Under the Civil Registration Act 2004 on December 5th 2005, procedures were provided for to register a death.
A qualified informant generally a relative registers the death once they obtain the death notification form from the GP who dealt with the deceased and has stated the cause of death in Section 1.
Under Section 37 (1) of the Civil Registration Act 2004 the relative signs and completes part 2 of the death notification form within three months of the death in the registrar’s office which is a combination of personal details.
Once all is in order a death cert can be obtained by the relative for a fee.
Requirements for registering a death
The informant who is the relative or civil partner must provide the following information for the death notification form.
Along with their own photo ID:
- Forename and Surname of the deceased
- Date of Birth
- Occupation
- Status of the deceased
- Cause of death to be filled by the GP, which is generally part 1 of the Death Notification Form
- Forenames and surnames of the deceased’s father and mother
- Date of registration
- Signatures of informant or relative
- Signatures of the civil registrar
It is important to note that in the event of a death as a result of an accident or in unexplained circumstances, the death must be referred to the local coroner where the death occurred. The coroner will be responsible for registering the death.
The relative or informant will need to make contact with the coroner’s office after a few months to see if the death has been registered. The relative will then be able to purchase the official death cert from the civil registration office nearest them. As the civil registration office is now centralised you can purchase the death cert from any office of your choice.