Procedure and Certificates

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines

Clerical errors discovered at the time of registration, burial or cremation should be corrected free of charge.

Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines

The law should require the registrar to issue an original death certificate to next of kin, free of charge, upon completion of death registration.