Belize Civil Registration: Difference between revisions

Telephone: (202) 332-9636
Fax: (202) 332-6888
Email: reception.usa@mfa.gov.bz
Vital Statistics Forms has application forms to request a certificate of a birth, marriage, or death through the Embassy of Belize in Washington, D.C.

Background

"Vital Statistics Unit (VSU) is a General Registry in Belize that is accountable to register major events such as births, deaths, marriages, adoptions and deed polls... (Margaret, Edwin, 2007). The VSU have two main locations which is in Belize City and in Belmopan...Technology has impacted the performance of VSU and slowly eliminating paper-based to electronic copies."^[1]

Coverage and Compliance

UNICEF is working to enforce immediate registration of births at hospitals through secure technology. (Williams, 2015).^[1]

For additional information about civil registration in Belize, see Civil Registration in Belize, United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division.

Information Recorded in the Records

Birth Records

Information about child:

Date of birth
Place of birth
Name
Gender

Information about parents:

Name of father
Maiden name of mother
Occupation
Address

Other information:

Informant's name, description, address
Date of registration
Name of Registrar
Name, if any, added to registration

Marriage Records

Information about the bride and groom:

Date of marriage
Place of marriage
Names and surnames
Whether under or above age of 21
Condition (marital)
Rank or profession
Residences

Information about fathers:

Name and surname
Rank or profession

Other information:

Names of those who solemnized the marriage
Names of witnesses

Death Records

Information about deceased:

Race
Date of death
Place of death
Name and surname
Gender
Age
Rank or occupation
Cause of death

Other information:

Name of medical practitioner
Informant's name, description, address
When registered
Signature of registrar

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Evaluating Customer Service at the Vital Statistics Unit: A Customers’ Perspective, by Ellen Rudon, Danay Chavarria, Zayri Cocom, Nashla Mendez, and Kensworth Williams (University of Belize: Management Information System, University of Belize, 2018), Link to a downloaded pdf of Evaluating the Success of VSU Customer Service, p. 1.

[:0-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Evaluating Customer Service at the Vital Statistics Unit: A Customers’ Perspective, by Ellen Rudon, Danay Chavarria, Zayri Cocom, Nashla Mendez, and Kensworth Williams (University of Belize: Management Information System, University of Belize, 2018), Link to a downloaded pdf of Evaluating the Success of VSU Customer Service, p. 1.

