Registering your baby’s birth is one of the more straightforward things you’ll do as a new parent, which is fortunate, because you’ll be doing it on roughly four hours of sleep.
There are two deadlines, and the second one catches people out constantly.
The two deadlines
|
|---|
| What |
By when |
Where |
| Register the birth |
42 days from the date of birth |
LifeSG app or life.gov.sg |
| Download the digital birth certificate |
90 days after registration |
ICA e-Service |
The 42 days runs from your baby’s actual date of birth, not the due date. And failing to register within it’s an offence under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, with a fine and/or imprisonment. So it isn’t a soft deadline, even though 42 days sounds generous while you’re in the newborn fog.
The second one is the one people miss. Once registered, you’ve 90 days to download the digital certificate. Do it the same week. It takes two minutes and the alternative is a needless administrative headache later.
How to register
Everything is online now. Maternity hospitals stopped providing birth registration on 29 May 2022, so there’s no counter to visit and no form to collect on the ward.
- Go to the LifeSG app, or life.gov.sg. This is the only route, whatever your nationality, immigration status or marital status.
- Log in with Singpass.
- Enter your baby’s details: name, sex, date and time of birth, place of birth. If your baby was born in a hospital, the hospital has already supplied the date, time and place, so you won’t need to enter those.
- Enter both parents’ details: name, identification number, date of birth, country and place of birth, nationality, race and dialect group.
- Upload any supporting documents requested (see below).
- Pay the S$18 fee by credit card, debit card or PayNow.
- Wait for the notification, then download the certificate.
Straightforward registrations go through quickly. Where ICA needs to verify something, allow around three working days.
What to have ready
- Both parents’ NRIC, or passport and FIN card for foreign parents
- Your marriage certificate, if requested
- Passport biodata pages, where a parent is a foreigner
- Your baby’s name: decided, spelled correctly, and agreed between you
That last one isn’t a joke. Names are the single most common source of birth-certificate regret, and correcting one afterwards costs money and paperwork. Check the spelling twice before you submit.
What it costs
S$18, which covers both the registration and the issuing of the digital birth certificate. Payable at the point of registration by card or PayNow.
Downloading the certificate
Since 29 May 2022, birth certificates in Singapore are digital. There’s no physical certificate to collect, and no laminated card to lose in a drawer for twenty years.
Once registration is approved you’ll get a notification, and you download the certificate from ICA’s e-Service. You’ve 90 days.
Save it properly when you do. Keep a copy somewhere you’ll find it in five years: cloud storage, a password manager, wherever your important documents live. You’ll want it for school registration, passports, insurance and a dozen other things.
Getting the name right
A few things to settle before you sit down to register, not during:
- Spelling and order exactly as you want it to appear for the rest of your child’s life.
- An ethnic name alongside an English one, if you want both recorded.
- Hanyu Pinyin, if applicable. Decide whether you want it included.
- Race and dialect group for both parents.
If you need to change it afterwards
It’s possible, but narrow:
- Your child must be under 1 year old.
- The name must not have been altered before. It’s a one-time change.
- It costs S$33 for the application, plus S$18 for a new digital birth certificate.
- You’ll need both parents’ NRIC (or foreign passport and FIN card), and a signed letter of consent from the other parent, or a court order if consent can’t be obtained.
- Apply online at go.gov.sg/ica-acn. Allow about three working days.
After the first birthday, it becomes a much more involved legal process. If you’ve doubts about the name, resolve them well before then.
If your baby isn’t automatically a Singapore Citizen
Registering the birth and establishing your child’s citizenship or immigration status are two separate things. Register the birth first, within the 42 days, regardless of status.
Where a child isn’t a Singapore Citizen at birth, you’ll separately need to regularise their stay, a Dependant’s Pass, Long-Term Visit Pass or similar depending on the parents’ status, or apply for citizenship if eligible. Those applications have their own requirements and timelines.
Check your specific situation directly with ICA. Family circumstances vary enormously here, and this is exactly the area where general advice from a forum goes wrong.
