Syria Civil Registration

Offices to Contact
The Directorate of Civil Affairs in the Ministry of Interior in Syria is the authority in charge of the registration of birth, death, marriage, divorce and the correction of records, in addition to issuing ID cards and family booklets for Syrian nationals.

Ministry of Interior Merjeh Square Damascus, Syria

Library of the Ministry of the Interior in the Syrian Arab Republic [civilaffair-moi.gov.sy The General Directorate for Civil Affairs website] This is not working.

"Upon certification by the presiding judge, the marriage is documented and each spouse receives an attested copy of the marriage contract, containing its date and serial number. The court will then transmit the original marriage contract to the civil registry office in its operational area, which will record the marriage and forward the information to the civil registry office where the respective spouse’s records are kept, where their individual marital status’ will be updated (from single/divorced/widowed to married), and to transfer and merge the wife’s civil registry record to/with the one of the husband."

For marriages of non-Syrians within Syria, "Having verified the authenticity and completeness of the application, the religious judge will forward the application to an assistant who will have the partners recite the formulaic declaration and sign the standard marriage contract and will then duly document the marriage."

Marriages of Syrian citizens to foreigners inside Syria, "Marriages of Syrian citizens (or Syrian Palestinians1) to non-Arab foreigners require prior approval from the Syrian Minister of Interior or the person authorized by him (as per Legislative Decree 26 of 2007). Without such approval, a marriage to a foreigner cannot be registered in the civil registry, notwithstanding a court ruling. In the event of a divorce occurring prior to the registration of the marriage (or the receipt of the formal approval), both the marriage and the divorce will be registered, without the formal approval being necessary any longer."

"Births ... submitted to the civil registry department (al-nufus), either where the father’s civil records are kept or where the birth took place

The responsible mukhtar for the birth attestation is either the mukhtar responsible for the area where the birth took place, or the mukhtar of the area where the parents’ civil registry records are kept.

Registration of the birth of a foreigner’s child in the Syrian Arab Republic A birth attestation issued by the mukhtar of the area where the birth took place on the basis of the birth notification obtained from the hospital or the (registered) midwife. 22.Copies of the non-Syrian parents’ national passports. 33.A copy of the non-Syrian parents’ marriage certificate. 1 This may include the case of a child born out of wedlock where both parents refuse its recognition.

Regardless of the type of divorce, a divorce only becomes effective following its pronouncement by the competent religious court. Following the court’s decision, it will send an attested copy of the divorce judgment to the civil registry that maintained the married couple’s records, which, upon verification of the documentation will record the divorce of the concerned individuals."

Death record is submitted to the civil registry office where the deceased’s records are kept, for the death to be recorded, and the death certificate will be provided to the applicant, after being duly signed and stamped by the civil registrar.

The registration of the death of a stillborn child is conducted through an attestation provided by the treating hospital or from the mukhtar, along with the signatures of two witnesses. In addition, the person who prepares the death attestation shall mention the term “a stillborn child” next to the name of the child, whereupon the death will be registered.

A person incurs in an accident and subsequently dies in hospital, how will such a death be registered? the civil registry where the accident occurred in order to register the death and issue the death certificate.

Registration of deaths of Syrians outside of Syria The foreign death certificate will be submitted to the responsible Syrian embassy/consulate. The death certificate will then be sent by the Syrian consul to the Syrian Ministry of Interior, which will send the death certificate to the civil registry where the deceased person’s civil register is kept in order to verify and to record the death on the deceased person’s civil registry record.

Registration of deaths of non-Syrians inside Syria

The death of a foreign national in Syria is registered in the so-called ‘record of deaths’ as maintained by the civil registry department at the place where the death occurred. On the basis of a death attestation issued by the hospital where the death took place, or, where the death took place outside a hospital, from the mukhtar, accompanied by a medical report, the civil registrar will send a copy of the individual’s death certificate to the Department of Immigration and Passports in Damascus - Ministry of Interior -or its branches in the governorates. Upon request, a concerned person (e.g. family member, spouse, etc.) will be provided with a copy of the death certificate.

Information Recorded in the Records
National ID Cards (1947-Present) Includes:
 * Names
 * Date of Birth
 * Mother and Father Name
 * Date and City of Issuance

Family Booklets (1947-present) Issued at time of marriage. Includes:
 * Husband and Wife Names
 * Date of Birth
 * Marriage date and place
 * Children's Names
 * Date of Birth and Place of Birth