Addressing shortcomings in issuing copies of birth certificates.

Supply is insufficient to meet demand.

In early August 2020, Ms. Le Thi Xam went to the People's Committee of Dien Bich commune (Dien Chau district) to request copies of her daughter's birth certificate for school enrollment procedures. Ms. Xam expressed her wish to receive five copies of her daughter's birth certificate, both to meet the school's documentation requirements and to keep a few copies for future use, avoiding the hassle of requesting them again. Similarly, Ms. Tran Thi Hanh and her husband, while registering their son's birth, requested ten copies of the birth certificate because "the child will need them for many related procedures later, so it's convenient to do it all at once."

However, the Justice Department of Dien Bich commune stated that the commune can only issue one copy of each birth certificate due to a shortage of blank forms. "In 2019, Dien Bich commune had 760 new birth registrations, and in the first six months of 2020, there were 502 cases, but the commune has only received about 100 blank forms each month, which is insufficient to meet the needs of the people," said Ms. Dau Thi Son, a Justice Department official of the commune.

Officials from the Dien Chau District Justice Department guide local authorities in implementing regulations on judicial and civil registration procedures. Photo: Hoai Thu

According to Hoang Thi Xuyen, Head of the Justice Department of Dien Chau District, the situation is not unique to Dien Bich commune; other communes in Dien Chau are also facing a similar problem: the number of blank birth certificate forms is insufficient to meet the needs of the people. Each year, Dien Chau has over 7,000 new birth registrations, meaning tens of thousands of blank forms are needed to issue birth certificates as stipulated in Circular 04. However, to date, Dien Chau has only received over 8,000 blank forms, distributed evenly at about 100 forms per commune, a significant shortfall compared to the people's needs.

Not only in Dien Chau district, but investigations in Hung Nguyen, Thanh Chuong, and Quynh Luu districts also reveal similar situations. In some remote districts like Quy Hop and Ky Son, as of the end of August 2020, blank birth certificate forms were still unavailable due to the long distances and inability to transport them in time. Regarding this issue, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Head of the Administrative and Judicial Affairs Department (Department of Justice), confirmed that the department has received reports from district-level authorities about the shortage of blank birth certificate forms.

Some localities have reported that the regulation stipulating that the Ministry of Justice print and issue copies of birth certificates, as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 28 of Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP, is causing difficulties for citizens. This is because copies are used by people as a substitute for the original in transactions such as land procedures, school enrollment, job applications, and appointment applications, and the number issued depends on individual needs. Therefore, the demand for blank copies will be very high, especially in August when many families need to enroll their children in school. Similarly, in cases involving the division of inheritance where a family has 7-10 children, each needing 3-4 copies, 30-40 blank birth certificates would be required.

A copy of the birth certificate in the new form as prescribed by the Ministry of Justice. (Photo provided by the institution)

Meanwhile, the current distribution of original forms for civil registration documents, especially birth certificates, is sometimes delayed. In many cases, birth registrations are delayed due to the lack of originals, while photocopies are severely lacking if they have to be printed using pre-printed templates. Currently, the demand from people throughout the province is estimated at around 400,000 pre-printed forms, but the Ministry has only been able to supply 100,000 so far.

According to feedback from the judicial officials we spoke with, in addition to the shortage of personnel, the implementation of Circular 04 also conflicts with the provisions of the 2014 Law on Civil Status. This law only regulates the issuance of civil status extracts, not copies of birth certificates. Therefore, the provisions of Circular 04 are inconsistent with the provisions of the Law on Civil Status.

Specifically, Article 9 of the Law on Civil Status stipulates that a civil status extract is a document issued by a competent state agency to prove a civil status event of an individual registered at the civil status registration agency. The original civil status extract is issued immediately after the civil status event is registered. Copies of the civil status extract include copies issued from the civil status database and certified copies of the original. When requested by citizens, the civil status agency only needs to access the civil status database and print it on A4 paper, certifying its legal validity, without the need for expensive and cumbersome template forms. This is also the regulation for issuing copies of birth certificates according to Circular No. 15/2015/TT-BTP.

People apply for copies of birth certificates at the One-Stop Service Center in Thach Giam town (Tuong Duong district). Photo: Hoai Thu

Another shortcoming mentioned by the agency is the confusion regarding fee collection. According to Point c, Clause 2, Article 5 of Circular No. 85/2019/TT-BTC dated November 29, 2019, issued by the Ministry of Finance, civil registration fees are collected from individuals whose civil registration matters are handled by competent state agencies. However, the fee for issuing copies of civil registration extracts is collected according to the regulations in Circular No. 281/2016/TT-BTC dated November 14, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Finance (fees for accessing and using information in the civil registration database). Nevertheless, there is currently no specific guidance document for issuing copies of birth certificates under Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP. Therefore, judicial officers are unsure whether to collect the fee for issuing the extract copy or to charge an additional fee for the blank certificate form, as these forms must be purchased from the Ministry of Justice's publishing house. Meanwhile, the demand from the public is constantly increasing, especially during the period when students need to complete enrollment paperwork.

Addressing shortcomings

Regarding the shortage of blank forms for issuing birth certificate copies, the head of the Department of Justice stated that the immediate solution is to limit the number of birth certificate copies issued per case using blank forms, while waiting for the Ministry of Justice to supply a sufficient number of blank forms. For units that do not yet have blank forms, the old regulations will continue to apply until December 2020.

The Head of the Administrative and Judicial Affairs Department (Department of Justice) also stated that immediately after Circular 04 came into effect, the Department issued Official Letter No. 851/STP-HCTP dated July 13, 2020, to the justice departments of districts, cities, and towns regarding guidance on the implementation of Circular 04. This letter clearly stated that birth certificates using the form issued under Circular No. 15/2015/TT-BTP, currently in use at civil registration agencies, can be used until December 31, 2020. “Regarding the birth certificate extract form (copy), it will be replaced with a copy as per Circular 04. However, due to the slow guidance from the Department of Civil Registration, Nationality, and Certification, the Department of Justice was unable to advise on the timely allocation of funds to purchase additional forms within the stipulated timeframe. Therefore, from July 16, 2020, when citizens request a copy of their birth certificate, we request that the civil registration agency guide them to use other types of copies such as: certified copies from the original; photocopies of birth certificates with the original for comparison; if citizens still request a copy of their birth certificate, we request that the civil registration agency continue to use the birth certificate extract form issued with Circular No. 15/2015/TT-BTP until the copy blanks are available from the Department of Justice.”

All three types of birth certificate copies have the same legal validity. (Photo provided by the institution)

The Department of Justice has also advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue directives and official letters to departments, agencies, and units in the province to strengthen the dissemination and compliance with legal regulations on the use of copies of birth certificates in recruitment work. It is unnecessary to require people to submit copies using the new template, as all three forms of birth certificate copies have the same legal validity.

In addition, the Department of Justice will also report to higher authorities for early consideration, adjustment, and amendment of the aforementioned difficulties and shortcomings so that regulations on civil registry extracts are implemented uniformly, strictly, in accordance with the law, and in line with the spirit of administrative procedure reform, helping to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the people.