The state of Piauí has taken an important step in child protection by starting the issuance of the new National Identity Card (CIN) for newborns directly in maternity hospitals. This initiative, carried out in partnership with Valid, aims to strengthen the child protection network and can serve as a model for other regions in the country.
“With the CIN, our children will be identified and protected, making the National Identity Card our greatest instrument of citizenship,” emphasizes Célio Ribeiro, president of InterID, highlighting the importance of this document in ensuring security from birth.
Issuing the CIN directly in maternity hospitals ensures that children have immediate access to basic documentation after civil registration, guaranteeing rights from birth. The implementation includes integrating the child’s biometrics, collected right after birth, and the mother’s biometrics with the Electronic Live Birth Certificate (DNV-e).
Digitalizing this process makes it more difficult to remove a baby from the maternity hospital without the guardians’ authorization, reducing the risk of newborn swaps or abductions.
The initiative also supports the creation of a neonatal biometric database, fundamental for improving civil identification systems in the country. According to data from the National Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, approximately 4.26% of people reported missing in Brazil are children aged 0 to 11. For UNICEF, the lack of proper civil registration significantly increases their vulnerability to various forms of violence.
“This project represents a major step forward in guaranteeing citizenship for all. Our goal is to ensure that children, from their first day of life, have access to their rights, starting with identity, which is the first step toward citizenship,” said Marcelo Mascarenhas, director of the Piauí Identification Institute.
Brazilian law, through Federal Law No. 9,534, already mandates that civil registries must perform birth registrations and issue the first copy of the birth certificate free of charge. However, this new initiative in Piauí goes further by integrating this certificate with the immediate issuance of the CIN, providing an additional layer of protection.
The initiative to issue the CIN directly in maternity hospitals addresses the issue of under-registration by ensuring that all children are registered at birth, regardless of where their parents live or other personal circumstances. Unlike the General Registration (RG), which had different formats depending on the state of issuance, the CIN is nationally standardized and uses the Individual Taxpayer Registration (CPF) number as its reference.
In a broader context, civil registration not only enhances child safety but also facilitates access to essential services, such as healthcare and education, and simplifies administrative processes for families and the government.
This initiative paves the way for discussions on modernizing civil registration systems across Brazil. The integration of biometric and digital technologies is seen as an essential step toward enhancing the security and efficiency of public services.
“We are confident that this pilot project will serve as a reference for the entire country. Modernizing civil registration systems is fundamental to building a fairer and safer Brazil for future generations,” said Ilson Bressan, CEO of Valid.
