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Death Registration
Ghana
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Ghana
Death Registration
Procedure and Certificates
Procedure and Certificates
Place
Where must deaths be reported?
Place of occurrence
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Registration may be place of occurrence of place of residence. The law should clearly state where deaths must be reported for purposes of registration.Reporting in the place of occurrence usually makes the registration process faster and easier for the informant, and also allows reporting of death at health facilities. Countries with electronic systems for civil registration may allow more flexibility and allow reporting from anywhere the civil registration system can be accessed.
What are the reporting time periods for death registration specified in the law?
10 days/12 months/after 12 months
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The time period for reporting a death should be as short as possible, to facilitate accurate and current registration. Time periods vary by country, but are usually 3-5 days. Deaths in health facilities may have a shorter reporting deadlines. It is important to have uniform time periods across the country to register deaths. A late death registration occurs when a death is reported after the legally specified time period but within a grace period, usually one year after death. Delayed registration occurs after the expiry of grace period (after 1 year). Late notification should be permitted with a valid notice of death or alternative documentation that is not too burdensome, such as affidavit of witness or record of burial/cremation. Delayed registration may require additional evidence.
Under Section 23 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, notification of a death that occurred in a health facility, or a death that occurred outside a health facility where the deceased is brought to a health facility, must be made within 7 days of the death or the date when the deceased is brought to the facility.
Registration of the death by a person with a duty to provide the particulars of the deceased has separate deadlines set out in Section 27 of the Act. Timely death registration must take place within 10 days after the death occurred. A District Registrar can register a death up to 12 months after its occurrence upon the payment of a late registration fee. After 12 months, a District Registrar can register a death only upon the written authority of the Registrar and after payment of the late registration fee.
Are there any fees for on-time death registration?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
It is not recommended that fee be charged for the timely registration of a death. To encourage registration, the legislation should clearly state that registration of a death within the time period prescribed by the law is free of charge.
According to Section 27(2) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, death registration is free if the death is reported within 10 days of its occurrence. However, the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act indicates that death registration is free if reported within 14 days of its occurrence.
Section 31(1)(a) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act states that a District Registrar will issue a death certificate after payment of the prescribed fee, regardless of the date of registration, but the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act does not list any fee for a death certificate.
Are there any fees or sanctions for late or delayed death registration?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Fees and sanctions for late or delayed registration discourage and disincentivize registration. If fees are applied to late or delayed registration policymakers should consider a fee-waiver for those for whom fee payment is a hardship. More effective results to increase registration rates are observed through educational programmes aimed at the public. Some countries have opted to impose a penalty for failure to register or, more precisely, refusal to register, rather than impose a fee for late registration.
According to Section 27(2) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, fees for late death registration are imposed if the death is reported more than 10 days after its occurrence. However, the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act indicates that a late registration fee applies if the death is reported more than 14 days after its occurrence. This fee is 5 Ghana cedis (approximately USD $0.50) or, if the death is registered after burial, 30 Ghana cedis (approximately USD $3). Registration of the death of a pauper or a child under the age of 12 months is free.
Section 31(1)(a) of the Act states that a District Registrar will issue a death certificate after payment of the prescribed fee, regardless of the date of registration, but the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act does not list any fee for a death certificate.
What is the minimum information required by law to register death?
Minimum information required goes beyond UN guidance and registrar has no discretion to register death without all required information
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The information required for legal purposes is minimal, and usually consists of: Name of deceased; place and date of birth; place and date of death; sex; unique personal identifier.
The particulars to be provided are evident from the form for notice of death (Form 3). • Deceased: Full name, sex, date and place of death, age, nationality, occupation, usual place of residence (and address if obtainable) • Cause of death: Cause of death, full name and qualification of qualified medical practitioner certifying cause of death • Informant: Full name, address, relationship (if any) to deceased • Place of Burial (name of burial ground and town) and date of burial • Date of registration
The online death registration form requires all of the details listed on Form 3 (notice of death) and Form 6 (an additional form filled out by the registrar for submission to the Government Statistician), and the form cannot be completed and submitted without including all of the required information. The instructions for death registration on the Births and Deaths Registry website indicate that the information on place, date, cause of death and the name and qualification of the person certifying the cause of death will be based on the medical certificate of death that must be provided at the time of death registration.
