NADRA Birth Certificate: How to Get One at Any Age (2026)

NADRA

Last Updated: October 2026

A birth certificate is not a NADRA document. Your local registration office issues it, the Union Council, Municipal Committee, Cantonment Board or, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Village or Neighbourhood Council. NADRA’s part comes after: Punjab’s rules put it in one line, “NADRA shall issue B-Form on submission of birth registration certificate issued by the concerned registration office.”

The fee is the part most guides get wrong. Punjab abolished it in 2025: registration and the certificate are free, and a September 2026 amendment extended that. Sindh’s cabinet made birth registration free in 2024, and Gilgit-Baltistan’s bye-laws make it free too. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan charge PKR 100 for the certificate, and Islamabad PKR 420, 560 or 1,460 depending on how old the birth is. You can also register a birth at any age, including your own as an adult, and that route is set out below because it is the one nobody explains properly.

One document, several names

People call it the NADRA birth certificate, the computerised birth certificate, or the CBRC. All three mean the printed certificate your registration office produces from the civil registration system NADRA supplies to local councils. The slip the hospital gives you on the day is not that document. It is evidence used to register the birth, and NADRA names what it wants precisely: a “Computerized Birth Registration Certificate issued by the Union Council / Municipal Committee / Cantonment”.

What it costs

Each province sets its own charges, so there is no national figure. These come from the rules and service pages the authorities publish themselves:

Where	Registration and certificate	Other charges	Published by
Punjab	Nil	Late registration after 7 years PKR 200. Pakistani citizen living abroad PKR 1,000. Foreigner PKR 2,000. Correction PKR 500. Duplicate PKR 200	Births and Deaths Rules 2025, rule 21
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	Registration nil, certificate PKR 100	Late registration nil. Duplicate PKR 150. Correction PKR 200. Urgent PKR 300. Inspection PKR 100	KP registration rules 2021, Schedule
Islamabad	PKR 420 up to a year after the birth, PKR 560 from one to five years, PKR 1,460 beyond five years	Duplicates and amendments are priced on the same scale. ICT Administration’s own page gives only a range, PKR 200 to 1,500	NADRA’s Islamabad guidebook (13 June 2026), citing letters of 18 March and 3 June 2026
Sindh	Free, by a provincial cabinet decision of September 2024. The bye-laws also charge nothing for registering on time	NADRA’s guide says its own fee for the computerised certificate applies, and gives no figure	Sindh cabinet decision; NADRA’s Sindh guide (11 June 2026)
Balochistan	Registration on time is free. PKR 100 for the computerised certificate	Late registration, 61 days to 50 years, PKR 300. Beyond 50 years, through a civil judge, PKR 1,000. Converting a manual certificate PKR 500. Copy of an entry PKR 100. Checking an entry PKR 500	NADRA’s Balochistan guide (11 June 2026)
Gilgit-Baltistan	Registration on time is free	NADRA’s fee for the computerised certificate applies, with no figure given. Copy of an entry PKR 100. Inspecting the register PKR 500	NADRA’s Gilgit-Baltistan guide (11 June 2026)
AJK	Not published	Not published	Ask the registration office

Punjab says three different things, and the rules win

This is worth knowing before you hand over money. Punjab’s 2025 rules set the fee for “registration and issuance of birth or death certificate” at NIL, with a note that issuance is free for a period the government may review. The original note said one year; an amendment published in the Punjab Gazette on 2 September 2026 replaced “one year” with “four years from commencement of the rules”, so the free window now runs well past 2026.

Two other Punjab government pages still quote charges. The Local Government department’s own FAQ says PKR 100 for the certificate, and the e-Khidmat Markaz service page lists PKR 200 as a field office fee. Both were live when we checked on 27 September 2026. The rules are the law and they say nil, so if you are asked to pay at a Union Council counter, ask what the charge is for and get a receipt.

How long it takes

Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa use the same ladder, and it is the age of the birth that decides which rung you are on:

How late the registration is	Punjab	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
On time	3 working days	3 days (within 90 days of the birth)
Late, but under 7 years	7 working days	7 days
More than 7 years	20 working days	20 days

Those are the departments’ published service times. The 2025 rules give Punjab’s decision-makers their own deadlines, and for an old birth they are longer: a Deputy Director has thirty days to decide a case reported after seven years. Islamabad and Punjab’s e-Khidmat Markaz both quote 7 days for the certificate itself. For an on-time birth the rules are quicker still: rule 3 tells the office to issue the certificate “on same day”.

