THE REGISTRAR General's Department (RGD) was first established in 1879 in Jamaica's old capital - Spanish Town. It was located at the Rodney Memorial Buildings in Spanish Town up to the time of the removal in July 1996. Duplicate records are still housed in that location.
Compulsory registration began in 1878. Prior to this all registers containing transcripts of births, baptisms, marriages and deaths were kept by the Church of England and these date back to 1664.
The RGD plays a key role in national development as it is the organisation that is responsible for registering births, still births, marriages and deaths, also known as vital events.
Effective this week THE STAR along with the Jamaica Information Service will be providing information to do with the RGD. This week we kick things off with information on how to register a hospital birth.
If your baby is born in a hospital, the hospital's medical records officer who visits the delivery ward will usually interview you. He/ she will ask questions such as your name, age, place of residence and the number of children you have.
The information you give to the medical records officer will be used to complete the Notification of Births Form.
NAMING THE BABY
You may name the baby at this point. Please ensure that you have the correct spelling of the name. If you choose not to name the baby in the hospital the certificate of naming will be detached from the form and given to you. You must visit the local District Registrar within two weeks of discharge from the hospital to name the baby.
If you are married the notification will be completed with both the information about the mother and the father. In the case where the mother is not married to the father, the father must be present to sign the Notification so that his particulars can be added.
The mother is then asked to check the Notification to ensure that the information is correct. If she is in agreement with the information on the Notification she will then sign the form. She is then given a Certificate of Naming form, which she is required to take to the local District Registrar (LDR) who will register the birth. When the mother goes to the LDR she will then give the name of the child and complete the registration.
Once the Registration is completed the mother will be given a certificate of registry or 'pink slip'. The certificate of registry is very important, as it has the birth entry number. You may apply to the RGD six weeks after registration for a copy of the birth certificate.
For more information please contact the RGD at:
Head Office
Twickenham Park,
St. Catherine
Tel. 984-3041, Fax 749-6458
Western Regional Office 221/2 Humber Ave.
Montego Bay
Tel. 971-8556-8 Fax 971-8559
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