The Births and Deaths Registration Rules

Legal Notice 270 of 1966

This is the latest version of this Legal Notice.
Citation
Legal Notice 270 of 1966
Primary work
Births and Deaths Registration Act
Date
Language
English
Type
Legal Notice
Related documents
LAWS OF KENYA

BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION ACT

THE BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRATION RULES

LEGAL NOTICE 270 OF 1966

  • Published in Kenya Gazette Vol. LXVIII—No. 45 on 13 September 1966
  • Commenced on 13 September 1966
  1. [Amended by Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Rules, 1969 (Legal Notice 187 of 1969) on 22 August 1969]
  2. [Amended by Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Rules, 1970 (Legal Notice 43 of 1970) on 13 March 1970]
  3. [Amended by Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Rules, 1981 (Legal Notice 49 of 1981) on 13 March 1981]
  4. [Amended by Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Rules, 1988 (Legal Notice 244 of 1988) on 24 June 1988]
  5. [Amended by Births and Deaths (Amendment) Rules, 2017 (Legal Notice 99 of 2017) on 9 June 2017]
  6. [Revised by 24th Annual Supplement (Legal Notice 221 of 2023) on 31 December 2022]

PART I - PRELIMINARY

1. These Rules may be cited as the Births and Deaths Registration Rules.2. In these Rules, except where the context otherwise requires—"compulsory registration area" means a registration area in respect of which a declaration has been made under section 9(2) or section 15(2), as the case may be, of the Act that the registration of births or deaths of all the inhabitants of the area shall be compulsory.

PART II - GENERAL REGISTRATION PROCEDURE

3. Births and deaths may be registered at the office of the registrar in any registration area during office hours.4. (1) Births and deaths occurring on board ships on that portion of Lake Victoria within Kenya shall be registered at Kisumu.
(2)Births and deaths occurring on board ships while within coastal territorial waters shall be registered either at the office of the registrar at Mombasa or at the office of the registrar nearest to the port of first arrival in Kenya of the ship upon which the birth or death occurred.
5. (1) Any person whose duty it is to register a birth or death may, on sending to the registrar satisfactory reasons for his non-attendance, apply to register the birth or death without personal attendance at the office of the registrar; and the registrar may register the birth or death without the personal attendance of the informant, or may defer registration until the informant has attended personally.
(2)A person registering a birth or death without personal attendance shall fill in and sign the appropriate registration form giving the particulars prescribed, which form shall be obtained from the registrar.

PART III - BIRTH REGISTRATION PROCEDURE

6. The time within which the notice of the birth of any child is to be given under section 11 of the Act to the registrar of the registration area in which the birth occurs shall be three months from the date of birth.7. The register of births to be kept by a registrar in a compulsory registration area shall be maintained in loose-leaf form and shall contain the particulars required in Form No. 1 in the Schedule to these Rules.8. (1) A person registering a birth in a compulsory registration area shall complete in duplicate a birth registration form in Form No. 1 in the Schedule to these Rules and shall deliver it to the registrar or a deputy registrar.
(2)The registrar shall give the entry a consecutive number from a series of consecutive numbers to be started on the 1st January in each year and affix such number to both copies of the entry.
(3)If the form is delivered to a deputy registrar, he shall ensure that it is complete in every detail and shall then send both copies of the form to the registrar.
(4)The registrar shall sign the top copy, which shall constitute the original entry; and he shall forward to the Registrar-General the original of every entry received by him every two weeks or after such period as may be directed by the Registrar-General.
9. The register of births to be kept by a registrar or Registrar-General in registration areas other than compulsory registration areas shall be a register book in Form No. 2 in the Schedule to these Rules.10. (1) The registrar shall ensure that an entry made in the register book referred to in rule 9 of these Rules is complete in every respect before it is signed by the informant.
(2)The registrar shall give the entry a consecutive number from a series of consecutive numbers to be started on the 1st January in each year.
(3)The registrar shall forward to the Registrar-General a certified copy of all entries made in the register book, referred to in rule 9 of these Rules, in Form No. 3 set out in the Schedule to these Rules, every two weeks or after such period as may be directed by the Registrar-General.
11. A certificate of birth issued by the Registrar-General under section 26(3) of the Act shall be either a full certificate in Form No. 4, or a short certificate in Form No. 5, in the Schedule to these Rules, and any person shall on payment of the prescribed fee be entitled to obtain from the Registrar-General a birth certificate in either form:Provided that where the entry in the register of births is marked "Adopted", "Re-adopted", "Adopted (Tanzania)", "Adopted (Uganda)", "Re-adopted (Tanzania)" or "Re- adopted (Uganda)", and the court which made the adoption order has specified a name or surname which the registered person is to bear instead of the original, then such name or surname shall be inserted in the short form of the birth certificate in place of the original name or surname.

