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Practical guides · The law

Can I get a birth certificate without the father’s name?

Yes. In India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, the law or the official procedure lets you register the birth with your name alone. In Laos and Myanmar, registration is open to every child, but we found no text that says how the father’s line is filled in.

Checked October 2026One section for each country

Register the birth as soon as you can. The birth certificate proves your child’s age, and it is the first document for school, health care and a passport. In most of these countries it is free if you register on time.

India

  • Who registers: since the 2023 amendment to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1969, section 8(1)(ab), a single parent or unwed mother is the person who gives the information. In a hospital, the medical officer reports the birth (section 8(1)(b)).
  • The father’s name: you do not have to give it. In ABC v. State (NCT of Delhi) (6 July 2015), the Supreme Court said a single mother may be asked only for an affidavit (a sworn statement) that the child was born to her, and the registrar must then issue the certificate. In 2021 the Kerala High Court ordered a separate form with no father fields for a single woman who had a child by donor treatment.
  • The certificate: the registrar gives it free, on paper or electronically, within 7 days of registration (section 12). For children born since the 2023 amendment, it is the proof of date and place of birth for school, Aadhaar and a passport (section 17(3)).
  • Late registration: after 30 days and within one year, you need the written permission of the District Registrar, a fee and a self-attested document. After one year, you need an order from a District Magistrate, a Sub-Divisional Magistrate or an authorised Executive Magistrate (section 13).
  • Passport: since the Ministry of External Affairs changed the rules in December 2016, the form needs the name of only one parent, and the father’s name need not be printed. The same Supreme Court judgment (2015) says the father’s name is not needed for a child’s passport or for school admission.

Malaysia

  • The law: the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 (Act 299) covers Peninsular Malaysia. Sabah and Sarawak have their own laws. The office is the National Registration Department (JPN).
  • The deadline: report the birth within 60 days (section 8). After that, a late registration procedure applies (section 12).
  • The father’s name: under section 13, for a child of unmarried parents, no man can be required to give information as the father. The registrar enters a man’s name as father only if you and he ask together, and he signs the register with you. If you register alone, the father’s name stays blank.
  • The surname: under section 13A, the child may take your surname when you are the informant, or the father’s if he acknowledged the child under section 13.
  • If you are Muslim: a National Fatwa Committee ruling of 1981 says a child born out of wedlock is named “bin” or “binti Abdullah”. A Ministry of Health Selangor leaflet (2010) says another of the names of God beginning with “Abdul” may be used instead. On 13 February 2020 the Federal Court ordered “bin Abdullah” removed from one boy’s certificate, but held, by 4 votes to 3, that a Muslim child born out of wedlock cannot carry the biological father’s name.

Indonesia

  • The office: the civil registry, Dukcapil. The birth certificate is the akta kelahiran.
  • The deadline: report the birth within 60 days (Law No. 23 of 2006 on Population Administration, article 27(1)). After 60 days, you need a decision from the head of the local civil registry, not a court order (Law No. 24 of 2013, article 32(1)).
  • The cost: the akta kelahiran is free (Law No. 24 of 2013, article 79A).
  • The father’s name: under article 49(2) of the same law, the father can recognise the child at the civil registry only if you had a religious marriage that is not yet registered. Without that, his name cannot be added by a simple statement at the office. The Indonesian Ulema Council said in Fatwa No. 11 of 2012 that these children should get birth certificates easily, without naming the man.

Thailand

  • The office: the civil registrar, under the Civil Registration Act B.E. 2534 (1991).
  • The father’s name: Thai embassies, which apply the same Act abroad, say that both parents must come if the father is to be named or the child is to take his surname. If the child takes your surname, a statement from you alone is enough. So you can register alone, with the father not named.
  • What the name does not do: a father’s name on the certificate does not by itself make him the legal father. That needs marriage, a registration with your consent, or a court judgment (Civil and Commercial Code, section 1547). See the father’s name and support.

Vietnam

  • The deadline: the father or mother registers the birth within 60 days (Law on Civil Status No. 60/2014/QH13, article 15(1)).
  • The office: the commune People’s Committee.
  • The father’s name: when the father is not determined, the father’s part of the register and of the birth certificate is left blank. The child’s surname, ethnicity, home town and nationality follow yours (Decree 123/2015/ND-CP, article 15). If the father asks to recognise the child at the same time, both are done together.
  • Documents and cost: you do not need a marriage certificate. Registration on time is free. The fee for late registration is set by the province.