NADRA’s public guides of June 2026 summarise the local rules for four more places, and each has its own deadline and ladder:

Where	Registered on time	Late	Much later
Sindh	Within 30 days. Certificate in 3 days	One month to 2 years: 7 days after verification	Over 2 years: the case goes to NADRA’s Assistant Director, 30 days, with a late fee
Balochistan	Within 60 days. 3 days	61 days to 50 years: the Chairman or Administrator decides, 7 days, PKR 300	Over 50 years: a civil judge’s court, PKR 1,000
Gilgit-Baltistan	Within 60 days	61 days to 7 years: the Chairman or Administrator decides within 7 days	Over 7 years: a medical age certificate, due in 20 days
Islamabad	Within 30 days	30 days to 6 months: two documentary proofs. Six months to 5 years: a Tehsildar’s local inquiry, reported within a week	Over 5 years: the Deputy Commissioner and a District Inquiry Committee

Registering a birth on time

The deadline depends on where you are, and Punjab’s own pages disagree: the 2025 rules work in years, while the department’s FAQ and e-Khidmat both say 60 days. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s rules say ninety days, and add that the council shall facilitate registration beyond ninety days rather than refuse it. NADRA’s June 2026 guides give 30 days for Sindh and Islamabad and 60 days for Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan. Treat the shortest figure as your target and register early, because nothing about this gets cheaper or faster by waiting.

1. Collect what the office needs. Punjab’s e-Khidmat list is the fullest published one: application Form A, the applicant’s CNIC, the hospital birth slip, the vaccination card, and the CNICs of the father, mother and grandfather. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s rules ask for Form-A, an attested copy of the parents’ or guardian’s CNIC, and a hospital birth certificate, immunisation card or school certificate. Sindh and Balochistan use Form A too, free at the council office, and ask for an affidavit with two witnesses for a birth at home and a hospital certificate or vaccination card otherwise.
2. Check your own NADRA record first. Punjab’s e-Khidmat page states it plainly: both parents’ marital status must be updated at NADRA. If your marriage is not on your NADRA record, deal with that before the appointment, not during it.
3. Apply at the office for the place of birth. Cases are processed in the district where the birth is registered, and a birth inside a cantonment goes to the Cantonment Board.
4. Pay only what is published, and keep the receipt.
5. Check every detail before you leave. Names, the date, the place and the parents’ CNIC numbers. A correction later costs PKR 500 in Punjab and, for anything beyond a clerical error, needs a court decree.

Applying through the Pak ID app

NADRA’s Pak ID app now takes Union Council birth registration in these places, so you can apply without visiting the office:

• Punjab: the Local Government Department and NADRA signed an e-registration agreement on 26 November 2025, piloted in Jhelum, Chakwal and Nankana Sahib, and NADRA announced the service across Punjab on 13 December 2025.
• Islamabad: every union council, since 20 June 2026, for births, marriages, deaths and divorces. Fees are paid in the app and the approved certificate is issued there.
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: the Pak ID release of 11 July 2026 added civil registration for the province, “initially for District Peshawar only”.
• Sindh: the province launched its own CRMS mobile app with NADRA on 28 November 2025, and NADRA extended its Pak ID Union Council service to Tando Allahyar and Jamshoro on 4 January 2026.

In Punjab the rules still have the office verify the details with the applicant, so keep the original documents to hand. No authority publishes the in-app charges, so check the payment screen before you confirm. The same route covers deaths, as our death certificate guide explains.

NADRA’s own user guideline for birth registration in the app (14 November 2025) adds four details. You can apply only for your own children and siblings; for other relatives you go to the council. The app works out the fee after you enter the registration office and the exact date of birth and tap Calculate Fee, so the amount you see depends on where you register and how old the birth is. It asks for a photograph if the child is over three and for fingerprints if the child is over ten. And once the council issues the certificate you are notified and it appears under My Applications; if the application is rejected, an officer from the council contacts you.

Registering a birth late, including your own

An unregistered birth can be registered years later, and adults do this when a passport office, an employer or a pension asks for a document nobody ever obtained. The procedure is genuinely different from the newborn one, and this is where the ranking guides stop at “court approval may be required”.

Punjab, one to seven years

Rule 4 of the 2025 rules covers a birth reported after one year but not later than seven. You apply on Form A stating the reasons for the delay. The registration office verifies and reports the same day to the Assistant Director of the tehsil, who decides within three days. If it is accepted the birth is registered and the certificate issued immediately. If it is refused you can appeal to the Deputy Director within fifteen days, and that appeal is decided within thirty.

