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.

History 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.

Registers The Civil Registry and Identification Service is responsible for the following twenty-two registers:

Birth Register (1884) Marriage Register (1884) Death Register (1884) General Register of Convictions (1925) Identity Card (1943) Passport Register (1943) Register of Professionals (1981) National Register of Motor Vehicles (1985) National Register of Motor Vehicle Drivers (1985) National Register of the Disability (1994) National Register of Domestic Violence (1994) Special Register of Offenses related to Drug Consumption and Psychotropic Substances (1995) Register of Personal Data Banks managed by Public Bodies (1999) National Register of Land Freight Transport (2003) National Register of Probate (2003) National Register of Wills (2003) National DNA Register System (2004) National Register of Non-Profit Legal Entities (2011) Register of Non-Possessory Pledges (2011) Register of persons prohibited from working with minors (2012) National Non-Donors Register (2013) Special Register of Civil Union Agreements (2015) National Register of Child Support Debtors (2022)

National Directors

DirectorPartyStartEndPresidentHernán Díaz ArrietaZig Zag, N°1057, May 23, 1925.Ind.1925¿?Arturo Alessandri Palma19251927Emiliano Figueroa Larraín19271931Carlos Ibáñez del CampoFernando Jaramillo ValderramaLPDecember 4, 1931June 4, 1932Juan Esteban MonteroDecember 24, 1932December 24, 1938Arturo Alessandri PalmaDecember 24, 19381939Pedro Aguirre CerdaLuis Felipe Laso Pérez CotaposRP1939November 25, 1941November 25, 1941April 2, 1942Jerónimo Méndez ArancibiaApril 2, 19421945Juan Antonio RíosLuis Alberto Cuevas Contreras1945June 27, 1946 Washington Bannen MujicaJune 27, 19461947Gabriel González Videla Desiderio Bravo Ortiz19471952November 3, 19521953Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Luis Ignacio Pérez Labra19531953Fernando Sergio Montaldo BustosInd.1953November 3, 1958November 3, 1958November 3, 1964Jorge Alessandri RodríguezNovember 3, 19641965Eduardo Frei MontalvaJorge Zapata SantosPDC1965November 3, 1970November 3, 19701971Salvador Allende Gossens Heriberto Benquis CamhiPS1971September 11, 1973 Desiderio Herrera GonzálezInd.September 12, 19731973Augusto Pinochet Ugarte Luis Henríquez Valenzuela19741978 José Bernales Pereira19781980 Juan Bennett UrrutiaFebruary 1980June 1982 Luis Larroulet Ganderats19821985 Enrique Tornero Figueroa19851990Berta Belmar RuizPDCMarch 11, 1990March 11, 1994Patricio Aylwin AzócarMarch 11, 19941997Eduardo Frei Ruiz-TagleMaría Alejandra Sepúlveda ToroPS1997March 11, 2000March 11, 20002003Ricardo Lagos EscobarAldo Signorelli GuerraPRSD2004March 11, 2006 Guillermo Arenas Escudero PPDMarch 11, 2006 2008Michelle Bachelet JeriaChristian Behm SepúlvedaInd.March 1, 2009March 11, 2010March 11, 2010January 1, 2011Sebastián Piñera Echenique Rodrigo Durán López May 25, 2011 October 11, 2013Claudia Gallardo LatsagueOctober 11, 2013August 7, 2014Teresa Alanis ZuletaAugust 21, 2014October 23, 2015Michelle Bachelet Jeria Luis Acevedo Quintanilla PDCOctober 23, 2015October 24, 2016Jorge Álvarez VásquezInd.October 24, 2016March 11, 2018March 11, 2018October 16, 2020Sebastián Piñera EcheniqueSergio Mierzejewski LafferteJune 11, 2021March 11, 2022March 11, 2022March 22, 2022Gabriel Boric FontJorge Núñez Silva (s)March 22, 2022December 13, 2022Omar Morales MárquezPRDecember 13, 2022Incumbent

Non-profit organizations 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.

Registration Process 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.

Requirements and Documentation 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.).

Obligations and Benefits 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.

Civil Registry and Identification Service of Chile

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