by Birth records are essential when someone is looking to enroll in a new school, obtain a passport, driver’s license, for example. They are also used by governments when planning and evaluating health programs. This makes it a necessity to record and keep them. All countries in the world do so and have databases where they keep them. This article will look at ways on how to find birth records in Jamaica.
Jamaica is an island country located in the Caribbean Sea. The country is 145 kilometers from Cuba and 191 kilometers from Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Jamaica’s original inhabitants were the Taino people. It was later colonized by Spain in 1494. The country was later colonized by Britain in 1655 and achieved independence in 1962.
Jamaica’s current population stands at about 2.8 million with 92 % of them being Afro – Jamaicans, 6.1 mixed and 0.8 being Indo – Jamaicans.
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Birth Certificate Applications in Jamaica
The Registrar General’s Department of Jamaica is responsible for recording and maintaining vital records (birth records, death records, marriage records and divorce records) in Jamaica. It also ensures that such records are of high quality and their presentation is the same. The department collaborates with other agencies such as Local District Registrars (LDRs) who are responsible for registering vital events like births, deaths, marriages and more to offer comprehensive records.
For those who are looking to get a copy of their birth certificate in Jamaica, they will need to apply with the Registrar General’s Department. Applicants can also apply for birth certificate by visiting the Registrar General’s Department offices which are spread nationwide. Applications can also be made online from here.
All children born in Jamaica are expected to be registered within the first 12 months of birth. For those who were not able to do so, they can go to any of the RG offices and consult with any of the Customer Service Representatives. They are the ones who are going to assist you in conducting a Late Registration.
Birth certificate applicants must have the following information at hand when applying:
- Full and correct spelling of your First and Last Name
- Full and correct spelling of your parent’s first and last name.
- Date of Birth
- Place of Birth (Hospital Name or Home Address)
- Parish of Birth
- Registration (Birth Entry) Number. If you do not have the Birth Entry Number, you can request a look up at the RGD Office in your area, or you can request the entry number online here.
The Registrar General’s Department also offers the Annual Vital Statistics Reports for 2003 up to 2013. There are links that you can use to view the records from the site.
Search for Jamaica Birth and Baptism Records from Find My Past
For those who are looking for their Caribbean roots or Jamaican heritage, they can lookup up information from the over million birth and baptism records on offer from Find My Past. Searching from these records will mean searching from birth and baptism records that have been put together from a number of different sources which include the International Genealogical Index.
A basic search can be conducted from here with a fist name(s), last name, Year, location, Father’s fist name, mother’s first name. If you are familiar with the district, parish, county where the birth took place, you can include them too on your search.
Result from a search from here normally return with an image for you to verify with. Results are greatly influenced by age and quality but basic outcomes from a search include:
- Full Name
- Date of Birth
- Place of Birth
- District
- Parish
- County
- Father’s name
- Mother’s name
- Country
Search for Birth Records in Jamaica from Family Search
Family search site has links to sources of birth records in Jamaica that you can find useful. These include the following:
- Caribbean Births and Baptisms (1590 – 1928)
- Jamaica Church of England Parish Register Transcript (1664 – 1880)
- Jamaica Select Birth and Baptisms (1752 – 1920)
- Jamaica Civil Registration Birth, Marriage, and Death Records (1878 – 1995)
- Jamaica Civil Registration (1880 – 1999)
- British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms
Search for Birth Records in Jamaica from Ancestry Records
Jamaican birth records are available from Ancestry records too. Searches can be conducted using the search box found on the site. You can search with first name, middle name, last name, date of birth, date of death (if deceased) and any significant event that happened in the person’s life. You can also add a family member such as spouse father, mother, child.
There are also links to other data collections that can be helpful on a birth record search in Jamaica on the site. These are the Jamaica, Church of England Parish Register Transcripts, 1664-1879 which have parish register transcripts from Jamaica.
Another one is the Jamaica, Select Births and Baptisms, 1752-1920 which have births and baptism records from Jamaica.
These ideas on how to find birth records in Jamaica covers a number of sources. Try them and find records that range from 1600 to the present.
