Civil Registry to introduce digital system for birth, death and marriage registration

The Government of South Sudan is preparing to overhaul its civil registration system by introducing a nationwide digital registry that will transfer the issuance of birth certificates from hospitals to the Directorate of Civil Registry, Nationality, Passports and Immigration.

The planned reform will create a centralized system for registering births, deaths, marriages and divorces, while also introducing digital national identity cards for citizens aged 18 and above.

Director General of Civil Registry, Nationality, Passports and Immigration, Major General Elia Costa, said the initiative is part of efforts to align South Sudan with international standards for civil registration.

“The world has now changed to the system of civil registry,” Costa told Eye Radio after attending a continental civil registration meeting in Zimbabwe. “This concerns birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates and divorce certificates.”

Under the proposed system, hospitals and other health facilities will notify the Directorate of Civil Registry whenever a child is born, enabling the Directorate—not individual health facilities—to issue the official birth certificate.

“As soon as the baby is born in the hospital or any health facility, they must notify us at the Directorate of Civil Registry so that we are the ones responsible for issuing a birth certificate,” Costa said.

The Director General said the system will be implemented through coordination between the Ministries of Health, Justice and Interior, creating a unified national database for vital records.

Costa also announced that death registration will become compulsory across the country, adding that the government will launch nationwide public awareness campaigns before implementation begins.

“It will be compulsory for everybody to have a death certificate. We are going to give awareness before the implementation, and we are going to start it as soon as possible with support from our partners,” he said.

As part of the reforms, the government also plans to introduce a digital national identification card for all citizens aged 18 and above. According to Costa, the digital ID will become an essential document for accessing services such as opening bank accounts and conducting other official transactions.

“Digital ID is one of the important documents which anybody above 18 must have. It will help you open a bank account or apply for other services,” Costa said.

He added that the broader civil registration program will also include the registration of livestock as part of efforts to strengthen national records and improve data management.

The reforms were discussed during an annual meeting of African civil registration authorities in Zimbabwe, where countries exchanged experiences on strengthening national civil registry systems.