3-Line Summary
- Birth registration must be done within one month from the date of birth. For a child born outside of a hospital, there is no birth notification from a hospital, so the district office will not send a notice of reminder. The family must take care of the deadline themselves.
- Even if you do not have a birth certificate issued by a doctor or midwife, you can register the birth by attaching one of the following: a 119 emergency medical activity log, a written document certifying the fact of birth written by a person involved in the delivery, or a written document certifying the birth issued by an institution.
- Only when none of these documents are available at all must you obtain a Family Court birth confirmation, and you must register the birth within one month from the date you receive the confirmation.
Table of Contents
- Births outside of a hospital are not subject to birth notification
- Why the hospital did not issue a birth certificate
- Documents that can be attached instead of a birth certificate
- Cases where Family Court birth confirmation is required
- Application for Fire Station rescue/emergency medical certificates and emergency medical activity logs
- The date and time of birth is based on the records in the emergency medical activity log
- The one-month birth registration deadline and administrative fines
- Reception at the Administrative Welfare Center and the subsequent schedule
- Scope of work at the administrative agent (administrative scrivener) office
1. Births outside of a hospital are not subject to birth notification
I am an administrative agent (administrative scrivener) with an office located in Songdo, Incheon. I would like to introduce a consultation I had regarding family relationship registration.
The birth registration for the child who was born the earliest almost became the most delayed.
The child was born in the early morning of Monday, September 14, inside an ambulance on the way to the hospital. It was less than an hour after the labor began. The mother was a designer in her late 20s who handles screen design at a gaming company, and the father was an aircraft maintenance technician working night shifts at Incheon International Airport. The father was on duty that day, and the mother called 119 alone.
The mother and child arrived at the hospital, were admitted safely, and were moved to a postpartum care center two days later. The couple recalled the “Birth Notification System” they had seen on the news. They thought that once the hospital notified the birth, the district office would send guidance, and they could register the birth then.
However, birth notification is something medical institutions do when a birth occurs within a medical institution (Article 44-3 of the Act on Registration of Family Relationships, etc.). Since the child was born in an ambulance, from the hospital’s perspective, it was not a child born at their hospital. If there is no notification, the district office will not send a notice of reminder (Article 44-4 of the same Act) urging the registration. The system was such that no contact would come even if they waited.
2. Why the hospital did not issue a birth certificate
On Friday, October 2, after leaving the postpartum care center, the mother inquired via telephone at the Administrative Welfare Center. The person in charge instructed that a birth certificate prepared by a doctor or midwife must be attached to the birth registration form.
On Monday, October 5, the father visited the hospital’s administration department. The answer was different from what he expected. They said they could not issue a birth certificate because the medical staff had only treated the already-born child and the mother and were not involved in the delivery. Instead, they said they could issue a medical treatment certificate for the mother and the newborn.
The hospital’s explanation is not unreasonable. A birth certificate is a document that proves the fact of birth, and the person preparing it must have personally witnessed that birth. It is difficult for a hospital to certify the birth of a child who was born in a vehicle 16 minutes before arrival.
The words the mother heard from an acquaintance that evening were even more worrying: “I heard that if you don’t have a birth certificate, you have to go to the Family Court.” If they went through the court procedure, it was certain that the birth registration would exceed the deadline. The deadline for applying for the childbirth subsidy to be submitted to the company was October 20, and the child’s health insurance registration and application for parental benefits could only be done after the birth registration.
That night, an email arrived at the office. It was a photo of the hospital’s medical treatment certificate and a short question: “If the baby is born in an ambulance, do we have to go to the Family Court?”
3. Documents that can be attached instead of a birth certificate
The next morning, I re-examined the details starting from the condolence visit. The conclusion was that there was no need to go to the Family Court.
Article 44, Paragraph 4 of the 「Act on the Registration of Family Relationships, etc.」 stipulates that while a birth certificate should be attached to a birth report, one of the following documents may be used instead if a birth certificate is unavailable:
- A document certifying the fact of birth, prepared by a person who was directly involved in the delivery, accompanied by materials proving the mother’s childbirth.
- A document certifying the fact of birth issued by an authorized institution in Korea or abroad.
- A rescue/emergency medical activity log pursuant to Article 22 of the 「Act on 119 Rescue and Emergency Medical Services」, which can prove the fact of the mother’s childbirth.
