The Ministry of Education and the Central Electoral Board (JCE) have signed an agreement in which public schools would help parents carry out late birth registrations for their children free of charge. The decision was taken after studies showed that 24% of children under five years old born to Dominican parents have not been registered. Under the agreement, schools will admit children without birth certificates. The schools will then provide the parents with a form to be filled out to request the birth certificate. Parents will have to provide: 1) A hospital birth notification or a certificate from the town official legalized by the municipality of the place of birth 2) Photocopies of the parents’ IDs 3) Baptism certificate 4) 2 frontal photos 2×2 A formal registration will later be carried out by the state civil registrar in the place of birth. If the parents are not married, the father alone may appear. If only one of the parents does the formal registration, both original ID cards (cedulas) of the parents are required. If the parents are married, either may appear presenting proof of marriage. The investigating officer will issue the document after verifying that a previous birth certificate has not been issued.
