Brazil Hospital Reports: First-Ever Birth Certificate Registered On Blockchain Without A Registry

Back in 2016, an economist, Fernando Ulrich, became the first person to register his daughter’s birth, Alice, on a blockchain. However, the registration was not verified, which means he still had to go to the registry office to register the birth. He wrote on his blog,

“But that will change.”

Three years later, Brazil have registered the first ever birth certificates on a blockchain exclusive from the visiting the registry office.

“A Three Step Registration In Under Five Minutes”

This describes the first ever recorded birth certificates purely on a blockchain without the need for a registry office. According to a report by Brazilian publication, Isto É Dinheiro magazine, Álvaro de Medeiros Mendonça, made history at Casa de Saude Sao Jose, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as the first baby to be registered on a blockchain exclusively.

The process of registration on a blockchain takes three crucial steps; the Live Birth Statement, parents create digital identity for the child and finally the information is sent to the notary office who send a digital certificate – all recorded on a blockchain.

The father to Álvaro, Waldyr Mendonça Junior, spoke proudly of this historic moment – a process that took less than five minutes to complete.

‘More Developments to Come’

Brazilian tech firm, Growth Tech's Notary Ledgers formed a partnership with IBM Technologies to develop this decentralized notary system for birth certificates – cutting off the need for a registry office. The partnership is set to ease the birth registration process across the globe.

Carlos Rischioto, IBM's Blockchain leader in Latin America, is looking forward to a successful piloting of the platform to the rest of the world. He said the firm’s goal is “to bring speed, efficiency, transparency and to eliminate more and more bureaucratic steps in business processes.”