An unabridged birth certificate is issued free of charge when a birth is registered, normally about a day after the application is submitted. If you need another copy later, you apply on Form BI-154 at a Home Affairs office and wait roughly 6 to 8 weeks. Home Affairs does not publish the fee for additional copies on its public service pages, so confirm the amount at the counter before you go. Whether you must produce one to fly with a child depends on what appears in that child’s passport, and the official guidance on this point is not consistent.
The three ways you get one
| Situation | Form | Fee | Typical wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registering a birth within 30 days | BI-24 | Free | About a day after submission |
| Additional or replacement copy | BI-154 | Fee payable, amount not published | 6 to 8 weeks |
| Late registration, after 30 days but before age 1 | BI-24 with written reasons | Confirm at the office | Varies by office |
| Late registration, after age 1 but before 15 | Late registration forms | Confirm at the office | Varies by office |
| Late registration, age 15 and older | DHA-24, DHA-24/A in duplicate and DHA-288 | Confirm at the office | Varies by office |
| Application lodged at a South African mission abroad | BI-154 | Set by the mission | Several months |
Every birth in South Africa must be registered within 30 days under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 51 of 1992. Anything later is a late registration and carries extra requirements. Undocumented foreign nationals born in South Africa are issued a certificate free of charge on registration of the birth.
There is no longer a meaningful choice between an abridged and an unabridged certificate for a new registration. The unabridged version, which carries both parents’ full particulars, is what Home Affairs issues on registration.
Do you actually need one to travel with a child?
This is where most of the confusion sits, and it is worth being precise, because two current government pages say different things.
Immigration Regulation 6(12)(a) requires parents travelling with a child to produce an unabridged birth certificate reflecting the particulars of the parents. That is the legal instrument, and it is what airlines check at the counter.
The Department of Home Affairs travel advisory issued alongside those regulations carries an exemption: a child presenting a passport that contains the details of his or her parents is not required to produce a birth certificate or equivalent document. The same advisory states that South African children travelling on South African passports may travel to South Africa without birth certificates, a clause framed around arrival rather than departure.
The government’s own frequently asked questions page on travelling with children puts it more broadly, stating that South African children using South African passports do not need to carry a birth certificate, and that children in direct transit through an airport may be exempt.
The gov.za page on registering a birth says the opposite in plain terms: that an unabridged birth certificate is needed if you want to travel out of the country with the child.
The regulation is the instrument with legal force, and the exemptions sit in departmental guidance built on it. In practice the safe course is to carry the certificate. Airlines apply the requirement at check-in and are the first point of enforcement, and a boarding refusal cannot be argued away at the gate. If the child is travelling with only one parent, you will also need a parental consent affidavit from the other parent, a copy of that parent’s identity document or passport, and their contact details. If you are budgeting for the trip, our breakdown of the South African passport cost and process covers the R600 child passport fee.
What an unabridged birth certificate costs
The first certificate is free. The gov.za service page on registering a birth states that once the birth is registered, an unabridged birth certificate is issued at no charge, and that additional certificates carry a fee.
That fee is the one figure this article cannot pin down. Neither the national government service pages nor the Western Cape Government service page names an amount. Both say only that an application fee is payable and point readers to the departmental tariff schedule. Third-party sites widely quote R75, and some quote R20 for the older abridged version, but no current official page supports either figure. Confirm the current amount with the office handling your application before you rely on it, as fees change periodically.
How to apply for a copy
- Complete Form BI-154 in black ink. This is the Application for Birth Certificate form, also written as DHA-154. The two names refer to the same document.
- Gather your supporting documents. You need your identity document, and the child’s identity document if you are applying using an existing certificate. Any copies you submit must be certified.
- Submit at a Home Affairs office. Any office that handles civic services will accept the application. If you are overseas, submit at the nearest South African embassy, mission or consulate.
- Pay at the cashier and keep the receipt. Payment methods differ between offices, so ask before you travel there.
- Allow 6 to 8 weeks and collect. Applications lodged abroad are forwarded to Pretoria and take substantially longer.
Applying for an unabridged certificate is not something the eHomeAffairs portal handles. That channel covers Smart ID cards and passports, and if you are also due for an identity document, our guide on how to get a Smart ID at your bank covers that route. A first-time identity document application at 16 requires a certified copy of your birth certificate, which is why the two applications often run together.
Late registration of birth
Late registrations are split into three brackets. A registration after 30 days but before the child turns one uses Form BI-24 plus written reasons for the delay. After one year but before 15, additional requirements apply. From 15 and older, the applicant completes Forms DHA-24, DHA-24/A in duplicate and DHA-288, and must produce proof of birth: DHA-24/PB where the birth took place at a health facility, or DHA-24/PBA, a proof of birth affidavit, where the birth took place at home.
This is the route for adults who discover, on applying for an identity document or a passport, that their birth was never recorded in the National Population Register.
Common problems
Home Affairs cannot trace the record. Bring any document that carries the birth entry number, including an old abridged certificate, a clinic card or a school record. The National Population Register is searched on that number.
One parent is unavailable or deceased. Flag this at the counter before submitting rather than after. Requirements vary by circumstance, and a death certificate for a deceased parent is normally accepted in place of consent.
You need it before the travel date. If the certificate will not arrive in time, ask the office for a letter setting out the details of both parents. Provincial guidance states a child can travel on that letter while the application is pending.
The certificate is going overseas. Home Affairs issues the document, but an apostille or legalisation is a separate step handled by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation in Pretoria. Check whether the receiving country actually requires it before applying.
You are following up. The Home Affairs contact centre is 0800 60 11 90.
Frequently asked questions
How much is an unabridged birth certificate in South Africa?
Free when the birth is registered. A fee applies to additional copies, but Home Affairs does not publish the amount on its public service pages. Confirm it at the office.
How long does an unabridged birth certificate take?
Roughly 6 to 8 weeks for a copy applied for inside South Africa. Several months if lodged at a South African mission abroad.
Can I apply for an unabridged birth certificate online?
No. The eHomeAffairs portal covers Smart ID cards and passports. Birth certificate applications are submitted in person on Form BI-154.
Do I need one to fly with my child?
Immigration Regulation 6(12)(a) requires it, but departmental guidance exempts a child whose passport carries the parents’ details, and the government’s travel FAQ states South African children on South African passports do not need to carry one. Carry it anyway, because airlines enforce the requirement at check-in.
What is the difference between abridged and unabridged?
The unabridged version carries both parents’ full particulars alongside the child’s. It is the version foreign consulates and immigration authorities accept. It is also what Home Affairs now issues on registration.
My birth was never registered. What do I do?
Apply for a late registration of birth. From age 15, that means Forms DHA-24, DHA-24/A in duplicate and DHA-288, plus proof of birth.
What to watch
Two things could change this page. The first is any published amendment to the Home Affairs tariff schedule, which would finally put a public figure against the copy fee. The second is the child travel requirement itself, which has been amended repeatedly since 2015 and remains politically contested between Home Affairs and the tourism sector. Any new departmental advisory or amendment to the Immigration Regulations dealing with parentage documents for minors would trigger an update, as would a correction to either of the two conflicting government pages described above.
