The Registration of Persons Act (2015) creates the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), an autonomous statutory body with the mandate to register persons in Uganda. Birth Registration is free and mandatory and must happen immediately after the birth occurs. 

The Registration of Persons Act (2015) requires that a parent, guardian or the person having charge of a child, to immediately after the date of birth or finding of a child notify the registration officer for the purpose of registration of the birth of that child.

A birth not registered immediately, shall not be registered unless the registrar is satisfied as to the truth of the particulars and is directed to register them by the Executive Director.

According to article 18 of the Constitution, the State has the obligation to register every birth occurring in Uganda. This obligation of the state to register also includes the birth registration of refugees. The Refugees Act and its Regulation do not explicitly mention the registration of birth and other vital events of refugees. The Registration of Persons Act (2015) and the Registrations of Persons (Births and Deaths) Regulations (2015) are the governing laws of the registration of birth in Uganda. The Act, under section 1(2) (b), explicitly states that it applies to the registration of all persons except to a refugee recognized by the Government and the UNHCR. However, the Registration of Persons (Birth and Deaths) Regulation (2015), under regulation 4 (1), provides that all births occurring in Uganda shall be registered without explicitly excluding refugees like the Act. Also, regulation 3(8) of the Regulation that discusses about the form of the register of births, seems to cover the registration of birth of refugees. The Regulation, under regulation 5(2), provides that the registration of every birth in Uganda is free and compulsory.

The National Identification and Registration Authority, established under the Registration of Persons (Birth and Deaths) Regulations (2015), regulations 4 and 5, is the mandated authority to register birth in Uganda including the birth of refugees. Also, the Act, section 30 and 31, and its Regulation, regulation 6 and 7, puts an obligation, in particular on the parents and medical institutions, to immediately notify the birth of a child to the respective registration authority. To improve the timeliness of birth registration services, the Government is working to establish links between the medical databases of hospitals registering births and the national NIRA database system. In practice, refugees birth registration is recognized and recorded in the same manner as nationals free of any charge,