What evidence or documents are required for on-time death registration?
Medical Certificate of Cause of Death
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Registrars should require proof as to the veracity of the information to be registered. Proof or evidence required for registration must be sufficiently stringent to provide assurance of the accuracy of the information without being so burdensome as to discourage or prevent registration. Documentary evidence is always preferred. Ideally all deaths will have an accurate, detailed medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD). However, in many contexts this will not be possilbe. Lack of MCCD should not prevent death registration; evidence of fact of death should be sufficient to register death. Evidence of fact of death could be a notification of death or other similar document, Witness Statement or other similar evidence.
In terms of Section 29 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, the informant must provide the original medical certificate of the cause of death completed by the medical practitioner or health practitioner who was in attendance during the illness of the deceased in order to register the death. The law is silent on documentation of the cause of death where no medically-qualified person was in attendance.
The head of a medical facility has a duty under Section 23 of the Act to notify deaths that occur in that health facility, or deaths that occurred elsewhere if the deceased is brought to that health facility - but there is no indication that receipt of this notification is a pre-condition for death registration by an informant.
Are there additional or alternative documents required for late or delayed death registration?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
While late and delayed reporting should be discouraged, the procedures should not be so restrictive as to prevent late and delayed reporting of events. Late registration (within 1-year grace period) can be permitted with notice of death or similar document. If such a notice is not available, the law may stipulate what alternative documentary evidence of fact of death may be accepted, such as affidavit from witness or record of burial or cremation. Declaration delayed by more than one year may require recourse to judicial procedures and decisions. However, to increase death registration rates, consideration should be given to creating a non-judicial procedure for delayed death declaration, with the provision of adequate documentation proving the fact of death.
Neither the Registration of Births and Deaths Act nor its accompanying regulations specify any additional documents for late registration. However, in the case of late registration of death, Form 3 (notice of death) must be accompanied by an application for late registration (Form 21) which must include the name of the deceased, the date and place of death, the name of the deceased’s mother and father, and a phone number and national ID number for the mother, father or other relative.
Further, the instructions for late death registration on the Births and Deaths Registry website indicate that additional evidence is required in practice. The informant is required to bring “attestations” that support the death, including an attestation from the head of the family (and that person’s national ID), an attestation from the deceased’s next-of-kin (and that person’s national ID), and a joint attestation by two members of the deceased’s family, preferably one from the paternal family and one from the maternal family. The informant is also expected to provide evidence of the death, such as receipts from the morgue, an obituary, a photo of the tombstone or the funeral program. These documents are intended to inform the investigation by the Head Office that must take place before the death is registered.
Law Source
Incomplete Records, Amendments, and Corrections
Can amendments be made by the registrar to correct minor errors, and are they free of charge?
Local registrar can make corrections for a fee
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Clerical errors discovered at the time of registration, burial or cremation should be corrected free of charge.
Under Section 37 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, the national Registrar or the relevant District Registrar can correct clerical errors. It is also possible for a person to make a request for correction of errors to the national Registrar or the relevant District Registrar, supported by a statutory declaration from a person with a duty to notify the civil event or, if none of these persons are available, from two credible persons who have knowledge of the true facts of the case. As of 2025, there is a fee of 20 Ghana cedis (approximately USD $2) under the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act for alterations to the death register.
Section 38 of the Act provides for amendment of the register of deaths to correct an error occasioned by an error in a Coroner’s certificate, on application by any person with a duty to report a death and supported by a statutory declaration or an affidavit. The Registrar may then request the coroner to correct the error by certification, and the Registrar or District Registrar who has custody of the relevant register effects the correction.
Section 13 of the Act refers to a prescribed fee for accepting an affidavit or a statutory declaration, but the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act sets no fees for this.
Once a death is registered, Section 31(1)(a) of the Act states that a District Registrar will issue a death certificate after payment of the prescribed fee, regardless of the date of registration, but the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act does not list any fee for a death certificate.
