Birth registration regulations to take effect from May 18, 2026

From May 18, 2026, individuals who violate regulations on birth registration may be fined up to 5 million VND. The penalties are set out in Article 37 of Decree 109/2026/ND-CP, which governs administrative sanctions for breaches of birth registration provisions.

Fines for violations under Decree 109/2026/ND-CP

Under Article 37, the fine levels are as follows:

• 1,000,000–3,000,000 VND for acts of erasing, editing, or falsifying content on birth registration documents issued by competent authorities in order to complete birth registration.
• 3,000,000–5,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:
  • Confirming or giving false testimony about the birth;
  • Providing false information or documents about the contents of the birth registration;
  • Using another person’s documents to register a birth.

Additional penalties and remedial measures

In addition to fines, Article 37 provides for:

• Confiscation of the item involved in the violation, including erased or altered documents.
• Remedial measures, including:
  • For violations under paragraph (1): forcing the return of the original documents to the competent authority that issued them.
  • For violations under paragraph (1) and (2): recommending that the relevant agency review and handle the birth certificate issued due to the violations.

Deadline for birth registration

Under Article 15 of the 2014 Civil Status Law, within 60 days from the child’s birth, the father or mother must register the birth. If the parents cannot register, responsibility shifts to an uncle, aunt, other relatives, or the person caring for the child.

Civil status officers regularly monitor and urge birth registrations, and mobile birth registration may be conducted when necessary.

Birth registration procedures

Article 16 of the 2014 Civil Status Law sets out the registration process:

• The person registering the birth submits the registration form and the child’s birth certificate to the civil status registration agency.
• If there is no birth certificate, the applicant submits a witness statement confirming the birth; if there is no witness, a sworn declaration.
• For abandoned children, a record confirming the abandonment is required.
• For births by surrogate motherhood, a document proving the surrogacy in accordance with law is required.

After receiving the required documents, if the birth information is complete and appropriate, the civil status officer records the information in the Birth Register and updates the electronic civil status database and the national population database to obtain the Personal Identification Number.

The civil status officer and the person registering the birth sign the Birth Register. The chairperson of the commune-level People’s Committee issues the birth certificate to the registrant.

The Government also provides detailed regulations on birth registration for abandoned children or for children whose parentage cannot be identified, including determining the child’s origin.