If your documents aren’t in English
Where a supporting document, a foreign marriage certificate or a foreign birth certificate, isn’t in English, ICA requires a certified English translation submitted alongside the original.
The certification route is what counts, not who did the translation. ICA accepts translations that are:
- Produced by the embassy of the country that issued the document
- Produced by a notary public, in Singapore or in the issuing country
- Privately translated and then attested by the issuing country’s embassy
- Privately translated and then notarised by a notary public, in Singapore or the issuing country
ICA doesn’t endorse any particular translation company. Plenty of firms advertise themselves as “ICA-approved”. No such approval exists. What you’re paying for is a translation that then goes through one of the four certification routes above. Check that whoever you engage delivers that, and be sceptical of anyone claiming official status they can’t have.
Registering a stillbirth
This is included because parents who need it are rarely in any state to go hunting for the information, and it works differently from a birth registration.
- You don’t need to register it yourself. A stillbirth is registered automatically once a doctor certifies it online.
- There’s no fee, for either the registration or the digital stillbirth certificate.
- The hospital will give you the certificate number, the mother’s identification document number, and the date of the stillbirth.
- Use those to download the certificate from the My Legacy website, within 30 days.
- Digital stillbirth certificates apply to stillbirths certified from 29 May 2022 onwards.
If you’re reading this section for your own reasons, we’re very sorry. If the 30 days passes while you’re grieving, contact ICA instead of assuming you’ve lost the opportunity.
Common questions
How long do I have to register my baby’s birth in Singapore?
42 days from the date of birth. This runs from your baby’s actual birth date, not the due date. Failing to register within 42 days is an offence under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act and carries a fine and/or imprisonment.
Where do I register my baby’s birth?
Online only, through the LifeSG app or life.gov.sg, logging in with Singpass. Maternity hospitals stopped providing birth registration on 29 May 2022, so there’s no counter to visit. This applies to all parents regardless of nationality, immigration status or marital status.
How much does birth registration cost in Singapore?
S$18, which covers both the registration and the issuing of the digital birth certificate. You pay at the point of registration by credit card, debit card or PayNow.
How do I get my baby’s birth certificate?
Birth certificates are digital. After your registration is approved you’ll receive a notification, and you download the certificate from ICA’s e-Service. You’ve 90 days to do so, so do it in the same week. Save a copy somewhere you’ll still be able to find it years later.
Can I change my child’s name on the birth certificate?
Yes, if your child is under 1 year old and the name hasn’t been altered before, since it’s a one-time change. It costs S$33 for the application plus S$18 for a new digital birth certificate, and you’ll need both parents’ identification and a signed letter of consent from the other parent, or a court order. Apply online at go.gov.sg/ica-acn and allow about three working days.
Do I still need to register the birth if my baby isn’t a Singapore Citizen?
Yes. Registering the birth is required regardless of your child’s citizenship or immigration status, and is separate from regularising their stay or applying for citizenship. Register within the 42 days first, then deal with status separately, checking your specific circumstances with ICA.
Does ICA approve particular translation companies?
No. ICA doesn’t endorse any private translation company, so treat claims of being “ICA-approved” with scepticism. What ICA accepts is the certification route: a translation by the issuing country’s embassy, by a notary public in Singapore or the issuing country, or a private translation subsequently attested by that embassy or notarised by a notary public.
How long does birth registration take to process?
Straightforward registrations are processed quickly. Where ICA needs to verify something, allow around three working days.
The short checklist
- Agree the name, and check the spelling twice.
- Register on LifeSG within 42 days of the birth. Pay S$18.
- Download the digital certificate within 90 days. Do it the same week.
- Save it somewhere you’ll find it again.
- If your child isn’t a Citizen, sort out their status separately.
Then go back to sleep. You’ve earned it.
More for new parents in Singapore
Process, deadlines and fees per ICA’s birth registration guidance, ICA on altering a child’s name and ICA on stillbirth registration. Checked August 2026. Government fees and procedures do change. Confirm current requirements on ICA’s own site before you act, particularly for anything involving citizenship or immigration status.
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