In a family registration report that requires a witness, what must the witness enter on the report form and how must that entry be authenticated?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the report form itself, to see whether it carries the resident registration number and the address entered for the witness, and we look for the witness's signature or seal at that entry. We also read whatever shows the matter is one in which a witness is required, so that this duty is the one in play.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading follows the provision as written: where a report is made in a matter requiring a witness, the witness must enter their resident registration number and address on the report form, and must then either sign the form or affix a seal, the signature and the seal being alternatives to each other.
Another reading notes what the provision does not address: it sets what must appear on the report form but says nothing about how the resident registration number and the address are to be verified, at what moment the address is to be stated, nor what applies where a witness can neither sign nor seal.
Your judgment
If the witness's address recorded on the report form has since changed, what in the file shows the witness's address at the time the report was made?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to add a verification requirement, fix the moment at which the address is stated, or recognise another form of authentication, or if a court decision addresses what the report form must show on these points.