Punjab, after seven years

Rule 5 is the adult case, and it has a step no competitor mentions. The application needs the reasons for the delay plus the applicant’s CNIC, the hospital birth slip, a vaccination card if there is one, any valid B-Form, CNIC, Smart Card or passport showing the date of birth, and two photographs. The registration office reports to the Assistant Director with a stated finding that “No record of the intended birth entry exists as per record of the local government”, who recommends it to the Deputy Director.

The Deputy Director may then order a notice in a daily national newspaper calling for objections within ten days, and the rules say the cost of that advertisement is borne by you. The decision comes within thirty days, the certificate is issued immediately on approval, and a refusal can be appealed within fifteen days to a committee that includes a NADRA representative.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Between 91 days and seven years, the rules ask for Form-A, an attested affidavit on plain paper signed by two witnesses, and a hospital certificate, vaccination card or school certificate, with the Chairman holding his own inquiry and deciding within seven days. After seven years the application goes from the Chairman to the Director, who sends the age documents to the hospital where the birth happened; the Medical Superintendent verifies within five working days, reports within seven, and the birth is registered two days later. Late registration itself is free.

One Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rule does involve a court, and it is easy to miss: a court order is required where the certificate is applied for more than one year after the birth, as well as where the information contradicts the council’s record or the applicant is not the child’s parent, relative or legal custodian.

Sindh, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad

• Sindh. From one month to two years, the application goes on Form A with an affidavit and two witnesses and a hospital certificate or vaccination card, or verification from the locality if there is no proof. After two years the case goes to NADRA’s Assistant Director, who orders registration after a full inquiry, and a late fee applies that the guide does not state.
• Balochistan. NADRA’s guide says the 2025 amendment to the bye-laws raised the late-registration limit to 50 years and removed an older middle band. Up to 50 years the Chairman or Administrator decides, on Form A, an oath statement with two witnesses and a hospital certificate, vaccination card or school certificate. After 50 years the applicant goes to the civil judge, whose decision is final.
• Gilgit-Baltistan. Between 61 days and seven years the Chairman or Administrator first has the Secretary confirm that nothing was registered before, then inquires and decides within seven days, on Form A, a sworn statement with two witnesses and a hospital, school or vaccination record, with the reason for the delay. After seven years he asks the Medical Superintendent of the district or tehsil hospital to certify the age, which is due within 20 days, and orders registration on that certificate. The guide sends a late birth to no court.
• Islamabad. Within six months the applicant needs two documentary proofs, such as a certificate from a hospital, lady health visitor or midwife. From six months to five years the Chairman refers the case to the Tehsildar for a local inquiry. After five years it goes to the Deputy Commissioner, who forms a District Inquiry Committee with the District Health Officer and an Assistant Commissioner, and the committee gives its recommendation within a month.

Corrections, duplicates and lost certificates

• Correcting a mistake. PKR 500 in Punjab, PKR 200 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In Punjab, any change other than a clerical error needs a court decree first. Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan also require a court decision to change a date of birth, parentage, marital status or place of birth, and in Balochistan and Sindh the Chairman or Secretary decides other corrections within 15 days.
• Replacing a lost certificate. Punjab issues a duplicate for PKR 200 on the same day, on an application with an attested CNIC copy. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa charges PKR 150 and requires the applicant to appear in person. Its rules also state the original is issued only once, so every later copy is a duplicate. Islamabad prices a duplicate on the same scale as a new certificate, and a copy of an entry costs PKR 100 in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.
• Fix the birth certificate before the CNIC. NADRA’s Registration Policy is explicit that where a birth record exists in NADRA or CRMS data, a change to your name, date of birth or place of birth is carried out only after the birth certificate has been corrected, by the office that issued it.

That last rule is the reason a small error matters. Our guides to changing your name on a CNIC and correcting your NADRA record both run into it.

Can you check or download one online?

Not as a public lookup. There is no website where you enter a CNIC or a certificate number and see a birth record. If you applied through an app, the certificate is sent to you, and Islamabad issues it inside the Pak ID app; otherwise it is printed by the office that registered the birth, and a replacement is a duplicate application rather than a file. What does exist:

• Applying online. Punjab’s 2025 rules allow the application to be made “either manually or through online system” on Form A, and the Pak ID app now takes applications in Punjab, Islamabad, Peshawar and parts of Sindh. That is submission, not verification.
• Inspecting the register. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s rules let a person involved in the reporting check the registration by written application, for a PKR 100 inspection fee, and Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan let any citizen check an entry for PKR 500. It is the same principle as the marriage register: the record is checkable at the office that holds it.
• Asking the issuing office. For any certificate you are handed, the office that printed it is the authority that can confirm it.

