Registration is the recording of a vital event by a Local District Registrar (LDR). This record is then transfered to the Registrar General's Department's vaults within six weeks.

The registration of births is the responsibilty of the child's parents if the child was born outside of a hospital or  the Chief Resident Officer if the birth occured in a hospital or a birthing centre. Every parent must note the following before their child is registered: 

• The parent(s) should ensure that the name of the child is decided upon by the time he / she is due to be delivered. It is advantageous for the child to be named at the time of registration, or as short a time as possible thereafter.
• The registration of the birth of the child must not be delayed. The Local District Registrar (LDR) office nearest to the place of birth must be attended as soon as possible in order to complete birth registration.
• All birth registrations taking place over three months require an informant to attend the LDR office and sign the form.
• All registrations taking place after one year of occurrence are considered “Late Registrations”, and require authorisation from the Registrar General.