Indonesia

In Indonesia, parents face obstacles to registering children when born out of wedlock. While a child born out of wedlock can legally acquire a birth certificate, without a marriage certificate the father’s name is not listed on the document. The father’s name can be added later by submitting a marriage certificate. Having a certificate without the father’s name marks the child as ‘illegitimate’ and puts them at risk of facing social stigma, as well as statelessness. A 2014 report revealed that even though children were allowed to be registered without a marriage certificate, many local offices still required one. A marriage certificate can be costly to obtain and many religious marriages are not legally registered, posing barriers to birth registration. A 2024 civil society report to the CRC stated that lacking a marriage certificate remained a barrier to birth registration.