Every year, hundreds of thousands of birth certificates are issued to confirm the legal identity of citizens, a crucial step in obtaining a National ID (NID) card. Prior to the implementation of online birth registration, the process was manual, slow, fragmented, and error-prone. The issuance of NIDs began in 2008, and in 2010, Bangladesh revamped its civil registration system with the introduction of the online Birth Registration Information System. This initiative reinforced the legal obligation to register every birth within 45 days under the Birth and Death Registration Act of 2004.
Despite these advancements, the main challenge remains interoperability. The Birth and Death Registration Information System (BDRIS) currently shares limited data with 22 government agencies through MoUs and API-based connections. Previously, without a unified legal mandate or standardized data protection framework, these collaborations relied more on administrative goodwill rather than enforceable safeguards. The recent introduction of the Personal Data Protection Ordinance (PDPO), Cyber Safety Ordinance (CSO), and the National Data Governance and Interoperability Architecture (NDGIA) provides essential regulatory clarity and institutional mechanisms for secure, transparent, and lawful data exchange. These policy implementations demonstrate the government’s dedication to enhancing interoperability and establishing a solid legal basis for future BDRIS connections with other government systems.
Nonetheless, the lack of complete integration continues to pose challenges for citizens. To acquire an NID, an individual must first possess a birth certificate; however, an adult seeking a birth certificate often needs to present an NID as proof of age. This situation often leads to a dilemma similar to the age-old question: which comes first, the egg or the chicken?
Even the birth registration rate for children aged 0 to 11 months in Bangladesh is not at 100 percent. There is a significant opportunity to link the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) with BDRIS. Such integration could facilitate automatic birth registration during childbirth or a child’s first vaccination, ensuring accuracy and preventing omissions. This approach would not only alleviate the burden on families but also streamline data entry across government offices and simplify the process for citizens. Similar integrations are necessary to bring birth and death registration closer to frontline health services, creating a more transparent, efficient, and user-friendly system.
The government’s commitment to making BDRIS accessible to all is evident, but this dedication must translate into timely and forward-thinking technical upgrades. While the expansion of hosting capacity and document upload limits are positive steps, they came after the system had already begun to struggle. These improvements were not enhancements but rather necessary adjustments for a platform expected to manage millions of records nationwide.
Interoperability is showing promise, as evidenced by the collaboration in April 2025 with the Election Commission, where BDRIS data supported e-ID delivery for 12.5 million students. This collaboration highlights the potential of coordinated digital services when systems effectively communicate with each other.
Despite these advancements, the current BDRIS interface only partially functions on mobile and tablet screens, despite smartphones being the primary digital access point for many rural registrars and citizens. Without a fully responsive redesign, the platform risks excluding the very communities it aims to serve. A dedicated mobile app, tailored to user behavior rather than technical assumptions, could simplify registration and enhance public engagement. Leveraging the nation’s talent through a national design challenge or hackathon involving universities and private-sector partners could inject innovative ideas into the redesign process, helping BDRIS evolve into a user-centric digital service.
Improving BDRIS is not just a technical necessity; it is crucial for identity, access, and dignity. A civil registration platform responsible for documenting the beginning of a person’s legal existence must not be slow, disconnected, or challenging to navigate. It should be interoperable, user-friendly, and designed around citizens’ realities, not outdated systems. Enhanced coordination, user-centric design, and long-term planning are essential to bridge the remaining gaps. Prioritizing these reforms will enable BDRIS to fulfill its promise of ensuring every individual’s recognition, protection, and full participation in public life.