How to Get a Birth Certificate in Pakistan: Union Council, NADRA and Fees

A birth certificate in Pakistan is issued by local government, not by NADRA. The union council, municipal committee or cantonment board where the child was born registers the birth and prints the computerised certificate, and NADRA then asks for that certificate before it will issue a B-Form. In Punjab the e-Khidmat Markaz charges Rs 200, delivers in 7 working days, and sends any birth older than 7 years to court. Other provinces run the same structure through their own councils, with fees they do not publish online.

The clerk at the passport counter looks at the handwritten slip from the union council, hands it back, and asks for the computerised one. That single exchange is why most people search for this, and the answer starts with which document you were actually holding. We read the Punjab e-Khidmat service page, the Dastak portal and NADRA's own child registration page on 17 September 2026, and the rules on them are set out below in the order you will meet them.

The word "birth certificate Pakistan" hides three documents, and a wasted trip usually means asking for one and being handed another. NADRA's Child Registration Certificate page is unambiguous about which one it needs: a Computerized Birth Registration Certificate issued by the Union Council, Municipal Committee or Cantonment, according to the CRC requirements on nadra.gov.pk. So the local certificate comes first, every time.

Which birth document do you actually need?

Three exist, two of them are the same record, and the third is a different thing. The union council registers the birth and issues a certificate; the computerised version is that same entry printed from the civil registration system; and NADRA's B-Form is the child's identity document, which is built on the certificate and does not replace it.

The order matters. NADRA's page lists the computerised certificate as the requirement for a CRC, and its FAQ asks "Can a CRC be issued if the child's birth is not registered with the Union Council?", which tells you the counter checks. Register the birth first. The B-Form's own rules, stages and fee are in NADRA B-Form requirements and the new three stage system.

Is the handwritten certificate worthless? No. For a school it is usually enough, and it is the proof you take to get the computerised one. It just stops at the border.

Where do you apply for a birth certificate in each province?

At the local government office for the place of birth, which is a provincial subject and so differs by province. The councils hold the register; the province decides the counter, the fee and the deadlines. Here is what each province publishes, and where it publishes nothing.

Punjab is the province that has written its rules down, so it gets its own section below. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Local Government Department states that under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Amendment Act 2019, registration of births, deaths, marriages and divorces is the responsibility of the village council or neighbourhood council, and that is as far as its site goes; the detail page did not load for us.

Sindh is the gap. The Sindh Local Government Department website served us an empty page and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation lists no birth registration department, so we can tell you the structure, union councils and union committees in Karachi, but not a fee or a deadline from the authority itself. A claim has circulated since 2025 that six Sindh cities allow birth registration without a union council visit; we could not find which cities or an official notice, so ask at your own office before changing your plan.

How do you get a birth certificate in Punjab?

Through an e-Khidmat Markaz, the Dastak app, or the union council directly. The e-Khidmat service page publishes the fee, the documents and the deadlines, which is why Punjab is the one province where we can give you figures rather than a shrug.

• Within 60 days of the birth: the applicant's CNIC and the hospital's birth slip. Field office fee Rs 200.
• After 60 days and within 2 years: the father's, mother's and grandfather's CNICs as well. Fee Rs 200.
• A birth at home, or a registration between 60 days and 7 years: the page says to contact the nearest e-Khidmat Markaz, because the evidence is judged case by case.
• After 7 years: "All cases after 7 years must be processed through court."

Four conditions apply to every case on that page. Originals must come with photocopies attested by an officer of grade 17 or above. Both parents' marital status must be updated at NADRA, which means a marriage never registered with NADRA blocks the child's certificate; the fix is in registering a marriage and getting a NADRA marriage certificate. The case is processed from the district where it is registered. And a birth in a cantonment goes to the cantonment board, not the Markaz.

Delivery is 7 working days for the original certificate, issued by the relevant field office, and payment is cash in rupees. The Markaz opens Monday to Saturday, with a morning shift from 9:00 to 17:00 and an evening shift from 18:00 to midnight.

Dastak, Punjab's one window portal, lists Birth Certificate under its Local Government services with a choice of self service or doorstep delivery by a facilitator. Its published fee page covers driving licences only, so we cannot tell you what the doorstep option adds; the same portal delivers the death certificate and the domicile. What Dastak is, and how it differs from the KP portal of the same name, is in the two Dastak portals.

What documents does a birth registration need?

Proof the birth happened, proof of who the parents are, and a NADRA record that agrees with both. Punjab's list is the only published one, and it is a fair guide to what every council in the country will ask for.

1. Go to the office for the place of birth, not where you live now. A child born in a Lahore hospital whose family moved to Faisalabad is registered in Lahore. In Punjab the e-Khidmat page says the case is processed from the relevant district.
2. Take the hospital birth slip. A home birth has no slip, and Punjab routes those to the Markaz for a case by case decision.
3. Take both parents' original CNICs, and the grandfather's if the birth is over 60 days old in Punjab, with attested photocopies.
4. Check the parents' NADRA record first. If the marriage is not on it, fix that before applying, because Punjab's page makes it a condition.
5. Pay the fee and keep the receipt. Rs 200 in Punjab, in cash.
6. Collect the computerised certificate, then apply to NADRA for the B-Form with it.

