Birth of a child outside a medical facility – how to register a newborn

State registration of a child's birth is the parents' obligation, which must be fulfilled promptly, but no later than one month from the date of birth. At the same time, under martial law conditions, there are cases when women give birth outside healthcare facilities — at home, in shelters, or during displacement.

The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, together with the Coordination Center for Free Legal Aid, provided clarifications regarding the procedure for registering such cases and obtaining a birth certificate.

Documents for state registration of birth

The basis for state registration of birth is documents determined by the Ministry of Health that confirm the fact of the child's birth.

According to the Rules for State Registration of Civil Status Acts in Ukraine, such documents include, in particular:

• a medical birth certificate generated in the Registry of Medical Conclusions of the electronic healthcare system;
• a medical birth certificate (form No. 103/o);
• a medical certificate of the child's stay under the supervision of a medical institution (form No. 103-1/o).

For registering the birth of a child born outside a medical facility, an additional conclusion confirming the fact of birth outside a healthcare facility must be submitted. Its form is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine resolution dated 09.01.2013 No. 9.

Confirmation of birth without medical personnel involvement

If the child was born without medical supervision and no initial examination was conducted, the fact of birth is confirmed by a medical advisory commission established at the structural units of healthcare of regional state administrations.

An application to the commission must be submitted no later than one week from the date of the child's birth. It can be submitted by parents, relatives, other legal representatives, or representatives of the child services. The application should include available documents confirming the fact of birth, including identity documents of the applicant, examination results during pregnancy, and medical documents regarding the mother and child.

If there is no medical examination of the mother or child, the commission issues a referral for its conduct.

Within ten calendar days from the receipt of the application, the commission reviews the submitted materials and makes a decision to confirm or deny the fact of birth. If necessary, a molecular genetic examination may be appointed.

The commission's conclusion together with the medical certificate form No. 103-1/o serves as the basis for state registration of birth in the civil registry offices.

Judicial procedure for establishing the fact of birth

If the deadline for applying to the medical advisory commission is missed or a refusal to confirm the fact of birth is received, it can be established through judicial procedure.

This procedure is also applied in cases when a child was born in temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, where state authorities temporarily do not exercise their powers. Cases on establishing the fact of birth are considered by courts without delay.

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