If the child was born inside an ambulance, the third type of document applies directly. Paramedics write a rescue/emergency medical activity log every time they are dispatched, and these are kept by the fire station for three years (Article 18 of the Enforcement Rule of the same Act). There was a high possibility that a record of the delivery occurring inside the vehicle remained in that log.
The first type of document was also a possibility. This involves having the paramedic who assisted the delivery personally prepare a document certifying the fact of birth. However, this would require requesting a separate document from a paramedic while they are on duty, and materials proving the childbirth would have to be attached again. It was faster and more certain to obtain the log that had already been written and stored.
Reading the regulations is not difficult. The more important task is finding out which documents already exist and where they are located.
4. When Family Court birth confirmation is required
What my acquaintance said is not entirely incorrect. Article 44-2 of the same Act stipulates that if neither a birth certificate nor the three aforementioned documents can be attached, one must obtain birth confirmation from the Family Court. In such cases, the deadline for the birth report is one month from the date the confirmation is received.
For example, cases where a child was born at home without any assistance, where 119 was not called, or where no hospital consultation was sought later, may fall into this category. If necessary, the Family Court may investigate the facts ex officio and request data from administrative agencies and other institutions.
The evidentiary documents are verified in the following order:
- If the delivery took place at a hospital: Birth Certificate
- If the delivery took place outside a hospital: Whichever of the three documents can be obtained
- Only when no documents are available: Family Court Birth Confirmation
This couple was at the second stage. We decided to check the fire station records before starting the court proceedings.
5. Application for fire station rescue/emergency medical certification and the rescue/emergency medical activity log
Before going to the fire station, I first called the Community Service Center. This was to confirm exactly which documents needed to be brought to ensure the application would be accepted. If I brought documents only to be told at the counter that different ones were required, an entire day would be wasted. Since holidays and weekends were approaching, there were only five working days left.
The person in charge was clear. They stated that a rescue/emergency medical activity record containing the fact that the mother gave birth and the time of birth would suffice.
Fire stations have a procedure for applying for documents that prove rescue or emergency medical activities (Article 19 of the Enforcement Rule of the 「Act on 119 Rescue and Emergency Medical Services」). Eligible applicants include the person who received the rescue or emergency medical services, their legal guardian, or a person authorized by them. The application is made using Form No. 7, Application for Rescue/Emergency Medical Certification, and after verifying identification and other details, the fire station issues Form No. 8, Rescue/Emergency Medical Certificate. If a guardian applies, their status as a guardian is verified through a certified copy of the Resident Registration or a Family Relationship Certificate.
In this case, the father, who is the mother’s spouse, decided to apply as the guardian. The mother was still in the process of recovering. On the application, we wrote the date and approximate time of the dispatch, the location of the dispatch, and the purpose of the request (attachment for birth report). By stating the purpose, the fire station can understand what specific details are required. Along with the certificate, I also requested a copy of the rescue/emergency medical activity log containing the childbirth record.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, October 7, the father stopped by the competent fire station to pick up the documents before starting his night shift.
6. Birth Date and Time Based on the Emergency Medical Service Log
While comparing the log I had received with the draft of the birth registration form, I stopped at one particular point.
The log stated: “03:42, delivery inside the vehicle, 1 newborn (female), crying status: good.” However, the birth time on the draft registration form that the father had pre-filled was 03:58. He had simply copied the time the newborn arrived at the hospital from the hospital’s medical certificate.
In a birth registration, you must record the date, time, and place of birth (Article 44, Paragraph 2, Item 3 of the same Act). If the birth time on the attached documents and the registration form differs by 16 minutes, the counter staff will ask which one is correct, which could delay the registration on that day. Once a birth time is recorded, if you wish to correct it later, you must go through a separate correction procedure.
The birth time is the time the child was born, not the time they arrived at the hospital. Therefore, I corrected the birth date and time on the registration form to 03:42, as recorded in the log. I matched the place of birth to the location on the dispatch route recorded in the log, and I checked with the Community Service Center (Haengjeong Bokji Center) before filing to confirm how to write it. I also prepared the hospital’s medical certificate as supporting documentation to prove that the mother and the child were hospitalized on the same day.
There was a small commotion that day. The father said he would ask the fire station again if he could get an extra copy of the log. When I asked why, he replied, “I want to paste it on the first page of the baby’s growth album.” The relatives were already calling the baby by the nickname “Ppi-ppo” (Siren).