PART IV - DEATH REGISTRATION PROCEDURE

12. The time within which notice of the death of any person is to be given under section 17 of the Act to the registrar of the registration area in which the death occurs shall be one month from the date of death.13. The register of deaths to be kept by a registrar in a compulsory registration area shall be maintained in a loose-leaf form and shall contain the particulars required in Forms Nos. 6 or 7 respectively in the Schedule to these Rules.14. (1) Where a medical practitioner certifies the cause of death of a person dying in a compulsory registration area, he shall complete a death registration form in Form No. 6 in triplicate and shall issue the original and duplicate to the next-of-kin of the deceased person, who shall take them to the registrar to obtain a permit to dispose of the body under section 9 of the Act.
(2)The medical practitioner shall retain the triplicate copy of the form in his possession.
15. (1) Upon receipt of the original and duplicate of the death registration form the registrar shall sign the top copy, which shall constitute the original entry.
(2)The registrar shall give each separate entry a consecutive number from a series of consecutive numbers to be started on the 1st January in each year and affix such number to both copies of the entry.
(3)The registrar shall forward to the Registrar-General the original of every entry received by him every two weeks or after such period as may be directed by the Registrar- General.
16. (1) Where no medical practitioner is available to certify the cause of death of a person dying in a compulsory registration area, the person registering the death shall complete in triplicate death registration forms containing the particulars set out in Form No. 7 in the Schedule to these Rules, and shall lodge the same with the registrar.
(2)The registrar shall peruse the form to ensure that it is complete in every detail and, if he is satisfied that the death was one from natural causes, may issue a written permit authorizing the interment or other disposal of the body in accordance with section 20(2) of the Act, but before so doing, unless a magistrate or police officer has certified that the death is not one to which sections 386 or 387 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 75) applies, he shall cause such inquiry to be made as to the cause of death as he thinks fit, and for that purpose every registrar and deputy registrar in a compulsory registration area is hereby specially empowered in that behalf pursuant to section 20(1) of the Act.
17. (1) Where the death registration form is delivered to a deputy registrar, such officer shall forward the original and duplicate of the death registration form to the registrar of deaths for the registration area in which the death occurred, retaining the triplicate copy for his records.
(2)Upon receiving a death registration form from a deputy registrar, the registrar shall peruse it and ensure that it is complete, and shall thereafter sign the top copy, which shall constitute the original entry.
(3)The registrar shall give the entry consecutive numbers from a series of consecutive numbers to be started on the 1st January in each year.
(4)The registrar shall forward to the Registrar-General the original of every entry received by him every two weeks or after such period as may be directed by the Registrar- General.
18. The register of deaths to be kept by a registrar in registration areas other than compulsory registration areas shall be a register book in Form No. 8 in the Schedule to these Rules.19. (1) The registrar shall ensure that an entry made in the register book referred to in rule 18 of these Rules is complete in every respect before it is signed by the informant, and shall not register the death without production of one of the documents mentioned in section 19(1) of the Act.
(2)The registrar shall give the entry a consecutive number from a series of consecutive numbers to be started on the 1st January in each year.
(3)The registrar shall forward to the Registrar-General certified copies of all entries made in the register book referred to in rule 18 of these Rules, in Form No. 9 in the Schedule to these Rules, every two weeks or after such period as may be directed by the Registrar- General.
20. A medical certificate under section 19(1)(a) of the Act as to the cause of death, whether a post-mortem examination has been carried out or not, shall, in respect of a death occurring in a compulsory registration area, be in Form No. 6 in the Schedule to these Rules and in respect of a death occurring elsewhere shall be in Form No. 10 in the said Schedule, and in a case of sudden death anywhere where no medical practitioner was in attendance before the death shall be in Form No. 11 in the said Schedule.21. Notice in writing under section 19(1)(b) of the Act, signed by a medical practitioner and stating that a medical certificate has been signed by him, shall be in Form No. 12 in the Schedule to these Rules.22. A death report under section 19(1)(c) of the Act upon which a magistrate, police officer or person specially empowered to make inquiries certifies that a death is not one to which section 386 or section 387 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 75) applies shall, in respect of a death occurring in a compulsory registration area, be in Form No. 7 in the Schedule to these Rules, and in respect of a death occurring elsewhere shall be in Form No. 13 in the said Schedule.
  
  
  

PART V - FEES

[L.N. 49/1981, r. 2, L.N. 244/1988, r. 2.]
23.The following fees shall be chargeable—
  Shs.
(a)for the registration of a birth more than six months after the date of birth where registration was compulsory..............................................100
(b)for the registration of the name or alteration in the name of any child whose birth has previously been registered....................................40
(c)for the registration of a death, more than six months after the date of death, where registration was compulsory.....................100
(d)for the inspection of any register, return or index in the custody of the registrar or the Registrar-General...................................20
(e)for a certified copy of any entry in any register or returning the custody of the registrar or the Registrar-General......................................50
(f)for a birth certificate in the short form prescribed by rule 11.........................40
(g)for making a correction in any entry in a register or index..............................................100
(h)for authenticating the seal of the Registrar-General by the Attorney-General...................................100
(i)for preparing copies of documents on requests by means of photographic process, xerography or any other copying process................ such fees as may be determined by the registrar. 
24.Where the registrar is a local authority or an officer of a local authority, any fee chargeable under rule 23 of these Rules and received by the local authority or officer aforesaid shall be paid into the funds of the local authority and shall form part of its general revenue.
25.Notwithstanding rule 11, the Cabinet Secretary may waive the fees chargeable under rule 23.[L.N. 99/2017, r. 2.]

