Birth registration procedures for children born from surrogacy method

Legal situation: Due to infertility, my spouse and I desire to have a child through surrogacy for humanitarian reasons. However, we are unsure about how to proceed with the birth registration procedures in this case. We hope that FDVN Law Firm will provide us with guidance on how to register the birth of children born through surrogacy.

FDVN’s opinion:

Thank you for submitting your question to FDVN Law Firm (“FDVN”). In response to your consultation request, after researching relevant legal regulations, FDVN would like to present our opinion as follows:

The registration of births for children born through surrogacy is regulated by Decree 123/2015/ND-CP, specifically:

[1] The required documents need to be prepared

• Birth registration shall submit declarations made according to a set form 
• Birth certification papers to the civil status registration agency. If having no birth certification paper, a document of a witness certifying the birth shall be submitted; if there is no witness, there must be a written pledge of the birth.
• A certification issued by the health facility that conducts assisted reproductive technology in surrogacy procedures. The child’s parents sections shall be filled out according to the information of intended parents.

[2] The birth registration procedure is conducted as follows:

• Immediately after receiving full papers specified above, if seeing that the birth declaration is complete and proper, justice and civil status officers shall record birth registration contents under Clause 1, Article 14 of this Law in the civil status books and update them in the electronic civil status database and the national population database for getting personal identification numbers.
• Justice and civil status officers and birth registrants shall together sign in the civil status books. Chairpersons of commune-level People’s Committees shall grant birth certificates to birth registrants.

Additionally, the person registering the birth of the child should note the following deadline for birth registration:

Within 60 days after the birth of their child, the father or mother shall register the child’s birth; if the parents are unable to register their child’s birth, the grandfather or grandmother or another relative or the individual or organization that is nurturing the child shall register his/her birth. 

In cases where the birth registration is overdue, individuals may be reminded or subject to administrative penalties equivalent to the delay period.

The above is the advisory opinion of FDVN regarding your consultation request based on the research of legal regulations. We hope FDVN’s advisory opinion will be helpful to you.

Ho Thi Thuong – FDVN Law Firm