, the controls for extracting birth certificate data, and the procedures for obtaining an official extract from death records.

Article (16) Reporting a dead newborn baby

The Health Facility in which a stillbirth occurs shall inform the Concerned Department of the incident within a period not exceeding (72) seventy-two hours from the time the stillbirth occurred.

Article (17) Reporting a dead newborn baby

Dead newborn baby report shall include the following information:
1. The full name of both parents of the dead newborn, if they are known, their nationality, religion or belief, and place of residence.
2. The cause of death.
3. The number of uterine days.
4. Any other data determined by the Executive Regulation of this Law by Decree.

Article (18) Death of a Citizen outside the State

1. If the death occurred to a Citizen outside the State, any of his relatives who are with him in this State shall inform the diplomatic mission of the death.
2. The diplomatic mission may be notified by someone other than those mentioned in Paragraph (1) of this Article.
3. The death certificate is issued by the Competent Authorities in the State in which the diplomatic mission is located and authenticated by that mission and by the Competent Authority in the State, according to which a death certificate is issued from within the State.

Article (19) The deceased is unidentified

The unidentified deceased shall be registered in the death records, with a notation in the notes box of the Public Prosecution resolution in this regard, which includes the coroner report. The Executive Regulations of this Decree by Law specify the data that shall be recorded in the death record.

Article (20) Birth and Death Committee

1. A Committee shall be established in each Health Authority called the "Birth and Death Committee", and it shall be formed by a resolution of the Chairman of the Health Authority.
2. A resolution shall be issued by the Minister to determine the Committee powers and the controls and standards of its work in coordination with the Health Authorities.

Article (21) Change in data on birth and death certificates and records

1. No change in the data related to birth and death certificates or records is permitted except pursuant to a final judicial ruling issued by the Competent Court, and the Concerned Department shall record in the notes box the data of this ruling.
2. The Committee may correct any material errors that occur based on the documents supporting that, and the reasons and justifications for the correction shall be noted in the records.

Penalties: Article (22) Penalty for not reporting a birth on the scheduled date

Anyone who does not report a birth from among those required to report on the scheduled date in accordance with the provisions of this Decree by Law shall be punished with a fine not exceeding (5,000) five thousand dirhams.

Article (23) The penalty for not reporting a death intentionally or for covering up

Anyone who learns of a death due to his kinship or job and does not report it intentionally or covertly shall be punished with a fine not exceeding (15,000) fifteen thousand dirhams.

Article (24) Penalty for repeated registration

Anyone who intentionally registers a living newborn, dead newborn or deceased child in the registration records more than once shall be punished with a fine not exceeding (15,000) fifteen thousand dirhams. The Court shall order the cancellation of the duplicate registration.

Article (25) The penalty for submitting incorrect data, making changes to it without a final ruling, or causing the destruction or loss of records

Whoever commits any of the following actions shall be punished with imprisonment for a period that is not less than one year and a fine that is not less than (AED 100.000) one thousand Dirhams and is not exceeding (AED 500.000) five hundred thousand Dirhams, or one of these two penalties:
1. Deliberately provided incorrect data or resorted to fraudulent or illegal means with the intention of registering a live birth, dead born or deceased child in the records. The Court shall rule to delete the entry that proves to be incorrect.
2. Make any change in the data contained in the birth or death registration records without a final ruling being issued by the Competent Court.
3. He deliberately destroyed or caused the destruction or loss of a birth or death record or any of its papers.

Article (26) Impose a more severe penalty

The imposition of the penalties stipulated in this Law by Decree shall not prejudice any severer penalty stipulated by any other law.

Article (27) Official documents to prove birth and death

Birth and death certificates and official extracts from the birth and death registration register issued pursuant to this Decree by Law are considered official documents to prove the events of birth and death.

Article (28) Models

The Executive Regulations specify the forms of records, reports, and certificates stipulated in this Decree by Law.

Article (29) Fees

The Cabinet shall – upon the proposal of the Minister and based on the proposal of the Minister of Finance – issue a resolution specifying the fees necessary to implement the provisions herein.

Article (30) Executive Regulation

The Cabinet shall – upon the proposal of the Minister – issue the Executive Regulation of this Law by Decree.

Article (31) Repeals

1. The aforementioned Federal Law No. (18) of 2009 concerning the Registration of Births and Deaths Regulations shall be repealed, as well as any provision that violates or contradicts the provisions of this Law by Decree.
2. The resolutions, laws, and rules in force prior to the entry into force of the provisions of this Law by Decree shall remain in force in a manner that does not conflict with its provisions until the issuance of their replacements in accordance with the provisions of this Law by Decree.
 

Article (32) Publication and Enforcement of Law by Decree

This Resolution shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall be enforced after (30) thirty days as of the date of its publication.

 

Translated in cooperation with