Birth & death certificates no longer issued from May 29, replaced with digital copies

Beginning May 29, physical birth and death certificates will no longer be issued, as these will be replaced with digital copies. The document can be downloaded and stored on their devices within 90 days.

Members of the public have expressed that not everything should be digitalised, given the sentimental symbol of these certificates, among other reasons.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Sunday (May 8) that from May 29, parents can register the birth of their newborns through the LifeSG app or website. They will also receive instant notification to download the corresponding digital certificate.

About 80 per cent of all eligible births in Singapore has been registered digitally since the launch of the LifeSG app in June 2018, The Straits Times reported.

The process will be fully digitalised this month, although parents are still given 42 days to register their child’s birth and pay S$18 for the digital certificate.

The current process involves parents registering their child’s birth at the hospital where the baby is born or at ICA’s Registry of Births and Deaths. The physical certificate is claimed from the same venues.

Death registrations are also being streamlined to make post-death matters easier for affected relatives.

Medical practitioners will begin certifying the death online and register it in ICA’s system, compared to the current process of registering at public hospitals, neighbourhood police posts or ICA Building.

According to ICA, the digital certificates will come with QR codes for verification purposes.

“The digitalisation of the birth and death registration processes, and issuance of digital certificates will provide greater convenience for parents of newborns, and reduce administrative hassle for next of kin of the deceased so that they may focus on other immediate tasks on hand, such as funeral arrangements,” said ICA’s deputy commissioner of policy and transformation, Ms Cora Chen.

Meanwhile, members of the online community said some things should not be digitalised.

“When a loved one die, still where got mood to print out death certificates? Hope the authority can u-turn this decision. Physical copy should be given to the family for other purposes too,” said Facebook user WyinMimi Lee, her comment receiving over 80 likes.

“It’s getting easier to delete you out of existence. Just a click of a button, and you cease to exist,” said Facebook user Jason Than.

Other concerns involve using digital certificates abroad or by the elderly who are not tech-savvy. /TISG

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