7. The 1-Month Deadline for Birth Registration and Fines
Birth registration must be done within 1 month of birth (Article 44, Paragraph 1 of the same Act). The registration period is counted from the date the registration event occurred (Article 37, Paragraph 1 of the same Act). If the child was born on September 14, the deadline is October 13 (Tuesday), which is one month including the date of birth.
As of October 5, when this couple requested a consultation, there were 8 days remaining until the deadline. Between then and the deadline, there were the Hangeul Day holiday on October 9 and the weekend, so there were actually only 5 days when the administrative agency counters were open.
Even if you miss the deadline, the birth registration will still be accepted. However, if a person obligated to register fails to do so within the period without a justifiable reason, a fine of up to 50,000 won may be imposed (Article 122 of the same Act). If you receive a prior notice before the fine is imposed, you will have an opportunity to submit an opinion.
A bigger problem than the amount of the fine is that the later the registration is made, the more the subsequent tasks following the birth registration are delayed. Once the child’s Resident Registration Number is issued, you can register them as a dependent under health insurance and apply for various childbirth and childcare support. This family needed a Family Relationship Certificate showing the child listed to apply for their company’s childbirth subsidy.
The person obligated to register a child born during marriage is the father or the mother (Article 46, Paragraph 1 of the same Act). Registration can be done at the child’s registered base of residence (Deungnok Gijijeokji) or at the address/current location of the person reporting (Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the same Act). Since it was difficult for the mother to go out, the father decided to report the birth at the Community Service Center at their place of residence.
8. Submission to the Community Service Center and Subsequent Schedule
On the morning of Thursday, October 8, five days before the deadline, the father submitted the birth registration form at the Songdo Community Service Center. The attached documents were as follows:
- Birth Registration Form (Statutory Form)
- Copy of the Rescue/Emergency Medical Certificate and Emergency Medical Service Log (stating the fact of childbirth and the time of birth)
- Hospital Medical Certificate (proving the hospitalization of the mother and newborn, used as supporting material)
- The father’s identification as the person reporting
The counter staff cross-checked the birth time in the log with the registration form and then accepted the filing. Thanks to having corrected the birth time field in advance, there was no need for further verification. In this case, the child’s Family Relationship Certificate could be issued two days later.
After the birth registration, they completed the child’s health insurance registration and applied for the company’s childbirth subsidy on October 14. This was six days before the application deadline. Since the birth registration was completed within the deadline, there were no issues regarding fines.
Over the weekend of that week, the mother sent a short message. She said that for the first page of the album, they ended up pasting a family photo taken in front of the ambulance instead of a copy of the log. It seems the father postponed the trip back to the fire station until his next day off.
9. Scope of Work for the Administrative Agent’s Office
In this case, the tasks handled by the office of administrative agent (administrative scrivener) Hwang Yunsang were as follows:
- Identifying the reasons why a birth certificate cannot be obtained and reviewing attachable documents (Article 44, Paragraph 4 of the Act on Registration of Family Relationships)
- Determining whether a birth confirmation from the Family Court is required
- Pre-checking the required documentation standards with the Administrative Welfare Center
- Providing guidance on preparing the Application for Rescue/Emergency Medical Service Certificate and organizing the scope of records to be obtained
- Preparing the birth registration form and cross-checking the date, time, and place of birth with the attached documents
- Creating a schedule calculated backward from the deadline (reflecting holidays and weekends)
Family relationship registration may seem like a matter of a single document, but in uncommon situations such as a birth occurring outside of a hospital, one must first verify which documents must be obtained and from where. Guidance regarding documents for family relationship registration can also be found in Guide to Preparing and Submitting Family Relationship Registration Documents. Since the items to be verified change depending on the case, individual verification is necessary.
If you are in this situation, please check the following
- □ The child was born outside of a hospital (in an ambulance, at home, or while in transit) and you cannot obtain a hospital birth certificate
- □ Since birth notification was not made, you have personally calculated the one-month deadline from the date of birth
- □ If 119 was called, you have checked with the fire station whether there is a delivery record in the emergency service log
- □ You have cross-checked whether the date and time of birth on the registration form matches the attached documents
- □ You are only considering Family Court birth confirmation if no other supporting documents exist
This has been reconstructed for better understanding and is not related to any specific person or event.