17. Search of births and deaths register

(1) Subject to any rules made in this behalf by the State Government, including rules relating to the payment of fees and postal charges, any person may 

(a) cause a search to be made by the Registrar for any entry in a register of births and deaths; and 

⁰²[(b) obtain, electronically or otherwise, a certificate of birth or death from such register and issued in such form and manner as may be prescribed:

Provided that no certificate relating to any death, issued to any person, shall disclose the particulars regarding the cause of death as entered in the register.] 

(2) All ⁰³[certificates] given under this section shall be certified by the Registrar or any other officer authorized by the State Government to give such ⁰³[certificates]  as provided in section 76 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, (1 of 1872) and shall be admissible in evidence for the purpose of proving the birth or death to which the entry relates. 

⁰⁴[(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the certificate referred to in sub-section (2) or section 12, shall be used to prove the date and place of birth of a person who is born on or after the date of commencement of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023, for the purposes of—

(a) admission to an educational institution;

(b) issuance of a driving licence;

(c) preparation of a voter list;

(d) registration of a marriage;

(e) appointment to a post in the Central Government or State Government or a local body or public sector undertaking or in any statutory or autonomous body under the Central Government or State Government;

(f) issuance of a passport;

(g) issuance of an Aadhaar number; and

(h) any other purpose as may be determined by the Central Government.]

02. Clause (b) substituted by Act 20 of 2023 w.e.f. 01.10.2023. Prior to substitution it read as
    “(b) obtain an extract from such register relating to any birth or death.
    Provided that no extract relating to any death, issued to any person, shall disclose the particulars regarding the cause of death as entered in the register.” 
03. Substituted for the word “extracts” by Act 20 of 2023 w.e.f. 01.10.2023.
04. Subsection (3) inserted by Act 20 of 2023 w.e.f. 01.10.2023.