It is a legal requirement that every death in Ireland must be recorded and registered. The General Register Office holds records relating to births, marriages and deaths in Ireland.

What do you need to register a death?

You must bring a death notification form stating the cause of death to any registrar of births, marriages and deaths. You get this form from the doctor who attended the person who died. You must complete part 2 and take it to the registry office. You will need to bring photo ID with you. The registration is free. You should register the death within three months of the date the person died. However, you have up to 12 months to register the death.

What if the cause of death is unknown?

A doctor cannot give you the death notification form if they do not know the cause of death, or if they didn’t see the deceased person in the one month before the death occurred. In this case, they must inform a coroner who may decide a post mortem is necessary. If the person died as the result of an accident, or in violent or unexplained circumstances, the coroner must be informed. The death is automatically registered where an inquest or post mortem is held at the request of the coroner. The coroner issues a certificate to the registrar containing all the details to be registered. While you are waiting for an inquest or post mortem to be carried out, you can get an interim certificate of the fact of death from the Coroner Service. You can use this to inform institutions like banks, insurance companies and the Department of Social Protection that the death has occurred.

How do I get the death certificate?

You can get copies of the death certificate from the registration office when you are registering the death. To get a copy of a death certificate at a later stage, you can go directly to any civil registration office. You can also apply for a death certificate online, by emailing a completed form to [email protected] or by phone. Civil registration offices have different ways of handling requests for certificates. You can find details about your nearest civil registration office on the HSE website.

Are there death certificate fees?

There is no charge for registering a death. But you may have to pay for a copy of the death certificate. A full standard certificate costs €20. You do not need to apply for a copy of a death certificate for social welfare purposes, as the Department of Social Protection will have access to this information once the death has been registered.

If you need further information contact your local Citizens Information Service in Bantry (Monday to Thursday 10am-5pm, Friday 10am-4pm) or ring 0818 07 8390. Alternatively you can email on [email protected] or log on to www.citizensinformation.ie