Registering births, marriages and deaths in the civil record
Every event in a family's life, whether a birth, marriage, talaq or death, must pass into the civil record so that it appears on the national card and in copies of the record. Many later problems, such as being unable to issue a card for a newborn or a deceased person remaining alive in the register, go back to an event that was not recorded in time. The office of lawyer Ali Barakat in Baghdad explains how these events enter the record under National Card Law No. 3 of 2016.
The duty to notify and its time limit
Article 11 sets the general rule: the head of the family, or the person acting in that role by law, notifies the Nationality and Civil Information Directorate or its offices of civil information and new events in the family within sixty days of their occurrence. Iraqis living outside Iraq notify Iraqi consulates within the same period. Whoever receives the notification must give the person a receipt after verifying their identity.
Births
The first paragraph of article 12 requires the competent health authorities to send the directorate each birth they register within thirty days, on the form approved by the Ministry of Health, and the directorate records it electronically. Article 19 provides that new births are entered as records in the civil information system on the basis of birth certificates and birth deeds issued by the competent bodies. Article 27 adds the family's identification number to the newborn's identification number, and article 25 gives children their father's surname.
Foundlings and children of unknown parentage
Article 20 sets separate rules for foundlings and children of unknown parentage. The juvenile court confidentially sends the directorate a copy of its decision choosing the child's name and date and place of birth, and the child is treated as an Iraqi Muslim unless the contrary is proved. These cases are exempt from the notification period, and the juvenile court's decision counts as notification. A foundling or child of unknown parentage is registered on the basis of a deed or decision of the competent court in the cases the text sets out. Filiation is covered on proving filiation.
Marriage, talaq and separation
The second paragraph of article 12 requires personal status courts, personal matters courts and other competent courts to send the directorate a copy of the marriage contract or the decision on talaq, annulment or separation, and the related deeds, once final, and the directorate records them electronically.
Article 28 sets out how marriages are added:
- A marriage is added to the record, and marital status updated, on the basis of the marriage contract or a judgment of the competent court confirming the marriage, and the directorate creates a family identification record.
- An Iraqi woman's marriage to, or divorce from, a foreign national is added to her record and her children are registered with her, without the foreign husband; she and her children form a family with its own identification number.
- An Iraqi man's marriage to, or divorce from, a foreign woman is added, and she and the children are registered with him as a family.
- If both spouses die without their marriage having been registered and leave children, the guardian, the custodian or an adult child may bring a claim against one of the heirs to prove the marriage and filiation.
- If one spouse dies without the marriage having been registered, the other may bring a claim against one of the deceased's heirs to prove the marriage.
- An annulment or separation before consummation is added by returning both spouses and their status to what it was before the marriage.
Deaths
The health authorities send each death to the directorate within thirty days under article 12. Article 27 provides that deaths are entered on the basis of certificates issued under the births and deaths registration law, and also on the basis of sharia deeds and decisions of competent courts once registered with the health authorities. The directorate updates the deceased's record, adjusts the notes in the records of the children and spouse, and updates the family record. Errors in entering births and deaths are corrected under instructions issued by the Minister. The inheritance deed is covered on the death deed and inheritance deed.
Iraqis living abroad
The third paragraph of article 12 requires an Iraqi living outside Iraq to notify the directorate or the Iraqi mission of his or her marriage, talaq, annulment or separation. It may be entered in the record on the basis of foreign documents certified by the Iraqi mission, or by the foreign state's mission in Iraq with certification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or on confirmation from Iraqi missions where those documents are not available.
Nationality decisions
Under the fourth paragraph of article 12, the nationality affairs directorate records decisions granting, withdrawing, cancelling, restoring, losing or recovering nationality and sends them to the civil information system once issued.
Legal basis and sources
Frequently asked questions
What is the time limit for notifying a birth or death?
The health authorities notify the directorate within thirty days under article 12, and the head of the family notifies new events within sixty days under article 11.
How is a marriage concluded outside court registered?
It is added on the basis of the marriage contract or a judgment of the competent court confirming it, under article 28.
What if the death entry contains an error?
Errors in entering deaths are corrected under the Minister's instructions; record copies are covered on civil record copies, death notification and birth deeds.
Related topics and articles
- 01The civil record, family record copies and the effect of death on the recordWhat the civil record is under National Card Law No. 3 of 2016, who may request a copy, the evidential value of the system's data, the effect of death on the family record, and the claim to remove fictitious entries.
- 02Proving filiation (nasab) under Iraqi lawHow filiation is established under articles 51 to 54 of Iraq's Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959: a wife's child attributed to her husband, acknowledgment of a child or parent, and a claim before the court.
- 03Death deed, inheritance deed (qassam) and distributing an estateProving death and issuing the inheritance deed before the Personal Status Court under articles 300 and 310 of the Civil Procedure Law, and the order of rights in an estate under articles 86 to 91.
- 04The national card: issue and correction of dataIssuing and replacing the national card and correcting errors in the civil record under articles 5, 29, 30 and 34 to 36 of Iraq's National Card Law No. 3 of 2016.
- 05The Iraqi nationality certificate: when it is asked for and what replaced itThe status of the Iraqi nationality certificate after National Card Law No. 3 of 2016, and the basis of nationality in articles 2 and 3 of Nationality Law No. 26 of 2006 and article 18 of the Constitution.