If the child was born abroad

A birth outside Pakistan is registered at the Pakistani embassy, high commission or consulate, not at a Union Council. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks for the S and S1 forms, two passport photographs, the original and a copy of the local birth certificate, the original and a copy of the parents’ marriage certificate, and the parents’ CNIC, NICOP or Smart Card and passports. Its page states a fee of 10 euro and says the child should preferably be registered within six months of birth.

Missions set their own fee and their own age limit, so check the page for the one you will attend rather than assuming. Two examples we read on 22 September 2026: the Washington embassy charges USD 32 by card or USD 30 by cheque and registers children under two, while Stockholm charges SEK 110 and registers only within one year of the birth. Older children apply for a NICOP instead.

The local bye-laws behind NADRA’s June 2026 guides for Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan put the deadline for registering a child born abroad at the Pakistani mission at 60 days, and Sindh’s puts it at 90, with a later registration made after the mission verifies it. The Ministry’s own page says preferably within six months, so treat the shortest figure as your target. In Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan the original mission certificate is then presented to the local council, which enters the birth.

After that comes the NADRA half. A Child Registration Certificate can be issued on an S1 form or a foreign birth certificate in place of the Union Council certificate, and it costs PKR 50 on Normal at 7 days or PKR 500 on Executive at 1 day. Our guide to NADRA services from abroad covers the rest. If the birth was in Pakistan but the family has moved abroad, Punjab prices late registration for a Pakistani citizen living abroad at PKR 1,000.

What NADRA actually needs it for

NADRA service	Where the birth certificate comes in
B-Form or CRC for a child	Mandatory. NADRA will not issue one without it, and Punjab’s rules say the same from the other side
Changing a date of birth	Mandatory. NADRA names a birth certificate from the Union Council, Cantonment Board or CDA as the requirement
Changing a name	Accepted as the document for a change, and where a birth record already exists it has to be corrected first
Place of birth	A birth certificate or other documentary evidence, corrected first if one exists

If the person who needs the document is a newborn, read registering a newborn with NADRA, which covers the CRC end of it, and our B-Form guide for what the child needs next.

Common mistakes

• Taking the hospital slip to NADRA. It is not the certificate. NADRA needs the computerised one from the registration office.
• Paying a fee Punjab abolished. The 2025 rules say nil. Ask what any charge is for.
• Accepting “you must go to court” in Punjab. For a birth over seven years old the rules provide an administrative route under rule 5.
• Leaving the parents’ marital status unregistered. Punjab’s service page requires it to be updated at NADRA first.
• Letting a wrong spelling or date stand. In Punjab anything beyond a clerical error needs a court decree, and NADRA will not change your CNIC until the birth certificate is right.
• Assuming a mission fee applies everywhere. Each Pakistani mission sets its own fee and age limit for registering a birth abroad.

Punjab’s fees, deadlines and late registration procedures are from the Punjab Local Government (Registration of Births and Deaths) Rules 2025, published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) of 14 May 2025, rules 3 to 5 and 18 to 22, and the fee change from the amendment notified on 2 September 2026. The competing Punjab figures are from the Local Government and Community Development FAQ and the e-Khidmat Markaz service page. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s rules, timeframes and fee schedule are from the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorce or Dissolution of Marriages (Registration and Certification) Rules, 2021, and Islamabad’s fee and processing time from ICT Administration. Registration abroad is from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs birth registration page. NADRA’s own requirements are from its Child Registration Certificate page, its fee structure and Registration Policy RP-6.0.2. All read on 27 September 2026, except the two embassy examples, read on 22 September 2026. The rules for Islamabad, Sindh, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan are from NADRA’s public guides for Islamabad (13 June 2026), Sindh, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan (11 June 2026), which summarise the local rules, and the app steps from NADRA’s birth registration user guideline (14 November 2025), all read on 2 October 2026. Sindh’s free birth registration is from The News (15 September 2024), and the Pak ID rollout from NADRA’s announcement for Punjab, the Associated Press of Pakistan for Punjab and Sindh, ProPakistani for Islamabad, The Nation for the Sindh extension and the Pak Identity release notes for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, all read on 28 September 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

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