Decide the English spelling of the child's name before step two, and use exactly that spelling on the slip, the certificate and the B-Form. NADRA's FAQ specifically asks what happens when the date of birth on the CRC differs from the union council certificate, which is the counter's way of saying it will stop the application. One document chain, one spelling, one date.

Can you register a birth years late?

Yes, and adults do it in their thirties to get a passport. There is no age at which a birth becomes unregistrable; what changes is the evidence and, past a point, the forum. Punjab's rule is the clearest: up to 7 years the Markaz decides, after 7 years a court does.

Expect to work harder than a new parent. Without a hospital slip, the council wants other evidence that the birth happened where and when you say:

• School leaving certificates or old admission records
• A vaccination card
• Parents' CNICs and, in Punjab, the grandfather's
• An affidavit, usually on stamp paper
• Sometimes a statement from local witnesses

The court route in Punjab is a declaration of the date and place of birth, which the council then registers. That is slower and costs lawyer's time, so anyone with a child between 2 and 7 who has not registered the birth should go now rather than wait for the seventh birthday to pass.

If no record can be created at all, ask about a non-availability of birth certificate, a formal statement that no registration exists. Some foreign processes accept it in place of a certificate. It is common practice rather than a rule we read on a government page, so ask the council for its own form of it.

What goes wrong most often?

The wrong office, the wrong spelling and the missing marriage record, in that order. All three cost a trip, and two of them cost years later.

1. Wrong council. Place of birth, not current address. Cantonment births go to the cantonment board.
2. Spelling that differs from the parents' CNICs. The mismatch surfaces at the B-Form, then at the passport.
3. Parents' marriage not in NADRA's record. Punjab makes it a condition and NADRA's own FAQ lists it as a block.
4. Handwritten certificate presented where the computerised one is required. Go back for the computerised print before the passport appointment.
5. Treating the B-Form as the birth certificate. It is built on the certificate and does not replace it.

If the office will not move, it answers to the provincial local government department, and the Prime Minister's portal reaches bodies at every level. The steps are in filing a complaint on the Pakistan Citizen's Portal. And once the certificate is right, the child's next document is the B-Form, followed for many families by a passport for the child, both of which copy the name and date from what you registered today.

Common questions about birth certificates in Pakistan

Where do I get a birth certificate in Pakistan?

From the union council, municipal committee or cantonment board for the place of birth. In Punjab an e-Khidmat Markaz or the Dastak portal can take the application. NADRA does not issue it; it requires it.

How much does a birth certificate cost?

Rs 200 in Punjab, per the e-Khidmat service page, both within 60 days and up to 2 years. Sindh, KP, Balochistan and Islamabad do not publish a fee on a page we could read, so confirm at the counter.

What is the difference between a birth certificate and a B-Form?

The birth certificate is local government's record that the birth happened. The B-Form is NADRA's identity document for the child, and NADRA requires the computerised birth certificate before issuing it.

Can I register a birth after many years?

Yes. In Punjab a birth up to 7 years old is handled at the e-Khidmat Markaz with extra evidence and anything older goes through a court. Other provinces follow the same pattern with their own thresholds.

How long does a birth certificate take?

Punjab's e-Khidmat page says 7 working days for the original certificate. Other provinces publish no timeline.

Can I apply for a birth certificate online?

In Punjab, through the Dastak portal or app, which offers self service or doorstep delivery. Elsewhere the union council visit is still the route, and the six Sindh cities said to skip it could not be confirmed.

What if a birth certificate was never issued and I need a passport?

Register the birth late at the council of the place of birth, or through a court if the province requires it, then get the computerised certificate and the B-Form or CNIC from NADRA.

Last checked and sources

Last checked 17 September 2026. We read the Punjab e-Khidmat Markaz Birth Certificate service page at ekhidmat.punjab.gov.pk, which gives the Rs 200 fee within 60 days and again from 60 days to 2 years, the document lists for each period, the rule that a home birth or a registration between 60 days and 7 years goes to the nearest Markaz, the rule that all cases after 7 years go through court, the grade 17 attestation requirement, the condition that both parents' marital status be updated at NADRA, the district and cantonment board routing, delivery in 7 working days, cash payment and the Markaz hours. We read the Dastak Punjab portal at dastak.punjab.gov.pk, whose Local Government service list includes the Birth Certificate with self service or doorstep delivery, and whose fee page covers driving licences only. We read NADRA's Child Registration Certificate page, through a rendering proxy because nadra.gov.pk refuses automated requests, which requires a Computerized Birth Registration Certificate from the Union Council, Municipal Committee or Cantonment for inland births and a Detailed Birth Certificate or S-1 Form for births abroad, and whose FAQ headings include birth not registered with the Union Council and a date of birth that differs from the Union Council certificate. We read the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Department homepage at lgkp.gov.pk, which places registration with the village council or neighbourhood council under the Local Government Amendment Act 2019; its detail page did not load. The Sindh Local Government Department site served an empty page and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation site lists no birth registration department, so no Sindh fee or deadline is stated and the six cities claim is reported and unconfirmed. The late registration evidence list and the non-availability certificate are common practice rather than a published rule.