Register a Death
Why register a death?
By law all deaths occurring in Northern Ireland must be registered. A death should be registered as soon as possible to allow funeral arrangements to go ahead, but no later than five days from the date of occurrence except where the matter has been referred to the Coroner.
How to register a death
You do not need to attend the Registration Office to register a death.
Following a death, the GP or Hospital Doctor will forward a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death electronically to the General Register Office for Northern Ireland (GRONI), who will forward it to the registration office which covers the deceased’s home address.
The doctor who signed the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death may have passed your contact details to us. If they have, we will contact you to organise the registration of the death. If you have already appointed a Funeral Director, they will also provide us with a next of kin to contact.
To talk to us about this process, call our Registration Office on – Mossley Mill – 028 90 340180 / Antrim Civic Centre – 028 94 481315, Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm.
Who can register a death?
- Any relative of the deceased who has knowledge of the details required to be registered
- 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 the body
- A person taking charge of the body
Information you will need
You will need to know:
- Full name, surname and address of the deceased
- Date and place of death (and birth)
- Marital status (single, married, widowed or divorced)
- Occupation of the deceased
- Full name and occupation of the deceased spouse or partner (if the deceased was married, in a civil partnership or widowed)
- Maiden surname (if the deceased was a woman who was married)
- Full names and occupation of the father, or where the parents are not married, the full name and occupation of the mother (if the deceased was a child)
- The name and practice address of the deceased's doctor
The nidirect website has information about what to do if a death is referred to the Coroner
What you will receive?
Once the death has been registered, the registrar will issue a Certificate for Burial or Cremation to the funeral director so they can proceed with the burial or cremation.
You can buy a death certificate at the time of registration for £8 per copy. These will be posted to you or they can be collected from the office.
After the registration, you can order copies of a death certificate online from the nidirect website. These are £15 for the first copy and £8 for each additional copy bought at the same time.
What does it cost to register a death?
There is no cost for registering a death. The only cost will be for certified copies of the death certificate, if required. These can be purchased at the time of registration for £8.00 per certificate. To obtain certificate(s) after the date of registration will cost £15.00 per certificate.