Cambodia

The Law on Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identification was promulgated on 1 July 2023. Its official text is in Khmer only; the points below come from that text.

  • The office: the commune or sangkat where the child was born, or where you live (article 18).
  • The deadline: 30 days from the day after the birth (article 19). The mother is the first person the law names to report it (article 20).
  • The father’s name: “the civil registrar shall not refuse an application for birth registration because information relating to the father or mother is lacking” (article 25(4)). The minimum is the child’s name, sex, and date and place of birth (article 25(2)).
  • The cost: the first birth certificate is free (article 27(1)).
  • Be accurate: giving false information for civil registration is punished with 1 to 6 months in prison and a fine of 1 to 3 million riel (article 171). Never name a man as father who is not.
  • When he is named: under the Civil Code 2007, article 998, a man who registers the birth as father, or lets his name be entered and signs or thumbprints the register, has acknowledged the child.

Laos

  • The law: the Law on Family Registration (2009), amended in 2018. We could not find its English text.
  • How it works: the village head issues a birth certificate when told of the birth, and the parents register with the family registration office within 30 days. Early registration is free. The national authority is the Department of Citizen Management at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
  • The father’s name: we could not find an official text that says whether a birth can be registered with the father left blank. For a child of unmarried parents, the father’s acknowledgement is a separate document, a “Certificate of acknowledgement” from the Family Registration Office where the mother lives.

Myanmar

  • The law: under the Child Rights Law 2019, section 21, every child born in the country has the right to free birth registration, without discrimination. Parents, guardians or “any relevant person” tell the government department.
  • The office: in practice, the Township Public Health Department issues the birth certificate.
  • Late registration: a recommendation from the ward or village-tract administrator, or a hospital delivery certificate, supports it (section 21(d)).
  • The father’s name: the law does not ask for the father’s details or for a marriage. We found no official text that says how the father’s line is filled in for an unmarried mother. Since 2021, health and registration services have been badly disrupted in many areas.

Checked October 2026. Laws change: check the rules in force in your country with the registration office. We did not find passport rules for a child with one parent named, except for India.

Sources

  • India: Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1969, ss. 8, 12, 13, 17, as amended by Act No. 20 of 2023 (Gazette of India); ABC v. State (NCT of Delhi), Civil Appeal No. 5003 of 2015, Supreme Court, 6 July 2015, para 19; X v. State of Kerala, WP(C) 13622/2021, Kerala High Court, 13 August 2021; Ministry of External Affairs, announcement of new passport rules, December 2016, checked October 2026.
  • Malaysia: Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 (Act 299), ss. 8, 12, 13, 13A (Attorney General’s Chambers, reprint 2018); Ministry of Health Selangor leaflet on anak tak sah taraf, 2010; Federal Court, 13 February 2020 (as reported), checked October 2026.
  • Indonesia: Law No. 23 of 2006 on Population Administration, art. 27; Law No. 24 of 2013, arts 32, 49, 79A; MUI Fatwa No. 11 of 2012, checked October 2026.
  • Thailand: Civil Registration Act B.E. 2534; Civil and Commercial Code, s. 1547; Royal Thai Embassies in Seoul, London and Canberra, birth registration pages, checked October 2026.
  • Vietnam: Law on Civil Status No. 60/2014/QH13, art. 15; Decree 123/2015/ND-CP, art. 15, checked October 2026.
  • Cambodia: Law on Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identification, 1 July 2023, arts 18 to 20, 25, 27, 171 (official Khmer text, Open Development Cambodia); Civil Code 2007, art. 998, checked October 2026.
  • Laos: Law on Family Registration 2009, amended 2018; UK Home Office, Laos country profile, April 2026; Embassy of Switzerland, birth of a child to unmarried parents in Laos, June 2025, checked October 2026.
  • Myanmar: Child Rights Law 2019 (Law No. 22/2019), s. 21; Embassy of Switzerland, birth of a child to unmarried parents in Myanmar, June 2025, checked October 2026.

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