LEGAL REGULATIONS ON ADDING FATHER’S INFORMATION TO THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE

1. Legal Basis

- Law on Marriage and Family No. 52/2014/QH13 dated June 19, 2014;

- Law on Civil Status No. 60/2014/QH13 dated November 20, 2014;

- Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP dated November 15, 2015, detailing certain articles and measures to implement the Law on Civil Status;

- Circular No. 04/2020/TT-BTP dated May 28, 2020, providing detailed guidance for implementing certain articles of the Law on Civil Status and Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP dated November 15, 2015, of the Government.

2. What is a Birth Certificate

According to Clause 6, Article 4 of the Law on Civil Status 2014, a Birth Certificate is a document issued by a competent state agency to an individual upon registration of birth. The contents of the Birth Certificate include basic information about the individual as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 14 of the Decree, including:

(i) Information about the person whose birth is registered: full name (surname, middle name, and given name); gender; date, month, and year of birth; place of birth; hometown; ethnicity; nationality;

(ii) Information about the father and mother of the person whose birth is registered: full name (surname, middle name, and given name); year of birth; ethnicity; nationality; place of residence;

(iii) Personal identification number of the person whose birth is registered.

3. Procedure for Adding Father’s Information to a Child’s Birth Certificate

According to the Law on Civil Status 2014, in cases where parents wish to add the father’s information to a child’s Birth Certificate, they must carry out two procedures in sequence:

- Procedure for establishing the father-child relationship;

- Procedure for supplementing civil status records.

*Special case note: If the child was born to the wife before the marriage registration, has already been registered on the Birth Certificate but without information about the father, and the couple now provides a written acknowledgment that the child is theirs, there is no need to perform the father-child recognition procedure. Instead, they only need to carry out the civil status supplementation procedure to add the father’s information in the Birth Registration Book and the child’s Birth Certificate (Clause 2, Article 16, Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP).

4. Procedure for Registering Father-Child Recognition

4.1. Right to Recognize Father-Child Relationship

Pursuant to Articles 90 and 91 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family:

- A child has the right to recognize their father, even if the father is deceased.

- An adult child can recognize their father without the mother’s consent.

- The father has the right to recognize the child, even if the child is deceased.

- If a person who already has a spouse recognizes a child, the recognition does not require the consent of the spouse.

4.2. Authority to Register Father-Child Recognition

Pursuant to Articles 24 and 43 of the 2014 Law on Civil Status, the authority to register father-child recognition is as follows:

- The People’s Committee at the commune level, where the person recognizing or the person being recognized (father or child) resides, carries out the registration of father-child recognition.

- The People’s Committee at the district level, where the person being recognized (father or child) resides, carries out the registration of father-child recognition in cases involving : A Vietnamese citizen and a foreigner; A Vietnamese citizen residing in Vietnam and a Vietnamese citizen residing abroad; Two Vietnamese citizens residing abroad; A Vietnamese citizen holding dual nationality and another Vietnamese citizen or a foreigner; Two foreigners, if one or both are permanently residing in Vietnam.

4.3. Procedure for Registering Father-Child Recognition

•  Cases without foreign elements (Article 25, 2014 Law on Civil Status):

Step 1: The person requesting to register the father-child recognition submits a registration form according to the prescribed template and evidence proving the father-child relationship to the civil status registration office. When registering the father-child relationship, the mother and child must also be present;

Step 2: Within 3 working days from the date of receiving all required documents, if the civil status officer finds that the father-child recognition is correct and uncontested, they record it in the Civil Status Register, have the parties sign the register, and report to the Chairman of the Commune People’s Committee to issue an extract to the applicant.

If verification is necessary, this period may be extended up to 5 additional working days.

•  Cases with foreign elements (Article 44, 2014 Law on Civil Status):

Step 1: The person requesting to register the father-child recognition submits a registration form according to the prescribed template and documents, items, or other evidence to prove the father-child relationship to the civil status registration office;

In cases involving registration of father-child recognition between a Vietnamese citizen and a foreigner, or between foreigners, the foreigner must also submit a copy of their passport or other equivalent identity document;

Step 2: Within 15 days from the date of receiving all required documents, the civil status officer verifies the father-child recognition, posts a public notice at the District People’s Committee office for 7 consecutive days, and simultaneously sends a request to the Commune People’s Committee where the recognized person (father or child) resides to post for 7 consecutive days at the Commune People’s Committee office;

Step 3: The Justice Department reports and proposes to the Chairman of the District People’s Committee to decide on the father-child recognition. If all conditions are met, the Chairman of the District People’s Committee proceeds with the registration;

Step 4: When registering the father-child recognition, all parties must be present; the civil status officer records it in the Civil Status Register, and all parties sign the register. The Chairman of the District People’s Committee issues an extract to the parties.

*Note: In cases where a man and woman live together as spouses without registering their marriage and have a child, if the child lives with the father and the father registers the child without being able to contact the mother, the mother’s consent is not required on the registration form. If a birth certificate and the mother’s identity documents are available, the mother’s information is recorded based on these documents. If the birth certificate and mother’s documents are not available, the information is recorded based on the father’s declaration, and the father is responsible for the accuracy of the information provided (Clause 1, Article 16, Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP).

4.4. Evidence to Prove Father-Child Relationship

Pursuant to Article 14, Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP, evidence proving the father-child relationship includes one of the following documents or materials:

(i) A document from a medical agency, forensic agency, or other competent domestic or foreign authority confirming the father-child relationship.

(ii) If no such evidence is available, the parties may create a written declaration of the father-child relationship according to Article 5 of this Circular, with at least two witnesses confirming the relationship.

5. Procedure for Supplementing Civil Status Records

5.1. Definition of Civil Status Supplementation

According to Clause 13, Article 4 of the 2014 Law on Civil Status, civil status supplementation is the process by which a competent authority updates missing civil status information for an individual who has already been registered.

5.2. Authority to Supplement Civil Status Records

Pursuant to Articles 27 and 46 of the 2014 Law on Civil Status, the authority to supplement civil status records is as follows:

- The Commune People’s Committee where the civil status was previously registered or where the individual resides is authorized to handle civil status supplementation for Vietnamese citizens residing in Vietnam.

- The District People’s Committee where the civil status was previously registered or where a foreigner resides is authorized to handle civil status supplementation for foreigners whose civil status was registered with a competent authority in Vietnam.

- The District People’s Committee where a Vietnamese citizen residing abroad previously registered their civil status is authorized to handle civil status supplementation.

5.3. Procedure for Civil Status Supplementation

Pursuant to Article 29 of the 2014 Law on Civil Status, the procedure for civil status supplementation is as follows:

Step 1: The person requesting civil status supplementation submits a dossier, including the prescribed registration form and related documents, to the civil status registration office;

Step 2: After receiving all required documents, if the civil status officer finds the request valid, they record the supplementary information in the corresponding section of the Civil Status Register, have the applicant sign the register, and report to the Chairman of the Commune People’s Committee to issue an extract to the applicant.

In the case of supplementing information in the Birth Certificate, the civil status officer records the supplementary information in the corresponding section and stamps the entry.

It is clear that adding the father’s information to the Birth Certificate is not merely an administrative procedure; it is also a step in establishing the legal rights and obligations between father and child, while better ensuring the legitimate rights of the child. However, because the relevant legal provisions contain technical details and depend on each specific case, performing the procedure independently may involve risks or prolong processing time. Therefore, in situations that are complex or unclear, seeking assistance from legal experts or reputable legal organizations is necessary to ensure that the procedure is performed correctly according to the law and that the rights of all parties involved are maximally protected.