You normally need to register a person's death within
five days. When you are bereaved, this can seem like a daunting task.
When and where to register a death
In Northern Ireland a death should be registered within
five days, to allow funeral arrangements to be made. This is with the
exception of deaths which have been referred to the coroner.
A death may be registered in any District Registration
Office in Northern Ireland.
There is no cost for registering a death. The only cost
will be for copies of the death certificates if required.
Who can register a death
A death which occurs in Northern Ireland, can be
registered by:
any relative of the deceased who has knowledge of the
details required to be registered (this includes a relative by
marriage)
a person present at the death
a person taking care of the funeral arrangements
the executor or administrator of the deceased's estate
the governor, matron or chief officer of a public
building where the death occurred
a person living in and responsible for a house,
lodgings or apartments where the death occurred
a person finding, or a person taking charge, of the
body
Most deaths are registered by a relative of the
deceased. The registrar would normally only allow one of the other
people listed above to do so if there are no relatives available or
they cannot be traced.
What information will I need to provide?
When registering a death, you will need to complete a
registration form and provide the medical certificate of the cause of
death, signed by a doctor to your local District Registration Office.
You can download the form at the link below.
You’ll need to tell the registrar:
full name and surname of the deceased
date and place of death and usual address
marital status (single, married, widowed or divorced)
date and place of birth
occupation of the deceased (if the deceased was a wife
or widow, the full name and occupation of her husband or deceased
husband) will be required
if the deceased was a child, the full names and
occupation of the father will be required, or where the parents are
not married, the full name and occupation of the mother will be
required
maiden surname (if the deceased was a woman who had
married)
the name and address of the deceased's GP
details of any pension apart from a state pension that
the deceased may have held
Documents you will receive
Once the registration is completed, the registrar will
issue the following forms:
a form GR021 giving permission for the body to be
buried or for an application for cremation to be made (if the body
is to be cremated, the GP or hospital will arrange for a second
doctor to sign the cremation certificate)
a certificate of Registration of Death (form 36/BD8),
issued for social security purposes.
You’ll be able to buy one or more Death Certificates
at this time. These will be needed by the executor or administrator
when sorting out the deceased person's affairs.
Death certificates
For deaths registered after 17 December 2012, a short
form of death certificate is available. The short death certificate
will not show the cause of death.
Death certificates, either short or full, may be
purchased from the Registrar at the time of registration for £8 per
copy.
After the registration, copies of death certificates can
be purchased from the General Register Office at a fee of £15 for
the first copy and £8 for each additional copy purchased at the same
time.
Certified copies of death certificates
A death certificate can be ordered from the General
Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) in the following ways:
Online
If you have a credit or debit card, you can order a
certificate online through nidirect.
By phone
If you have a Visa, Mastercard or Maestro card you can
order certificates by phone on:
You should have your card with you when you ring, as GRO
will require your card number and expiry date.
Certificates ordered by phone will be sent out by post
or, on request, can be collected from the office.
In person
You can apply in person by taking your application form
to the General Register Office (GRO).
The
General Register Office
Oxford House
49 - 55 Chichester
Street
Belfast
BT1 4HL
The office is open Monday to Friday from 9.30 am to 4.00
pm (excluding public, bank and all Northern Ireland government
holidays). Please note that the office opens at 10.00 am on the first
Tuesday of each month due to staff training.
District Registration offices
In addition to the GRO, some certificates are available
from local District Registration offices. Certificates for deaths
registered on or after 1 January 1997 are available from any District
Registration Office in Northern Ireland, no matter where in Northern
Ireland the event took place.
Applications to district registration offices must be
submitted in person so please contact your local office for details
of accepted payment methods.
By post
You can post your completed application form and fee to
GRO:
The
General Register Office
Oxford House
49 - 55 Chichester
Street
Belfast
BT1 4HL