Ask Jennings.ie: Death Certificate

What is a Death Certificate?

A Death Certificate is a document that is issued after a death. It’s a very important document and will be necessary to have a copy in order to finalise all administrative affairs of the diseased. It must be obtained after the death of any person, be it at home or in hospital.

In Ireland, the Death Certificate is issued by the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths.

Key Document to Finalise Affairs

It’s a key document to have after the passing of a loved one, as the bereaved family will need it for everything from dealing with the will and the estate to closing accounts and finalising pensions.

It is very difficult to accomplish anything without a copy of the Death Certificate, so be prepared to have it requested at every turn once you go about dealing with the estate and everyday affairs of someone who has died..

Where can I obtain a Death Certificate?

In the event of a death taking place in hospital, the hospital will issue a death notification form. The person registering the death will also complete this and the death can be registered (see below).

If the death takes place at home, the attending doctor will issue a ‘Death Notification Form’

Registering the Death

You can then bring this to the Registrar of Births, Deaths & Marriages at Joyce House on Lombard St. (for deaths occurring in the Dublin area), where you will register the death and be given the Death Certificate.

You won’t have to queue for a Death Certificate.

Several Copies

The majority of affairs related to the deceased will require a copy of the Death Certificate. For this reason, we would advise obtaining or making several copies of the Death Certificate as one will be needed for each administrative endeavour related to finalising the affairs of the deceased.

Your Jennings undertaker can help you by liaising with the doctor or hospital if required; we are here to help.

Please remember that if you find things distressing or confusing, we are used to dealing with the administrative elements of peoples’ passing, and we would be honoured to assist in any way that we can.