How to register a birth and obtain a birth certificate in Saudi Arabia

Check the birth notification first

The hospital where the child was born creates the medical birth notification used for civil registration. Before accepting it, check the child’s sex and date and place of birth, and both parents’ names and identity numbers. Ask the hospital to correct an error at source; copying a mistake into later records can complicate the passport and Iqama stages.

Wait until the notification is available to the connected government service. There is no reliable universal waiting time, so monitor the record and follow up with the hospital if it does not appear.

Prepare before opening Absher

• Parent’s active Absher account and access to the registered mobile number
• Parents’ current Saudi identity or Iqama and passport details, as applicable
• The hospital birth-notification information
• The child’s agreed name, written consistently in Arabic and English where requested
• A current National Address if the service offers delivery
• Marriage or other family documents if requested for the particular record

Eligibility depends on the parents’ and child’s records. A case involving a visitor, an absent parent, a late registration, an unlinked notification or conflicting names may require Civil Affairs assistance rather than the standard online journey.

Register the newborn online

1. Sign in to the official Absher Individuals website or app.
2. Open the Civil Affairs area and select Register Newborn, or the equivalent current label.
3. Select the hospital notification for the correct child.
4. Review every field. Pay particular attention to name order, spelling, dates, nationality information and parents’ details.
5. Enter any additional information requested and accept the declaration only when the record is accurate.
6. Submit the registration and save the confirmation or reference number.
7. If document delivery is offered, confirm the address and follow the payment and tracking instructions displayed by the service.

Do not copy a fixed late-registration charge or deadline from an old blog post. If the service identifies a late case, follow the current instruction and amount shown by Civil Affairs or Absher.

View, print and verify the certificate

Absher’s official user guide lists a View Birth Certificate service for citizens and residents, with the ability to print the digital certificate. Open the birth-certificate services area, select the child and review the issued record. Save a secure copy and print it only where a paper copy is requested.

A separate public Verify Birth Certificate service checks certificate data. This is useful when an authority needs to confirm the electronic record. Use the official verification page rather than sending more personal documents than necessary.

What comes after the Saudi certificate

Birth registration does not itself give the child a passport, citizenship, entry permission for another country or an Iqama. Expatriate parents normally need to contact the child’s embassy or consulate about nationality registration and a passport, then complete the appropriate Saudi residence process. Requirements differ by nationality and family status.

Do not assume that every Saudi birth certificate needs the same authentication for every purpose. Ask the authority receiving the document what form, language, translation or attestation it requires.