Section 49, The National Civil Registration Act, 2016

(1) Where the birth of a child whose parents were notmarried to each other at the date of the birth or at any time during the period of 10 months ending immediately before that date has been registered under this Act but no person has been registered as the child’s father, then, subject to subsection (2), a Registration Officer shall re-register the birth in such manner as the Authority may prescribe and shall enter in the Register of Births the name of a person as the father of the child. (2) A birth shall not be re-registered under this section without the consent of the Director-General. (3) Where, in a case in which the mother of a child to whom subsection (1) applies was married at the date of the birth of the child or at some time during the period of 10 months before such date and, but for this subsection, the birth would fail to be re-registered under that subsection, and a person would fail to be registered under that subsection as the father of the child, the birth shall not be so reregistered and the person shall not be so registered unless there is produced to the Registration Officer— (a) a statutory declaration of the person to whom the mother was married at that date and of the person or each person to whom she was married at some time during the period aforesaid, in a form approved by the Authority, that he is not the father of the child; or (b) a statutory declaration of the mother, in a form approved by the Authority, that she has been living apart from the person who is, or the person or each person who was formerly her husband during a period ending immediately before the date of the birth of the child of more than 10 months by virtue of a divorce, a divorce a mensa et thoro, a nullity or a deed of separation. (4) Where a birth is re-registered under this section, the surname of the child entered in the Register shall be- (a) that which was previously registered; or (b) a surname determined in accordance with Section 48. (5) Where a birth is being re-registered under this section, the Register of Births shall be signed by - Reof birth to include name of father. 36 37 (a) the mother of the child, if she has made, or joined in the making of the request under subsection (1); and (b) the person who declares that he is the father of the child, if he has made, or joined in the making of the request under subsection (1). (6) Where a birth is re-registered under this section, the then existing entry relating to the birth shall be retained in the Birth Register. (7) This section applies with any necessary modifications to stillbirths.