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Belize-sidebar}}{{breadcrumb
+{{CountrySidebar
+|Country=Belize
+|Name=Belize
+|Type=Topic
+|Topic Type=Records
+|Records=Civil Registration
+|Content=Standardized
+}}{{breadcrumb
 | link1=[[Belize Genealogy|Belize]]
 | link2=
@@ Line 5: / Line 12: @@
 | link4=
 | link5=[[Belize Civil Registration|Civil Registration]]
 }}
 ==How to Find Records==
 ===Online Records===
-[https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/628296?availability=Family%20History%20Library Civil registration, 1881-1951]
+*'''1881-1951''' {{RecordSearch|4318337|Belize, Civil Registration, 1881-1951}} at FamilySearch - [[Belize, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images
 ===Offices to Contact===
-Belize Vital Statistics Unit<br>
+'''Government of Belize'''<br>
-New Rd<br>
+[https://www.belize.gov.bz/browse/Details/5 Vital Statistics Unit]<br>
+New Road and Hyde's Lane<br>
 Belize City<br>
-Belize<br>
+Phone: +(501)-223-5625 / +(501)-223-7405<br>
+Fax: +(501)-223-5635<br>
-Phone: +501 223-5625
+'''[https://www.belizeembassyusa.mfa.gov.bz/ Embassy of Belize]''' <br>
+Massachusetts Ave NW<br>
+Washington, DC 20008-2826<br>
+Telephone: (202) 332-9636<br>
+Fax: (202) 332-6888<br>
+Email: reception.usa@mfa.gov.bz<br>
+[https://www.belizeembassyusa.mfa.gov.bz/vital-statistics-forms Vital Statistics Forms] has application forms to request a certificate of a birth, marriage, or death through the Embassy of Belize in Washington, D.C.
-Vital Statistics Unit
+==Background==
-Belmopan Hospital, Belmopan City
-New Road and Hydes Lane, Belize City
-Tel: +(501)-223-5625/ 7405
-Fax: +(501)-223-5635
-[https://www.wikiprocedure.com/index.php/Belize_-_Obtain_a_Birth,_Death_or_Marriage_Certificate Belize - Obtain a Birth, Death or Marriage Certificate]
+"Vital Statistics Unit (VSU) is a General Registry in Belize that is accountable to register major events such as births, deaths, marriages, adoptions and deed polls... (Margaret, Edwin, 2007).
+The VSU have two main locations which is in Belize City and in Belmopan...Technology has impacted the performance of VSU and slowly eliminating paper-based to electronic copies."<ref name=":0">Evaluating Customer Service at the Vital Statistics Unit:
+A Customers’ Perspective, by Ellen Rudon, Danay Chavarria, Zayri Cocom, Nashla Mendez, and Kensworth Williams (University of Belize: Management Information System, University of Belize, 2018),
+[https://www.google.com/search?q=Belize+the+Vital+Statistics+Unit+(VSU)+of+the+General+Registry&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS850US850&oq=Belize+the+Vital+Statistics+Unit+(VSU)+of+the+General+Registry&aqs=chrome..69i57.2624j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Link to a downloaded pdf of Evaluating the Success of VSU Customer Service], p. 1.</ref>
-Embassy of Belize, [https://www.belizeembassyusa.mfa.gov.bz/vital-statistics-forms Vital Statistics Forms]
+==Coverage and Compliance==
-==Historical Background==
+UNICEF is working to enforce immediate registration of births at hospitals through secure technology. (Williams, 2015).<ref name=":0" />
-Vital Statistics Unit (VSU) is a General Registry in Belize that is accountable to register major
+For additional information about civil registration in Belize, see [https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/meetings/wshops/Guatemala/2016/docs/Session10-Belize.pdf ''Civil Registration in Belize''], United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division.
-events such as births, deaths, marriages, adoptions and deed polls. Registration of these
-documents is fundamentally important in Belize as they are required when conducting
+==Information Recorded in the Records==
-business. A committee was formed in 1999 to find ways to improve the vital registration
-system. (Margaret, Edwin, 2007). Through this means, the vital registration system was
+===Birth Records===
-examined and members agreed that an integrated system monitored by the Ministry of Health
-would contribute to reduce the under registration and under-reporting of vital statistics. This
+Information about child:
-will further enhance the quality of information produced by the country of Belize as it relates
+*Date of birth
-to vital statistics. (Jules, 2013).
+*Place of birth
-After countless unsatisfied reviews the system was re-evaluated; Registrar General, Velda
+*Name
-Flowers stated that in 2016 a new system was implemented called the Supreme Court
+*Gender
-Management System which was to supply the registration, the preparation of births and deaths
-and marriage certificates. With the new system, for instance, a birth certificate can be requested
+Information about parents:<br>
-in the morning and given in the afternoon, but the time frame is not consistent because some
+*Name of father
-information takes time to verify and further research may be conducted. A person’s document
+*Maiden name of mother
-can be misplaced due to the lack of organization skills. The VSU have two main locations
+*Occupation
-which is in Belize City and in Belmopan and, if you live in a remote area, it can be costly to
+*Address
-frequently travel for a document that is not completed. Technology has impacted the
-performance of VSU and slowly eliminating paper-based to electronic copies. UNICEF is
+Other information:<br>
-enforcing technology within the hospital systems through secure lines to immediately register
+*Informant's name, description, address
-a child because it is the Right of Child. (Williams, 2015).<ref>Evaluating Customer Service at the Vital Statistics Unit:
+*Date of registration
-A Customers’ Perspective, by Ellen Rudon, Danay Chavarria, Zayri Cocom, Nashla Mendez, and Kensworth Williams (University of Belize: Management Information System, University of Belize, 2018),
+*Name of Registrar
-  [file:///C:/Users/FHL-REF2-D/Downloads/122-74-602-1-10-20180504.pdf Evaluating the Success of VSU Customer Service], p. 1.
+*Name, if any, added to registration
+===Marriage Records===
+Information about the bride and groom:
+*Date of marriage
+*Place of marriage
+*Names and surnames
+*Whether under or above age of 21
+*Condition (marital)
+*Rank or profession
+*Residences
+Information about fathers:<br>
+*Name and surname
+*Rank or profession
+Other information:<br>
+*Names of those who solemnized the marriage
+*Names of witnesses
-==Coverage and Compliance==
+===Death Records===
-United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division
+Information about deceased:<br>
-https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/meetings/wshops/Guatemala/2016/docs/Session10-Belize.pdf
+*Race
+*Date of death
+*Place of death
+*Name and surname
+*Gender
+*Age
+*Rank or occupation
+*Cause of death
-==Information Recorded in the Records==
+Other information:<br>
+*Name of medical practitioner
+*Informant's name, description, address
+*When registered
+*Signature of registrar
 == References ==
-[[Category:Belize]]
+[[Category:Belize]] [[Category:Civil Registration]]