Sri Lanka on Wednesday launched a pilot project to deliver national birth certificates through the Sri Lanka Postal Courier Service, the Department of Registrar General announced.

The initiative was inaugurated at the Gampaha District Secretariat under the patronage of Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government Chandana Abeyratne. It marks the beginning of a coordinated effort between the Registrar General’s Department and the Postal Department to ensure secure, accurate, and timely delivery of official documents.

The program is being implemented under the “e-Civil Registration Programme,” through which birth certificates are now issued for children born after January 1, 2021. Officials said the postal partnership would help deliver the documents efficiently to citizens.

Minister Abeyratne described the project as a historic milestone, noting that an official memorandum of understanding will be signed with the Postal Department for its implementation. He said the initiative reflects the government’s broader commitment to digitization and administrative modernization, ensuring faster service delivery for citizens.

The minister added that, under the new system, a child who turns 15 will receive the same birth certificate number as their national identity card number. Nonessential details in the birth record will also be removed to streamline documentation.

The pilot phase will be conducted this month in 10 divisional secretariats — Gampaha, Attanagalla, Dehiwala, Kaduwela, Kalutara, Horana, Panadura, Kurunegala, Ratnapura, and Wellawaya. (Newswire)

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The government has announced a new initiative to issue copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates to Sri Lankans living abroad through Sri Lankan embassies, aimed at providing greater convenience to the expatriate community.

According to the President’s Media Division (PMD), the program will be launched as a pilot project across seven selected foreign missions, including the embassies in Kuwait, Japan, and Qatar, and the consulates in Melbourne (Australia), Toronto (Canada), Milan (Italy), and Dubai (UAE).

In Sri Lanka, efforts are underway to enhance the e-BMD (electronic Birth, Marriage, and Death) database system, which is jointly managed by the Registrar General’s Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This will allow birth, marriage, and death certificates to be issued through foreign embassies, following a model already in place for obtaining certificates at Divisional Secretariat offices across Sri Lanka.

Under the initial phase, only approximately 45 million birth, marriage, and death certificates that have already been scanned and stored in the e-BMD system will be issued. 

These will include records for births, marriages, and deaths that have been registered since January 1, 1960. While the majority of these records will be available, there may be occasional delays in updating certificates that have been revised after their initial entry into the database. (Newswire)

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The Online Authentication Portal of the Consular Affairs Division for Birth, Marriage, and Death certificates was launched at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

Taking to ‘X’, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said that two years ago, when taking charge of the ministry, the demand for these services resulted in massive crowds and overnight queues.

He said as an initial measure to address this issue, the Foreign Ministry introduced online appointments through the eChanneling portal, significantly reducing public inconvenience. 

“Our journey began with certifying documents from the Examinations Department, a significant milestone. We then expanded to include documents from the Registrar General’s Department,” he said.

Minister Ali Sabry pointed out that currently, the ministry can complete online certification for 50-55% of documents. 

“Our commitment doesn’t end here. We are determined to achieve the capability to certify all documents online, providing an enormous benefit to the public,” he added. (Newswire)

Fore more details visit: http://consular.mfa.gov.lk:90/rgd_web/

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The first digital birth certificate in Sri Lanka was issued today (Dec 05), the Ministry of Home Affairs announced. 

Issuing a statement, the Ministry said the digital birth certificate was issued under the patronage of State Minister of Home Affairs Ashoka Priyantha at the Kalutara District Secretariat.

Addressing the event, State Minister Ashoka Priyantha said that the digital birth certificate programme which was launched in Kalutara will be expanded to other areas soon. 

He further said that the number contained on the digital birth certificate will also be utilized as the National Identity Card (NIC) number as per international standards and practice. (NewsWire)

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All duplicate copies of birth, death and marriage certificates in Sri Lanka do not require a validity period, the Registrar General’s Department has announced.

Issuing a statement, the department reiterated that all duplicate copies of birth, death and marriage certificates will be accepted without time limitation.

The department stated that a decision has been made to amend the earlier requirement of a validity period of six months from the date of issue of the documents.

As per the latest decision, all certificate copies issued by the department will be accepted without any limitation on the validity period.

The Registrar General’s Department has notified the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Immigration and the Department of Registration of Persons in this regard.

The public has been advised to only obtain fresh copies of the relevant documents only if they require alterations to the certificates.

Those with existing copies of birth, marriage and death certificates in clear and good condition do not require to obtain fresh copies, the department added. (NewsWire)

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A new procedure has been introduced for issuing National Identity Cards (NIC) to individuals without birth certificates.

The Government Information Department stated that the new procedure has been introduced by the Department for Registration of Persons.

Accordingly, a circular with the necessary information has been issued by the Commissioner General of the department to all the Divisional Secretaries and the Grama Niladhari Officers.

As per the circular, two separate procedures will be followed for the issuance of NICs, based on those above 40 years and those below 40 years. (NewsWire)

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