5.3 Subsequent birth registration in practice In 90 percent of the households sampled, members were registered with the civil register of births immediately after birth. In only 2 percent were all members registered subsequently, or some were registered at birth and others at a later date. Figure 5.3.1. When were you registered with the civil register of births? 1 Which authority handled the retrospective registration procedure? 1 At the registry office in the municipality 8 He doesn’t know, he can’t remember Registred immediatelyafter birth 45 At the center for social work 23 Subsequently registred 90 Some were registred immediately after birth and some subsequently In court Do not know 21 11 Finally, in 8 percent of households the respondents were unsure of when they were registered with the civil register of birth and which authority handled the procedure. Local authorities’ civil register services most commonly handled subsequent registrations (in 45 percent of these cases). One-quarter (23 percent) were managed by CSWs and involved procedures for formally establishing a person’s name, and one-fifth (21 percent) were ruled on by courts in non-contentious procedure to establish a person’s date and place of birth. One in nine respondents (11 percent) were unable to remember where and how their birth registration took place. Most subsequent birth registrations were made more than five years before the survey (49 percent); in 26 percent of these cases the registration had been completed within the preceding five years; and 7 percent were registered within the 12 months immediately preceding the Survey. Residents of informal communities reported mainly receiving assistance for registration from NGOs (30 percent) and CSWs (20 percent). This Survey found a total of 14 children under five years of age who had lacked birth registration. The vast majority (11 of the 14) had not been registered at birth even though most had been born in maternity 44 PERSONS AT RISK OF STATELESSNESS IN SERBIA OVERVIEW OF CURRENT SITUATION AND THE WAY FORWARD