SCHEDULE

FORMS

.png)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
FORM 11(r. 20)
MEDICAL CERTIFICATE OF CAUSE OF DEATH
(for use of Doctors carrying out post-mortem examination, who should fill it in in all cases)
Place ............................................................... Date..................................................................
Reported name of deceased...........................................................................................
Reported address................................................................................................
Name of informant.....................................................................................................
Age reported________________________ .........................................assessed.Sex ....................
Nationality ..........................................................................
Religion .........................................................................
Time and date of death ...............................................................
Apparent cause of death .............................................................
Contributory causes .............................................................
 .........................................................Medical Practitioner.
MEDICAL CERTIFICATE OF CAUSE OF DEATH
(to be used by Registered or Licensed Medical Practitioner only in cases of sudden death and where there was no Medical Practitioner in attendance prior to death)
Hospital/station, town ................................. Date .............................
I certify that—
a) I have carried out a post-mortem examination of a body identified to me by ........................
and .................................................. ......................... .........................
as being that of [name of deceased] ...................................... ......................... .........
normally resident at ...................................... ......................... ......................... ...
and of ......................... .........................
   
Years of age ...............reported________________________assessed..............
   
Sex ............................................ ................. Nationality ..............................................................
Religion ............................................ Found dead at ...............................................
at ....... o'clock ...........a.m.________p.m.on the ......... day of ..... 20 ......
(b) The apparent cause of death was ............................... due to ................................
(c) Contributory causes were—(i) ......................................(ii) ......................................
Signature ..........................................
Name in block capitals ................................................
..............................................
Qualifications .......................................................
Registered/Licensed Medical Practitioner
This form should be completed in block capitals except for the signature of the Doctor.
 
NOTICE TO INFORMANT
I hereby give notice that I have this day signed a Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death-
of ........................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................deceased.
.
Signature ....................................
Date ............................................
This Notice must be given by the Certifying Medical Practitioner to the person who is qualified and liable to act as informant for the purpose of the registration of the death. As to the person liable to act as informant, see back.
 
DUTIES OF INFORMANT
The informant must deliver this Notice to the Registrar of Births and Deaths of the registration area in which the death took place, bearing in mind that registration cannot take place until the Medical Certificate has reached the Registrar. Failure to deliver this Notice to the Registrar renders the informant liable to prosecution
The informant must be prepared to state accurately to the Registrar the following particulars—
(a) the date and place of death and the place of deceased's usual residence;
(b) the full name;
(c) correct age and sex;
(c) occupation.

__________________________

FORM 12 (r. 21)
   
NOTICE THAT MEDICAL CERTIFICATE OF CAUSE OF DEATH SIGNED
TAKE NOTICE that a medical certificate of the cause of death of ................................. has been duly signed by me.
Dated this ................ day of .................. 20.............
.......................................................................................Registered/Licensed Medical Practitioner

__________________________

FORM 13(r. 22)
  
  
DEATH REPORT
Part A - Report by Member of the Public
Town ...................................... Date ...................................., 20 ...................
Name of deceased ...........................................................................................................
Formerly a resident of ............................................ Road, .................................
Father's name ..........................................................................................................
Chief's name (where applicable) .........................................................................................
Nationality or Tribe and District .......................................................................................
Registration No. ..........................................................................................................
Sex and age ..............................................................................................................
Religion ..............................................................................................................
Place and nature of employment ................................................................
Date of death .......................................................................................
Apparent cause of death................................................................
Place of death ................................................................
List of property with deceased at time of death ..............................................................................................
Name and residence of any other relative ............................................................................................
Remarks .......................................................................
 
Signature ............
Designation...............
Part B - Report by Medical Officer*From the result of an external examination and from the information at my disposal, I am satisfied that the death does not appear to be due to other than natural causes.
......................................................................................Registered/Licensed Medical Practitioneror Hospital Assistant.
*For the purposes of this report, "Medical Officer" includes Registered or Licensed Medical Practitioners and Hospital Assistants in independent charge of hospitals.Part C - Report by Magistrate or Police OfficerI hereby certify that from inquiries which I have caused to be made, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, this case is not one to which section 386 or section 387 of the Criminal Procedure Code applies.
.....................................................................Magistrate or Police Officer
▲ To the top

History of this document

31 December 2022 this version
09 June 2017
Read this version
24 June 1988
13 March 1981
13 March 1970
22 August 1969
13 September 1966
Published in Kenya Gazette 45
Commenced

Cited documents 1

Act 1
1. Criminal Procedure Code 4938 citations

Documents citing this one 0