New digitised birth certificates in two months time: Registrar General

• The religion and the matrimonial status of parents will not be included in the birth certificate

By Sandun A. Jayasekera

The Registrar General’s Department will start issuing an internationally acceptable and digitised birth certificate in two months with specific security features that would prevent tampering, Registrar General, N.C.Vithanage said yesterday.  

The new ‘National Birth Certificate’ (NBC) printed on a special security paper in A4 size and issued in English and Sinhala will have a digital chip that carries a number of new features like ‘Sri Lanka Identification Number’ given at the birth, watermark, a Quick Response Code, Bar Code and several other security features, Mr. Vithanage said.   
In addition, the NBC will also carry a Hologram Sticker and emblem of the State, he added.   

“The religion and the matrimonial status of parents will not be included in the newly issued NBC. But these issues will be subjected to a public dialogue. The Department also expects to obtain further instructions on the NBC from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa,” Mr. Vithanage added.   

He said the new Birth Certificate can be used globally and digitally readable using the chip.   

Sri Lankans are using a birth certificate prepared during the colonial time and most of the information included in it is not relevant to today’s requirements. The old Birth Certificate printed on a normal paper decay and the information included fade in a few years. The new NBC is issued only once in a lifetime because it has many protective features that help to stand decay, Mr. Vithanage noted.   

Mr. Vithanage said the Department was in the process of ‘Micro Printing’ of birth certificates of all Sri Lankans and put in a database.