Register a death

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

Registering a death is completed remotely by telephone rather than in person at the registration office.  However, this may be subject to change.

There will be no need to attend your local registrar's office.

The process for registering the death of a loved one is:

1. 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.
2. The doctor who signed the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death may have passed your details to the registrar. Our registrar could contact you to organise the registration of the death.
3. We will contact you by telephone to arrange the completion of the registration of the death. 
4. 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.
5. 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. 
6. 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.
7. If you are unable to buy a death certificate from our registration office you can order online here.

If you have any issues please contact your undertaker or Lisburn Registration Office on 028 9244 7263 or email bdm.registration@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk 

Information you will need to provide by phone to our registrar:

• 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)
• if the deceased is under 16, the 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
• 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.  

A death can be registered by:

• 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. 

You can buy 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 using the link below.

Order a certified copy of death certificate here