Birth certificate in Brazil: how to register a child step by step

A birth is registered at a cartório de registro civil (a registry office) within 15 days: at the place of birth or the parents’ place of residence. You need the declaration of live birth (DNV) from the maternity hospital, the parents’ documents and, if they are married, a marriage certificate. The first registration and first copy of the certificate carry no fee. Some maternity hospitals register the baby on site.

Where and by when should a birth be registered?

Under Lei 6.015/1973 (the public registries law), a birth is registered where the birth took place or where the parents live. If you came only to give birth, the first option will be useful.

The father or the mother must declare the birth, together or separately (art. 52, item 1), but the father’s name is entered in the record only if paternity is confirmed under civil law (art. 54, § 2). When neither can, the nearest relative declares it, and then the maternity hospital’s administration or the doctor who attended the birth (art. 52).

How paternity is confirmed at registration points in maternity hospitals is set out in the CNJ norms (art. 451, § 1 and art. 452, § 3). If the parents are married, the presumption of paternity applies (Código Civil, art. 1.597). If not, the father declares the birth himself or issues an authorization in advance in a public document. If the child is registered only under the mother (for example, she is not married and came alone), she may state the details of the presumed father in a separate statement.

A maternity hospital may have a registration point linked to the city’s cartório: then the mother and baby go home already with the certificate (Lei 6.015, art. 54, § 5; CNJ norms, art. 445).

The record is made at the cartório of the city where the parents live, if it is connected to the system, and, at the applicant’s written choice, the record is made by the cartório of the city where the birth took place. If the cartório of the place of residence is not connected and there is no choice, the applicant will be told to go there directly (CNJ, art. 453, § 1 and 2). If you live in a neighboring city in Greater Florianópolis, ask about this at the maternity hospital in advance.

At Maternidade Carmela Dutra such a cartório operates at the main entrance, and it receives people on weekdays from 9 to 16. You do not need to wait for discharge: the baby can be registered as soon as the pediatricians issue the DNV (the hospital’s page).

Which documents are needed?

• The DNV (Declaração de Nascido Vivo, the declaration of live birth): it is issued by the health professional responsible for the pregnancy, the birth or the newborn (Lei 12.662/2012, art. 3, § 1);
• an ID document of the applicant and of the parents who take part in the registration;
• a marriage certificate, if the parents are married;
• the mother’s statement about the child’s father (termo): she names the presumed father or declines to name him when the record is made only under the mother.

The list repeats the CNJ norms for points in maternity hospitals (CNJ, art. 453). The DNV number is entered in the record (Lei 6.015, art. 54, item 10), but the document does not replace the registration itself (Lei 12.662/2012, art. 3, § 2).

The registrars’ association, in its list (a post of January 13, 2022), adds proof of the address of the father or mother and a power of attorney if someone else comes on a parent’s behalf (Registro Civil). These documents are not in the CNJ’s mandatory list (art. 453), so ask the cartório. Which foreign documents a particular cartório will accept, and whether an apostille and translation are needed for a marriage certificate issued abroad, find out by phone in advance.

How is the name recorded?

To the person’s own name (prenome) the parents’ surnames, or their ancestors’, are added in any order. If the applicant did not give the full name, the registrar will add at least one surname of each parent. A name that would expose a person to ridicule is not recorded by the registrar: if the parents disagree, a judge decides. After the record is made, either parent has 15 days to challenge the chosen name or surnames in writing; if the parents agree, the record is corrected at the cartório, and if not, a judge decides (art. 55, as amended by Lei 14.382/2022).

Check how the parents’ names and surnames are written in their passports before signing the record. An obvious error can later be corrected at the cartório itself on a written application, without a court and without the prosecutor’s opinion (art. 110), but it is better not to get to corrections.

What will be in the certificate?

The record includes, among other things, the date, time and place of birth, the child’s name, the parents’ details, the DNV number and the naturalidade field: at the applicant’s choice, this is the municipality of birth or the municipality where the mother lived on the day of the birth, if it is in Brazil (art. 54, § 4; CNJ, art. 474). The child’s CPF (tax number) must be entered in the certificate (CNJ, art. 477); if the number is missing, ask the cartório how to have it entered.

Copies come in several kinds: a full copy of the record (inteiro teor), a short one (em resumo) and answers to specific questions (em relatório; art. 19). Which kind you need will be told by the organization you submit the document to.

How much do copies cost, and how do you get another one?

The absence of a fee for the first registration and first copy is set out in Lei 9.534/1997. Later copies are paid, and the cartório names the amount. Low-income people are by law exempt from paying for later copies too, and poverty is confirmed by their own statement (Lei 6.015, art. 30, § 1 and 2).

You can order a copy at the same place or on the national Registro Civil portal: it is named as the official way to obtain repeat certificates. The Polícia Federal (PF) accepts digital certificates if their authenticity is confirmed on this portal (PF page). If you need the document abroad, you will need an apostille. The order of all the steps for a baby is collected on the page “Newborn documents”.

What we don’t guarantee

• that a particular cartório will accept foreign documents in the form in which you prepared them;
• amounts: the cost of additional copies is named by the cartório;
• that the document lists will not change: the data are given as of October 3, 2026.

When you need a lawyer

Consult a lawyer if the registration deadline has been missed, the parents disagree about the name, the data in documents do not match, the child was born outside a maternity hospital, there are questions about paternity, or questions have arisen about the citizenship of the child and the parents. More on citizenship: the section “Citizenship and residency”.

If you need help with the language and the order of steps, you can write to Katerina.