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Death Registration
Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka
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.
Place of occurrence of death is where deaths must be registered with the registrar of division. According to Section 29(3) of BDRA, in cases where corpse is found and relatives of the corpse cannot be identified, place where corpse was found is where death must be registered before the registrar of division (RD).
What are the reporting time periods for death registration specified in the law?
5 days/3-12 months/more than 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.
On time death registration is 5 days. In cases of deaths on estates, the Suprintendent of Estate must be notified within 24 hours, who will notify a Medical Officer within 48 hours with a written report. The Medical Officer is obligated to notify District Registrar, though the timeline is not specified for this notification process. After 3 months and until 12 months, registration of death can only take place upon the order of the Registrar General (RG) or appropriate District Registrar. After 12 months, registration of death is only allowed at the order of the RG.
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.
No fee is charged for registration of death within 3 months of death or of discovery of corpse, even though the reporting time period for on-time death registration is 5 days.
Law Source
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.
Yes, registration of death after 3 months, except upon order of the RG or DR, is an offence and a fine of Rs. 1000-2000 is imposed for all registrations after 3 months.
What is the minimum information required by law to register death?
Minimum information required is in accordance with UN guidance and registrars have discretion to register death 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.
Sri Lanka laws comply with minimum information required to register death according to GOLF. The Forms for registration of death include more than minimum information required. Form CR2 (application used by informant to register death), asks for the deceased person's national identification number and COD information. This information corresponds to everything in Form B2 (which is the death register itself).
What evidence or documents are required for on-time death registration?
Notice of Death and Declaration 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.
A written declaration of death is required to register a death by family through Form CR2 (CR2 is the Declaration of Death application completed by the family for all types of deaths, normal and sudden). Under Section 31 of the BDRA, only hospital deaths invite the legal obligation on medical practitioners to issue a cause of death (COD) certificate for medically-attended deaths. Generally, Form B33 (Declaration of Death which also contains COD information) is issued by hospitals to families that is required to register a death. For community deaths outside of health facilities, the Gram Niladhari issues form B24. In Medicolegal Death Investigation cases that are sudden and/or unnatural, the Inquirer into Sudden Deaths (ISD) issues Form B18.
Are there additional or alternative documents required for late or delayed death registration?
No
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.
The law does not specify any additional evidence required to get District Registar or Registrar General approval for late or delayed death registration.
The law requires the competent Registrar to prepare three copies of the death certificate, and to "deliver or transmit by post" free of charge the third copy to the informant.
