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How to find
your birth time
Your birth time is on the birth report and the birth certificate. It's not on the family relation certificate or the basic certificate — those only show the date of birth. Check in this order: a birth certificate at home → your parents' memory → the hospital → the authority in charge of family relation registration.
In this article 8 topics
Where is my birth time recorded?
There are five places where it may be recorded. Check them from the top, and most people find it somewhere here.
| Where | Has the time? | How to check |
|---|---|---|
| Birth report | Yes — required by law | Ask the authority in charge of family relation registration about viewing or obtaining the filed report |
| Birth certificate | Yes — issued by the hospital where you were delivered | First check whether the original is still at home |
| Maternity record book · baby record book | Often written down | Check whether it's kept at your parents' or grandparents' home |
| Hospital medical records | In the delivery record | Hospital records office — gone if the retention period has passed |
| Family relation certificate · basic certificate | No | Shows the date of birth only |
The last row is where many people get it wrong. The family relation certificate and the basic certificate don't show the time. Only the date is recorded. So even if you get a certificate at a community service center, you won't find the time there.
Is the birth time written on the birth report?
Yes. The Act on the Registration, Etc. of Family Relationships requires the birth report to state “the year, month, day and hour of birth and the place of birth”. It's an item that asks for the hour (時) as well.
However, this is a filed report document, not a certificate, so the process differs from issuing ordinary certificates. Whether it can be viewed or copied, which authority keeps it and how long it's retained vary depending on when it was filed and which office handled it.
It's easiest to check in this order: ① whether there's a birth certificate or maternity record book at home → ② your parents' memory → ③ the hospital where you were delivered → ④ asking the authority in charge of family relation registration about viewing or obtaining the filed report. For procedures and whether it's possible, it's best to check directly with the office. What's written here is guidance, not legal advice.
Will the hospital still have a record?
Not if the retention period has passed. The periods set by the Medical Service Act differ by record type; as far as we've confirmed, they are as follows.
| Journal | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Medical records · surgical records | 10 years |
| Nursing records · midwifery records · patient registers | 5 years |
| Duplicates of medical certificates, etc. | 3 years |
| Prescriptions | 2 years |
So if you were born before the 1990s, it's unlikely you'll find it in hospital records. In many cases the hospital has also closed or moved. Still, if you were born at a general hospital, it's worth one phone call.
What if I only roughly remember?
Usually, that's enough. The Saju hour pillar divides the 24 hours into twelve two-hour slots. So knowing just “around dawn” or “around lunchtime” is often enough to pin down the slot.
| Two-hour period | Time | Earthly Branch |
|---|---|---|
| Ja hour (子) | 23:00 ~ 00:59 | Rat |
| Chuk hour (丑) | 01:00 ~ 02:59 | Ox |
| In hour (寅) | 03:00 ~ 04:59 | Tiger |
| Myo hour (卯) | 05:00 ~ 06:59 | Rabbit |
| Jin hour (辰) | 07:00 ~ 08:59 | Dragon |
| Sa hour (巳) | 09:00 ~ 10:59 | Snake |
| O hour (午) | 11:00 ~ 12:59 | Horse |
| Mi hour (未) | 13:00 ~ 14:59 | Sheep |
| Sin hour (申) | 15:00 ~ 16:59 | Monkey |
| Yu hour (酉) | 17:00 ~ 18:59 | Rooster |
| Sul hour (戌) | 19:00 ~ 20:59 | Dog |
| Hae hour (亥) | 21:00 ~ 22:59 | Pig |
“Before breakfast” falls in the Jin hour (07–09), and “around the end of the workday” in the Yu hour (17–19), and so on. The trouble comes when you're on a boundary. 8:55 and 9:05 give different hour pillars.
Is there anything special to watch for if I was born around 11 p.m.?
Yes. Between 11 p.m. and midnight, not just the hour pillar but the date itself can split. Depending on how the Ja hour (子時) is handled, the day pillar shifts by a day. Two of your eight characters change entirely.
If you were born in this time window, it's best to check down to the minute. More in If you were born at 11 p.m. — late and early Ja hour.
Can I just enter the recorded time as is?
Usually, yes. But because there were periods when clocks were set differently from today, there are two things to check.
- Daylight saving periods
- Daylight saving time was observed in twelve years between 1948 and 1988. During those periods, clocks were set one hour ahead. Subtract one hour from the recorded time to get the actual time — we've listed them by year in The twelve years of daylight saving time.
- When standard time changed
- Korea Standard Time has changed three times. There was a period when 127.5°E was used, which makes a 30-minute difference — see The story of Korea Standard Time's three changes.
In both cases, the result changes only for people on a boundary. If you were born in the middle of a two-hour period, adjusting by 30 minutes or an hour still leaves you in the same slot.
What if I can't find it at all?
Read the chart without the hour. This approach uses the six characters of the Three Pillars — your eight characters minus the two of the hour pillar. It's a method used traditionally too, and there's quite a lot you can see from six characters alone.
The one thing you really shouldn't do is fill in an unknown time with a guess. Two wrong characters throw off your entire Five Elements distribution and Ten Gods, which is worse than having nothing. What you can and can't see without a birth time is explained in How accurate is Saju if you don't know your birth time?.
Start with six characters, even without a birth time
If you find your birth time later, just add it then. We never fill it in arbitrarily.
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Where can I find my birth time?
The time is entered on the birth report and the birth certificate. But it's not on the family relation certificate or the basic certificate — those only show the date of birth. Start by checking for a birth certificate or maternity record book at home.
Can I find my birth time at a community service center?
Not from the certificates alone. The time is on the birth report, which is a filed report document, not a certificate, so the process is separate. The most reliable approach is to ask the authority in charge of family relation registration directly.
How long do hospitals keep birth records?
The legal retention periods are 10 years for medical records and 5 years for midwifery records. So if you were born before the 1990s, it's unlikely you'll find it in hospital records. Still, if it was a general hospital, it's worth a call.
Can I get a Saju reading if I only roughly know my birth time?
Usually, yes. The hour pillar is divided into twelve two-hour slots, so even knowing “around lunchtime” is enough to pin down the slot. But near a boundary and around 11 p.m., you need to check down to the minute.