B-Form for a Child in Pakistan: The Rules NADRA Publishes (2026)

NADRA

Last Updated: August 2026

The B-Form, officially the Child Registration Certificate, is the document every school and passport office asks for. Most guides give you the fee and stop. Two things matter more. It expires three times before your child turns 18, and what NADRA captures changes at each step. And the Union Council birth certificate is mandatory, not waivable, whatever you may have read about NADRA relaxing it.

Two documents, not one

NADRA issues two identity documents to under-18s, both under Rule 18 of the NADRA (NIC) Rules, 2002: the Child Registration Certificate, which is the paper certificate everyone calls a B-Form, and the Juvenile Card, which is a card. They are alternatives, and NADRA confirms a child can apply for a Juvenile Card without ever having held a CRC.

The expiry ladder, and what changes at each rung

This is NADRA’s own table and it is published almost nowhere else. A CRC “expires upon reaching the ages of three (03), ten (10) and eighteen (18) years”, in NADRA’s words, and the biometrics taken step up as the child gets older.

Document	Age	Biometrics taken	Expires
CRC	Up to 3 years	None required. A photo is needed only if the CRC is for a passport	At age 3
CRC	3 to 10 years	Photograph and iris	At age 10
CRC	10 to 18 years	Photograph, fingerprints and iris	At age 18
Juvenile Card	Up to 10 years	Photograph and iris	At age 10
Juvenile Card	10 to 18 years	Photograph, fingerprints and iris	At age 18

Two things fall out of that table. Fingerprints are not taken until age 10, which is why an infant registration is so much simpler than people expect. And the expiry points are not renewals in the adult sense, they are the moments the record has to be rebuilt with more biometric detail.

Does your child have to be there?

NADRA answers this precisely, and the threshold is three years, not one, despite what several widely-copied guides say.

• Over 3 years old: presence is mandatory, for a CRC and for a Juvenile Card alike.
• Up to 3 years old: presence is required only if the CRC is being processed for passport issuance. That exception exists because a passport needs a CRC with a picture on it.

An adult has to attend either way. NADRA states that at least one parent or legal guardian must be present at the centre, and that a child in Pakistan cannot get a Juvenile Card processed while both parents are abroad.

The birth certificate is mandatory

Be careful here, because there is a real NADRA concession that does not apply to children and is widely misreported as though it does.

Asked whether a CRC can be issued if the child’s birth is not registered with the Union Council, NADRA answers no: a birth certificate issued by the relevant Union Council, Cantonment Board or CDA is a mandatory prerequisite. There is no route around it.

The concession people are thinking of is a different one. NADRA has waived the birth certificate requirement until 31 December 2026 for adults applying for a first CNIC with no birth record, and only where identity card numbers and biometric data of family members are provided. That is an adult CNIC rule. It does not touch child registration. See applying for a first CNIC.

For a birth abroad, the equivalent documents are an S1 form or a foreign birth certificate, and NADRA confirms children born abroad can obtain a CRC on that basis.

What it costs

Tier	Fee	Time
Normal Most common	PKR 50	7 days
Executive	PKR 500	1 day
Urgent	Not offered for this document

Delivery within Pakistan is charged separately at PKR 165. Cancellation of a CRC on death is free and takes one day. See NADRA fees for the full schedule.

Situations NADRA has answered directly

Situation	NADRA’s answer
Only one parent available	Yes. Any parent, or a legal guardian holding a guardianship certificate, may apply
The father is a foreign national	Yes. The CRC is issued on the mother’s identity, with supporting documents and verification if required
Adoptive parents, no court order	No. A guardianship certificate from the Guardian court is required
Both parents live overseas	Apply from a NADRA centre abroad, a Pakistani mission, or the PakID app
Parents’ marriage not recorded with NADRA	The marriage record has to be updated first
Date of birth differs from the birth certificate	Correct the birth certificate first. NADRA updates the CRC afterwards
Duplicate CRC records exist	The duplication must be resolved and one record cancelled before a Juvenile Card is processed

The marriage row catches more people than any other. If the parents’ marriage is not on NADRA’s record, that is a separate service to complete before the child’s registration can proceed. See adding a spouse to your NADRA record.

Corrections, name changes and turning 18

Mistakes on a CRC are corrected by applying for a modification at any NADRA centre or through the PakID app, with supporting documents.

There is a useful timing point NADRA makes twice. A child’s name and a father’s name can both be corrected during the conversion from CRC to Juvenile Card. If a correction is needed and a conversion is due anyway, doing them together is the cleaner route.

At 18 the child must apply for a CNIC. NADRA adds that a Juvenile Card “becomes invalid upon issuance of the CNIC”, so there is no overlap period to rely on. A CRC can also be cancelled, in cases of duplication, death or surrender of nationality.

Common mistakes

• Believing the birth certificate can be skipped. It is a mandatory prerequisite for a CRC. The 2026 waiver is for adult CNICs.
• Using “one year” as the presence threshold. It is three years, with a passport exception.
• Assuming the B-Form lasts until 18. It expires at 3, then 10, then 18.
• Expecting an Urgent tier. There is only Normal and Executive.
• Correcting the CRC before the birth certificate. The primary document has to be fixed first.
• Applying before the parents’ marriage is recorded. That has to be updated first.
• Assuming a court order is optional for adoption. A guardianship certificate is required.

The document definitions, Rule 18 citation, biometric and expiry table, presence rules, requirements and all the situational answers are from NADRA’s Child Registration Certificate and Juvenile Card page. Fees and processing times are from the official fee structure. The adult birth certificate waiver and its 31 December 2026 end date are from NADRA’s CNIC FAQ. All read on 29 August 2026.

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