How can we help a child get a birth certificate if the mother refuses to assist and he needs to attend a special school?

The long answer

This is a very difficult problem as it is the parents or parent who are legally supposed to register their child’s birth within 30 days. Clearly your sister has not done this, and late registration of birth (LRB) is a much more complicated and long-drawn-out business. This is probably why the social workers have offered to help her. Do you know why she won’t take their help?

It may be worthwhile to go to the social workers yourself and explain that you have come because the mother is not willing to come and you are very concerned about your nephew who needs his birth certificate to go to the special school. You could say that you know that social workers cannot force a mother to get a birth certificate, but everyone knows that they can help parents a great deal when it comes to difficult processes like late registration of birth. You could ask if the social workers are able to apply for a birth certificate for the child if the mother is unable or unwilling to do it. You could ask them if you could be helped to apply for a birth certificate for him, or if not, what you can do to help your nephew get his birth certificate.  

The social workers may tell you that they (or you) would need a court order to be able to apply for a child’s birth certificate, rather than the child’s mother. 

In that case, ProBono.Org says an application to court should be brought by way of a Notice of Motion and a Founding Affidavit in cases where: 

1. The child is South African – whether by birth or descent. The court will need information on affidavit about who the parents are and where the child was born;

2. There is good cause why the mother cannot appear to apply for the certificate;

3. The person/s applying for the birth certificate have parental rights and responsibilities, or ought to have them, or are entitled to the issuing of the certificate. So where the applicant is the aunt or a children’s home or a social worker, that person should be entitled to get the birth certificate and have a purpose for it.

So, it may be worth speaking to ProBono.org. These are their contact details:

Email: [email protected]

Johannesburg:(011) 339 6080

Cape Town: 087 806 6070/1/2

Durban: (031) 301 6178

It may also be worth speaking to an organisation like the Legal Resources Centre, and asking for their advice and assistance, as they have a lot of experience in matters like this. 

These are their contact details:

Email: [email protected]

Johannesburg: 011 836 9831

Cape Town: 021 481 3000

Durban: 031 301 7572

The Department of Home Affairs does have a specific hotline for enquiries about birth certificates and also a special dedicated email address. These are:

Hotline: 0800 60 11 90

Email: [email protected]

Wishing you the best,
Athalie