According to the Principles and Recommendations for a Vital Statistics System (2014), ”civil registration is defined as the continuous, permanent, compulsory and universal recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events pertaining to the population, as provided through decree or regulation in accordance with the legal requirements in each country (p.65).” In India, the legal basis for the civil registration system is the Registration of Birth and Death Act, 1969.

Since 1948, the United Nations Statistics Division has had the mandate to develop best practice methodological frameworks and recommendations for civil registration and vital statistics systems. These recommendations include Guidelines on the Legislative Framework for Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management (2019) and the Handbook on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems: Management, Operation and Maintenance (2018).

The World Health Organization has the mandate to produce and maintain international classifications on health for governments to use as a common language. One such classification is the International Classification of Disease which is used for morbidity and mortality coding. More information on mortality coding is presented on the coding resources tab.

• World Health Organization CRVS webpage

• Registrar General of India website on birth and death registration

• University of Melbourne CRVS Knowledge gateway

• US CDC National Center for Health Statistics CRVS training course

• World Bank CRVS self-paced training course