Fearing fake certificates, the Center is ordering tighter scrutiny of digitized birth and death records

Amid the surge in demand for digitized birth certificates, the Office of the Registrar General of India (RGI) is introducing strict controls to prevent fraudulent digitization of old records. The RGI informed states in June that in some cases, registrar credentials were compromised due to user IDs, passwords or one-time passwords (OTPs) being shared by unauthorized persons. On 6 July, the RGI asked states to identify “registration units showing unexplained fluctuations in registrations”.

“As a result, complaints have been received in some cases regarding issuance of fake or unauthorized digitized certificates. Such incidents not only undermine the integrity of the civil registration system but also threaten the reliability of vital records,” said a June 12 letter from AK Pandey, Deputy Secretary General (CRS).

On 6 July, the RGI urged the registration units in the states to put measures in place to “enhance the security, transparency, traceability and authenticity of the digitization process and to prevent misuse of the system”.

The measures include mandatory verification of online requests for the digitization of old birth and death certificates by the registry against the originals of birth and death registries; uploading supporting documents, including the applicant’s certificate and the relevant register page; forwarding all applications to the district registrar for approval; submission of other documents such as the application form when the registrar enters the application on behalf of the applicant; mandatory review and approval by the District Registrar before issuing any digitized certificate; mandatory use of electronic signatures by district registrars to ensure authenticity, accountability and audit trail; and returning approved applications to the registrar for final digital certificate issuance.

The RGI asked state committees to review the status of digitization and preservation of older birth and death records, stressing the need to securely store the original registers and related documents and ensure that all manual confirmations are properly verified with the appropriate registries before digitization.

Uptick in digital copies

Due to the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR) of Electoral Rolls, where birth certificates are among the accepted forms of identity, several birth and death registration units are seeing an increase in the acquisition of digital copies.

The Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1969, which was amended in 2023, makes online registration of births and deaths mandatory on the Central Population Registration System (CCRS) portal.

For children born on or after October 1, 2023, the digital birth certificate is the only document that proves the date of birth for various services such as admission to educational institutions, government employment, marriage registration, among others.

Hospitals are required to report every birth within 21 days.

Earlier, states maintained their own database and shared statistics with the RGI office, which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The RGI database can be used to update electoral rolls, Aadhaar, National Population Register (NPR), ration card and property records.

Stricter provisions

The MHA is poised to introduce a bill in the monsoon session of Parliament, which begins on July 20, to further amend the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 2023 to tighten provisions on deferred registration. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to review the state’s birth and death registration system during his three-day visit to West Bengal from July 17 to 19.

Published – 17 Jul 2026 22:22 IST