THE Registrar General’s Department (RGD) will provide 50 complimentary registrations to fathers who want to add their names to their children’s birth certificate at its ‘Status Day’ promotion.

The promotion will be held on Monday, June 20, 2022 in observance of Father’s Day, and “will give fathers whose names would not have been added to their child’s birth certificate the opportunity to do so”, the department’s CEO Charlton McFarlane told JIS News. Father’s Day is June 19.

McFarlane pointed out that the complimentary registrations will be given to the first five applicants at each of its 10 locations across the island.

For the registration to be complete, fathers must fill out an Addition of Father’s Particulars/Status form, which can be accessed on the RGD’s website at www.rgd.gov.jm or at any of its offices. The form must be completed by both parents in the presence of a justice of the peace or notary public.

To verify that the father is “who he says he is”, he will need to provide a valid, Government-issued identification and the child’s birth certificate, in addition to the completed application form that is to be submitted to the RGD, McFarlane said.

Once the application has been submitted, it will be processed and a new birth certificate issued to the applicant within seven to 10 business days or within six weeks.

Excluding the complimentary registrations that will be issued, all other applicants must pay a fee of $3,500 if the new birth certificate is required within seven to 10 days, or $1,500 if it is required within six weeks.

The CEO is appealing to fathers to take advantage of the opportunity being presented to them.

“It is not sufficient to only say that you are the father — it is of great importance to know that your status as a father is legally documented. No father wants their children to suffer or to be treated less than. We know that when a child is registered with the information of both parents, then there is greater financial and social protection for the child,” he said.