Passport rules change, birth certificate only valid date-of-birth proof for those born after 1 Oct 2023

As birth certificate registrations increase, the Centre has brought this amendment. But those born before the cut-off can use documentation allowed as proof of date of birth earlier.

Representational image | Pixabay

New Delhi: The Centre, in a significant change to the documentation required for new passports, has mandated the need for a birth certificate for those born after 1 October 2023 through an amendment to the passport rules.

“In respect of persons born on or after 1 October 2023 (attach the following) ─ Birth certificate issued by the registrar of births and deaths or the municipal corporation or any other authority, empowered under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (18 of 1969),” said the notification from the Ministry of External Affairs, published on 28 February 2025 in the Gazette of India.

For those born before 1 October 2023, documents such as birth certificate, school transfer certificate, PAN card, voter identification, driving license, a policy bond issued by the Life Insurance Corporation of India, or the pay pension order for those in government service remain acceptable for proof of date of birth.

The changes are a result of a growing registration of births across India. In 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of births registered increased to 92.7 percent, according to the annual report of the Civil Registration System. It stood at roughly 82.4 percent in 2011.

At least 14 states and union territories have now achieved a 100 percent registration of births, and 10 states crossed the 90 percent threshold. At least 15 states and union territories have now achieved more than 90 percent of birth registrations within 21 days, as the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1969 prescribes.

The design of the Indian passport will reportedly also be changed. Reportedly, the changes would include embedding the residential address digitally in a barcode rather than printing it on the passport—a move to improve the security and privacy of the passport. In another privacy measure, the Indian passport will likely not carry the parents’ names.

Some other changes reported by the media include a new colour-coded system for passports—white for officials, maroon for diplomatic passports and blue for ordinary citizens—to simplify the identification of the document.

(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)