Section 39: Entry in register as evidence of birth or death

(1) The entry or a certified copy of an entry of a birth or death in a register, or in a certified copy of a register, shall not be evidence of the birth or death unless the entry is signed by some person professing to be the informant and such person as may be required by this Act or any law at the date of the entry to give to the registrar information concerning that birth or death.
(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply-
(a) in relation to an entry of a birth made with the authority of the Registrar-General;
(b) in relation to an entry of a death made upon a certificate from a coroner; or
(c) in relation to an entry of a birth or death made in pursuance of any enactment relating to the registration of births and deaths at sea.
(3) A certified copy of an entry in a register or in a certified copy of a register shall be deemed to be a true copy notwithstanding that it is made on a form different from that of which the original entry was made if any differences in the column headings under which the particulars appear in the original entry and the copy are respectively differences of form only and not of substance.
(4) The Registrar-General shall cause a certified copy of an entry given in the general register in the office to be sealed or stamped with the seal of the office and subject to the foregoing provisions of this section, a certified copy of an entry purporting to be sealed or stamped with the said seal shall be received as evidence of the birth or registration to which it relates without any force or other proof of the entry and no certified copy purporting to have been given by the said office shall be of any force or effect unless it is sealed or stamped as aforesaid.