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Death Registration
Papua New Guinea
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Papua New Guinea
Death Registration
Procedure and Certificates
Procedure and Certificates
Place
Where must deaths be reported?
Anywhere
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?
21 days/after 21 days
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.
Deaths must be reported within 21 days from the date of death. Section 52 states that, if the persons with a duty to notify a death fail to do so within 21 days, the Registrar-General may take all reasonable steps to obtain the information required, including compelling “other notifiers of death” to provide information.
Section 55(4)-(5) makes provision for late registration of a death, provided that the evidentiary requirements specified by regulation have been met. The current regulations (issued under the repealed Civil Registration Act 1963) do not set out any evidentiary requirements, but the regulations that go with the Civil and Identity Registration Act 2024 are (as of January 2026) still forthcoming.
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.
Are there any fees or sanctions for late or delayed death registration?
No
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.
What is the minimum information required by law to register death?
Minimum information required goes beyond UN recommendations but registrar has discretion to register birth without all 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 Information of Death Form asks for the deceased’s birth certificate ID or national ID number; date of birth; given names and family name; sex; length of residence in Papua New Guinea; place of birth (including country and hospital if relevant); last usual place of residence; marital status at time of death; and occupation. The Form also requests the following details of the death: place of death (including hospital if relevant); date of death; cause of death; and name and national ID number of person certifying death. Additionally, details of burial or cremation are also requested. Finally, the form asks for information about the notifier (informant): name; national ID number; occupation; relationship to deceased and usual place of residence.
Section 55(2) of the Civil and Identity Registration Act requires the Registrar-General to register a death if the information provided is correct and complete or sufficient for purposes of registration”. Where some required information has not been provided, Section 55(3) authorizes the Registrar-General to register the death with the information that is available, and then require the person notifying the death to provide any missing information by a specified date or take other reasonable steps to obtain the missing information.
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 58 of the Civil and Identity Registration Act, where a death occurred in a health facility or where the remains were brought to a health facility, the head of the health facility must provide a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) to the Registrar-General. Alternatively, if the deceased was attended to by a medical attendant within three months prior to death, the medical attendant must provide an MCCD to the Registrar-General. Where a death is referred to the coroner for investigation, the coroner must provide the MCCD to the Registrar-General. Anyone required to provide an MCCD to the Registrar-General must do so within 21 days from the date of the death or the discovery of the dead body, or within 21 days of the completion of the coroner’s inquiry, as the case may be. If none of these circumstances apply, the Registrar-General must register the death without an MCCD or follow any directions in the Regulations (not yet issued as of January 2026) regarding determination of cause of death. The absence of cause of death does not prevent registration of death.
In terms of Section 59 of the Act, the Registrar-General must record the cause of death in the Register on receipt of an MCCD; if the cause of death is not determined, the Registrar-General must record that fact in the Register as part of the information about the death.
Are there additional or alternative documents required for late or delayed death registration?
Unclear
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.
Section 55(4)-(5) makes provision for late registration of a death, provided that the evidentiary requirements specified by regulation have been met. The current regulations (issued under the repealed Civil Registration Act 1963) do not set out any evidentiary requirements, but the regulations that go with the Civil and Identity Registration Act 2024 are (as of January 2026) still forthcoming.
The Registrar-General is empowered under Section 9 of the Civil and Identity Registration Act to delegate functions to Senior Registry Officials, including the power to correct clerical errors. Section 71 makes it clear that this applies only to clerical errors or errors that are apparent upon examination of a document. Only the Registrar-General may order the amendment, cancellation or voiding of entries in the Register.
Section 79 of the Act allows for fees to be imposed for the correction of errors, but no fees for this have been prescribed as of January 2026.
