Civil registration

The United Nations defines civil registration as the continuous, permanent, compulsory and universal recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events pertaining to the population as provided through decree or regulation in accordance with the legal requirements of a country.

In most countries, a government registration office is the depository of the particulars of certain vital events, such as births, marriages and deaths of its citizens and residents that take place within its jurisdiction. Which vital events are recorded on the register of each jurisdiction may vary, and may include live birth, death, foetal death, name, change of name, marriage, divorce, annulment of marriage, judicial separation of marriage, adoption, legitimization and recognition. A family register is a type of civil register which is more concerned with events within the family unit and is common in some Continental European such as Germany (Familienbuch), France, Spain, and in Asian countries, such as China (Hukou), Japan (Koseki), and North and South Korea (Hoju).

The relevant government registration office may be referred to in each jurisdiction by various names, such as civil registry, civil register (but this is also an official term for an individual file of a vital event), vital records, and other terms, and the office responsible for receiving the registrations can be called a bureau of vital statistics, registry of vital records and statistics, registrar, registry, register, registry office (officially register office), or population registry.

On application, the government office will prepare legal documents (usually called a ) that can be used to establish relevant facts and used to protect various rights of individuals. Another purpose is to create a data source for the compilation of vital statistics. However, the accuracy of the information on the certificates is entirely based on the information that had been disclosed to the government office during the registration stage. The most common legal documents that may be issued by the registration office are birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage certificates.

The United Nations General Assembly in 1979 adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Article 16 of which requires countries to establish compulsory civil registration of marriages. Most countries have a legal requirement for a relevant authority to be notified of certain life events, such as births, marriages and deaths.

Civil registration is carried out primarily for the purpose of establishing the legal documents required by law. These records are also a main source of vital statistics. Complete coverage, accuracy and timelines of civil registration are essential to ensure the quality of vital statistics."

Additionally, in some countries, immigration, emigration, and any change of residence may require notification. A register of residents is a type of civil register primarily concerned with the current residence.