By law, all deaths that occur in Northern Ireland must be registered in Northern Ireland.
How to Register a Death
The process for registering the death of a loved one:
- Following a death the doctor or hospital will forward a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death electronically to the General Register Office for Northern Ireland (GRONI). It will forward this 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 details to the registrar. Our registrar will contact you to organise the registration of the death.
- We will contact you by telephone to arrange the completion of the registration of the death, there will be no need to attend your local registrar's office (unless you prefer too).
- The registrar will then issue a Certificate for Burial or Cremation to the funeral director to allow the funeral of your loved one to proceed.
To discuss the process or if you have any queries please contact us on 028 9244 7263 or email: bdm.registration@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk. Your Funeral Director will also be able to assist.
Please visit NI Direct for further information on the current process.
Information you will need:
- full forename(s) and surname of the deceased and usual address
- date and place of death
- marital status
- if the deceased is under 16, full names and occupations of the parents
- 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
- if the death was sudden or the doctor treating the deceased is unavailable or the deceased was not seen by a doctor within the 28 days before death, this may be referred to the Coroner
Who can register a death
A relative of the deceased. If the deceased has no relatives or none are available, then any of the following can register the death:
- any relative of the deceased – including a relative by marriage
- a person present at the death
- a person taking care of the funeral arrangements
- the executor/administrator of the deceased’s estate
- 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
- the Governor, matron, chief officer of a public building where the death occurred
When the death has been registered:
- We will issue a Certificate for Burial or Cremation (GRO 21) to your funeral director.
- 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. bank accounts, insurance, wills, etc.
- When you purchase certificates, they will be posted out to the address provided by the informant. If urgent, they can be collected at the Civic Centre, Lisburn by arrangement.
- If you are unable to buy a death certificate from our registration office you can order a certificate online.
NI Direct has comprehensive information about what to do if a death is referred to the coroner or if someone dies abroad.
You can purchase one or more copies of the death certificate at the time of registration at a cost of £8 each.
After the date of registration, you must order certificates through the General Register Office.