What does the birth certificate show?

What does the birth certificate show?

"I recently requested a birth certificate for myself, and the extract I received does not contain the following details: my mother's place of origin, my parents' dates of birth, and their place of residence at the time of my birth. Should I have been given this information?

Isabelle, Geneva

The birth certificate is a document that can be obtained from the registry office that registered the birth at the request of the person concerned.

In principle, although civil status registers are public registers, they are not freely accessible. You must have an interest in accessing data concerning your own civil status or that of a third party. In the latter case, the information must not be obtainable from the third party.

Personal data is disclosed mainly through the issue of extracts from registers. Thus, when you request a birth certificate, you will be given an extract from the birth certificate, which is limited to data specific to the birth itself and specifies the place, date and time of birth, as well as the surname, first name and information valid at the time of birth relating to the parents, i.e. surname, first name and commune of residence.

The other data is of no interest in establishing the birth. Civil status events that occur after birth (such as name changes) do not appear on the birth certificate, as they are not recorded in the birth register. There is, however, an exception for first name changes and changes in legal status, such as recognition.

However, you won't get any more information about your parents in this way. To do so, you would need to request a family record or certificate, which normally contains this type of information.