REGISTRATION OF A DEATH

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic registering a death is currently completed remotely by telephone rather than in person at the registration office, but this may be subject to change.

Please visit the NI Direct website for further information on the current process. 

Current registration process:

  • When a person dies, the doctor will send the 'medical certificate of cause of death’ by email to the General Register Office (GRO).
  • The GRO will then email this to the registration team in the local registration office where the deceased was ordinarily resident at the time of death.
  • The Registration Team will then contact the next of kin by telephone to obtain the details of the deceased and will then register the death.
  • Payment can be taken over the phone by debit or credit card for death certificates which will cost £8.00 each. Death certificates may be required to close any financial or legal affairs relating to the deceased i.e. closing bank accounts, insurance, wills, etc. 
  • When you purchase certificates they will be posted out to the address provided by the informant or if urgent can be collected at the Civic Centre, Lisburn if pre-arranged.

Should you have any queries regarding the new process and registering your loved one’s death, please contact the Lisburn Registration Office on 028 9244 7263 or email bdm.registration@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk    

Alternatively, your Funeral Director will also be able to advise you.

Guidance on procedures

By law, all deaths that occur in Northern Ireland must be registered in Northern Ireland.

What information will you need?

You will be required to provide the following information

  • Full forename(s) and surname of the deceased
  • Date and place of death and usual address
  • Status (single, married/civil partner, widowed /surviving civil partner or divorced/civil partnership dissolved)
  • Date and place of birth
  • The forename(s), surname and occupation of spouse or civil partner
  • Occupation of the deceased
  • The full names and occupations of the father and mother of the deceased  (optional)
  • Maiden name (if the deceased was a woman who had been married or in a civil partnership)
  • The name and practice address of the deceased’s doctor
  • The medical certificate of cause of death, signed by the doctor, will be provided directly to the registrar.  If the death was sudden or the doctor treating the deceased is unavailable, a death may be referred to the Coroner.

The NI Direct website has comprehensive information about what to do if a death is referred to the Coroner or if someone dies abroad.  

Who can register a death?

  • any relative of the deceased who has knowledge of the details needed to register
  • 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 taking charge of, the body.

What will you receive?

Once the death is registered, you will receive:

  • a GRO 21 form which allows a burial or cremation to take place – at present this is sent directly to your Funeral Director
  • a bereavement service leaflet for social security purposes if the deceased received a state pension or benefits.

Death certificates, which are required when sorting out the deceased’s affairs may be purchased at the time of registration for £8 per copy.

Documents and information needed when someone dies

You can view details on the documents and information needed when someone dies on the NI Direct website. 

The latest funeral director guidance has been published and can be viewed by clicking here.