Lost or Damaged Iranian Birth Certificate (Shenasnameh): How to Get a Replacement from the U.S. or Canada

Why Your Shenasnameh Matters — Even from Abroad

Your Shenasnameh is Iran's foundational civil identity document. It records your birth, parentage, marital status, and the births of your children. Without it, you cannot renew your Iranian passport. You cannot register a marriage or divorce in the Iranian civil registry. You cannot transfer property in Iran, claim an inheritance, or prove Iranian citizenship for your children. Many Iranians living in the U.S. or Canada do not realize their Shenasnameh is lost or damaged until they need it urgently — often during a family crisis or when handling property back in Iran. Replacing it takes time. Start the process before you need it.

Lost vs. Damaged: What Is the Difference Procedurally?

The distinction matters for what you submit. A lost Shenasnameh means you have no physical booklet at all. A damaged one means the booklet exists but is torn, water-damaged, unreadable in key areas, or otherwise compromised. For a damaged booklet, you will typically need to surrender the damaged original as part of the replacement request. For a lost booklet, you will need to make a formal declaration that it is lost. In both cases, the Iranian civil registry (Sazman Sabt Ahval) in your place of birth in Iran is ultimately the authority that issues the replacement. The consular office abroad facilitates the process but does not issue the booklet itself.

What You Will Need to Begin

Gather these documents before you contact the consular office. Requirements can vary based on your individual record and the specific civil registry in Iran, so treat this as a baseline checklist.

• A valid Iranian passport (or proof of Iranian identity if your passport is also expired or missing)
• Your Iranian National ID number (Shenasnameh number and serial number, if known)
• Your Mikhak system registration — this is mandatory before any consular service request
• A completed application form, which the Interests Section or Canadian consulate will provide
• A written declaration that the document is lost (for lost booklets) or the damaged original (for damaged booklets)
• Recent passport-style photographs meeting Iranian consular photo requirements
• Payment of the applicable consular fee — confirm the current amount with your consular office, as fees change periodically

Step-by-Step: The Replacement Process from the United States

1. Register on the Mikhak system at mikhak.mfa.gov.ir. The portal is in Persian only. Complete your profile and submit a service request for a Shenasnameh replacement.
2. Contact the Iranian Interests Section in Washington, D.C. at (202) 965-4990 or through daftar.org to confirm the current document checklist and schedule an appointment if required.
3. Prepare all required documents from the checklist above. Have any Persian-language documents you need to reference accurately translated if you are not fluent in written Persian.
4. Submit your application and supporting documents to the Interests Section, either in person at 1250 23rd Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20037, or by mail if mail submission is permitted for your request type — confirm this with the office first.
5. The Interests Section forwards your request to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ultimately to the civil registry office in your city or province of birth in Iran.
6. A representative or attorney in Iran may be required to follow up with the local civil registry on your behalf. This is common when the original registry records need to be verified in person.
7. Once the replacement booklet is issued in Iran, it is transmitted back through official channels. Confirm with the Interests Section how and when you will receive it.

Step-by-Step: The Replacement Process from Canada

1. Register on the Mikhak system at mikhak.mfa.gov.ir before initiating any consular contact.
2. Identify which Iranian consulate serves your province. Iran has consulates in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Montreal.
3. Contact your nearest consulate directly to request the current document checklist and appointment availability. Requirements and procedures may differ slightly between consular posts.
4. Prepare and submit your application with all required supporting documents.
5. Follow up as directed by the consulate. As with U.S.-based applications, the replacement booklet is issued by the civil registry in Iran and transmitted back to you through the consulate.

When You Do Not Know Your Shenasnameh Number or Birth Registry Details

Some Iranians — particularly those who left Iran very young or who were born abroad and had their birth registered in Iran — do not have their Shenasnameh number or know which local civil registry office holds their record. This complicates the replacement process significantly. You will need to identify your record before a replacement can be issued. Options include contacting a close family member in Iran who may have access to your family registry page (Shenasnameh-ye Khanevadegi), engaging a trusted attorney or representative in Iran to search registry records on your behalf, or providing the Interests Section or consulate with as much biographical information as possible — full legal name in Persian, father's full name, mother's full name, date of birth, and city or province of birth — so they can help trace the record. Do not attempt to reconstruct or estimate information you are unsure of. Errors introduced at this stage can create long-term discrepancies in your civil record.

How Iranian Citizen Services Can Help

Iranian Citizen Services (ICS) is an independent consulting firm — not a law firm — that helps Iranians in the U.S. and Canada navigate the procedural and administrative side of Iranian consular documentation. For a lost or damaged Shenasnameh, ICS can help you register on the Mikhak system if you are not fluent in Persian, identify which documents you need and help you organize them, review your application materials for completeness before submission, and communicate clearly with you about what each step of the process involves. ICS was founded in 2023 by Shirin Salamat, an Iranian attorney and Member of the Iran Central Bar Association since 2004, and has assisted more than 200 clients across the United States and Canada. ICS does not provide legal advice and does not handle U.S. immigration matters. Services are delivered entirely remotely. You can learn more at iraniancitizen.com.