Civil Registry and Identification Service of Chile

The Civil Registry and Identification Service (SRCEI), sometimes simply referred to as the Civil Registry, is a decentralized public service in Chile, with its own legal personality and assets, under the supervision of the President of the Republic through the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. It is responsible for maintaining records related to the civil status of individuals and other duties assigned by law. Since December 2022, the organization has been headed by Omar Morales Márquez, under the government of President Gabriel Boric.
Its tasks include issuing birth certificates, marriage and civil union certificates, death certificates, criminal records, identity cards, passports, Unique Key, vehicle registrations, and inheritance probate for intestate succession.
To carry out its duties, the Civil Registry and Identification Service operates 16 regional offices, 476 offices and sub-offices, 300 self-service kiosks, 95 mobile service units, and a maritime office, known as Civilsur. It employs approximately 3,100 staff members.
Since the Colonial Chile era, personal identification was carried out through ecclesiastical records (such as baptismal, marriage, and death certificates) of the Catholic Church, which remained the state religion until 1925. On July 17, 1884, President of the Republic Domingo Santa María enacted the Civil Registry Law, as part of the secular laws, establishing a Civil Registry official responsible for maintaining duplicate records of births, marriages, and deaths.
With the evolving role of the State in economic, social, political, and cultural matters, the Civil Registry had to assume new functions of great importance to society. An example of this is the creation of the "General Registry of Convictions" in 1925, which was linked to identification, to establish the legal individuality of people and record their criminal history.
Decree Law 26, published on November 18, 1924, established the mandatory personal identification service, creating the identity card, which became mandatory for all citizens.
On August 28, 1930, the "Civil Registry Service" was organized, absorbing the tasks of the "Identification and Passport Service" in 1943, which until then had been under the responsibility of the Investigations Police (PDI).
Starting in 1980, the use of computer equipment was introduced, and later, in the 1990s, the incorporation of technology, process redesign, and the acceleration of procedures were promoted, resulting in reduced processing times and a clear orientation towards user satisfaction.
Since then, the adoption of cutting-edge technologies, the establishment of an extensive computer network linking offices, and the development of modern service systems have made the advances of the Service a model to follow for similar institutions in Latin America.
In 2017, the first self-service kiosks of the Civil Registry were inaugurated in high-traffic public locations where certificates are needed, such as town halls and hospitals across Chile, in line with the policies of automation and modernization of the public sector, implementing digital government initiatives.
The Civil Registry and Identification Service is responsible for the following twenty-two registers:
The Register of Non-Profit Legal Entities in Chile is a mandatory and centralized registration system, managed by the Civil Registry and Identification Service, aimed at formalizing associations, foundations, community organizations, neighborhood councils, and communal unions that do not seek profit.
The entities that must register in this system are divided into two main categories: those constituted under Title XXXIII of Book I of the Civil Code, such as corporations and foundations, and those governed by special laws, such as sports, religious, indigenous organizations, and some educational institutions that become non-profit legal entities.
Since 2023, the registration of new entities, as well as the modification of statutes and dissolutions, is carried out through the Municipal Secretariats corresponding to the entity's domicile. Once the procedure is completed in the Municipal Secretariat, it is responsible for sending the information to the Civil Registry, where the final registration in the national register is carried out.
To complete the registration, various documents are required, including the registration form, a copy of the founding documents of the act, and in some cases, express authorization issued by the entity's constitutive body. These requirements vary depending on the type of organization and the nature of the procedure (registration, board modification, etc.).
Once registered, non-profit legal entities acquire a series of obligations, including the regular updating of their information in the register and compliance with accounting and tax regulations. In return, these organizations can access various benefits, such as the ability to receive tax-exempt donations, participate in public tenders, and apply for competitive funds.
Site to book an appointment at the Civil Registry