Q & A Centre

An Official Certificate is printed on official State Certificate paper for life events. This paper is green in colour and has a number of security features to prevent fraudulent duplication of the certificate and carries a "HARP" watermark through the paper. ALL Birth, Death, Marriage, Civil Partnership and Adoption certificates are printed on this paper.

Civil Marriage is a marriage ceremony conducted solely by a HSE State Marriage Registrar. Civil Marriages can take place in a Registry Office or in a Hotel or Public Venue or outdoors in a location attached to a venue. There is usually one Registry Office located in each county.

Civil Ceremonies do not contain religious or spiritual content but along with declarations of no impediment to marriage and the exchange of vows required by law by the couple, they can include personal vows between the couple, a ring exchange, readings of poetry and prose, candle ceremonies, and music amongst other additions.

To book a civil wedding in a Registry Office - or a Hotel/Public Venue/or outdoors in a location attached in to a venue - you will need to call your local Civil Registration Office to book your wedding date and appointment to complete all the necessary paperwork a minimum of 3 months in advance of the wedding.

Civil Partnership in Ireland was available to same sex couples only between 2011 and 18 November 2016 as such couples were prohibited from marrying under the then existing marriage legislation.

From the 18 November 2016 marriage equality legislation was enacted in the Republic of Ireland and marriage became available to all couples regardless of their sexuality or gender and civil partnership ceased to be available in the State.

If you had a civil partnership in the Republic of Ireland and would like to order your Civil Partnership Certificate please call our office to order your certificate or over the phone at 01-6190235.

If you wish to order your certificate by post, download the form below and send it to our office along with the correct fee for the number of certificates required and the postal rate.

All payments should be in Euros and cheques / postal orders made
payable to Civil Certificates Ltd.

Application form for Irish Death Certificates.

Click here (PDF)
or
Click Here (Microsfot Word)

Post application forms to:-

Civil Certificates Ltd.
6 - 9 Trinity Street
Dublin 2
D02 EY47
Ireland

To register a death you will need a Death Notification Form

A Death Notification Form is issued to the next of kin by the Hospital, Hospice or Nursing Home where the deceased passed away.

When you obtain this form you should complete the details on the back of the form which relate to the deceased. However you only SIGN the back of the Form when you are in the presence of the Registrar when you attend the local Civil Registration Office to register the death.

You will need to bring current picture ID for yourself to the office when attending to register the death.

A Death is usually and preferably registered by a family member or relative of the deceased.

This can include the deceased's spouse, offspring, siblings, in-laws, or a niece/nephew etc.

If a death has not been registered by a family member/relative after 3 months the death can be registered by anyone present at the death, an authorised staff member from the building or institute where the person passed away OR an undertaker, OR a person who found the body of the person concerned, OR a person who procured the disposal of that body OR any other person who has knowledge of the death.

If a death has not been registered after 12 months after the death an applicant will have to apply for the late registration of a death.

The local Civil Registration Office will supply you with the application form which you must complete and then SIGN in the presence of a Solicitor, Peace Commissioner or a Commissioner for Oaths.

The form will need to be accompanied by a Death Notification Form supplied by the deceased's Medical Doctor and one piece of documentary evidence.

In the absence of a Death Notification Form the applicant will need to submit the application form along with two pieces of documentary evidence which can include a newspaper Death Notice, a Memorial Card and/or a picture of the gravestone of the deceased.

The form and documentary evidence should be submitted to the Regional Superintendent Registrar for approval at your local Civil Registration Office.

If you notice an error on a Death Certificate you can apply to correct the error.

The local Civil Registration Office will supply you with the relevant application form and you should complete the form and sign it in the presence of a Solicitor, Peace Commissioner or a Commissioner for Oaths.

You will need to submit the completed form with documentary evidence proving the error to your local Civil Registration Office for approval by the Regional Superintendent Registrar.

A death is referred to a Coroner if someone dies suddenly or unexpectedly or violently or if their body is found after death.

You can contact the Corner directly if you are next of kin of the deceased for advice on when the death will be registered.

The contact details of all Coroner's in the Republic of Ireland can be obtained from their website:
Email address for Regional Coroners

The Coroner upon investigation may register the death OR request a post-mortem and register the death OR hold an inquest which usually takes place a number of months after the death.

In such a situation a Coroner can issue the next of kin an Interim Death Certificate until the inquest is held whereupon the Coroner will then register the death with the local Civil Registration Office.

You can apply by post for an Adoption, Birth, Death, Marriage Certificate by downloading and completing the application form. See Births Death or Marriage section in our Q & A Centre.

Each application should be accompanied with a Euro Bank Cheque or Postal Order made payable to: CIVIL CERTIFICATATES LIMITED.

Post to: Civil Certificates Ltd, 6 - 9 Trinity Street, Dublin 2.

A stillbirth birth is any baby delivered stillborn who weighted a minimum of 500 grams OR had a gestational age of 24 weeks.

To register a Stillbirth that occurred BEFORE 1 January 1995, a parent of the child, or an older sibling or a family member can attend a local Civil Registration Office with current picture ID for themselves and a letter from the Hospital/Nursing Home or Institute where the stillbirth was delivered detailing the details of the birth (e.g. date of stillbirth, parent's details etc). The Registrar will register the Stillbirth and issue any stillbirth certificates that are required.

Stillbirths that occurred after the 1 January 1995 where registered by a parent or family member. However if after 12 months the stillbirth was not registered by a parent as they felt unable too, a staff member from the Hospital where the stillbirth was delivered is legally obliged to register the stillbirth.