Registering a Birth in Ireland

Registration Procedure
• Information
• Rules
• Costs
• How and Where to apply

Information
It is a legal requirement that every birth that takes place in Ireland must be recorded and registered. Records of births in Ireland are held in the General Register Office, which is the central civil repository for records relating to births, marriages and deaths in Ireland. Any person can request a copy of a birth certificate by applying to any Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths or to the General Register Office or to the Irish Certificates website.

A birth certificate is required to enrol a child in school, apply for a passport or driving licence, and for many other purposes. The birth of a child needs to be registered no later than three months after the birth.

The birth certificate will contain the facts on the child and the parents that are given at the time of registration, so it is important that the information given is accurate. It can be difficult to have the details changed after the initial registration.

If the parents of a child are not married to each other, there is no presumption in law as to who the father of the child is, unless the father agrees or is legally required to have his name registered as the father of the child.

The Civil Registration Act 2004 changed some of the rules about registering a birth and these changes took effect from December 2005.

Rules

A birth may be registered in the office of any Registrar, regardless of where it took place. Births must be registered as soon as possible and no later than three months after the event. The hospital where the child was born, or the local health centre, will be able to say where the birth can be registered.

The registration of the birth is carried out based on information provided by a qualified informant who is required to attend at the Office of the Registrar to sign the Register of Births. The mother and father of the child are the main qualified informants and, where possible, must attend personally for the registration of the birth. Where the parents do not do this, or it is not possible for them to do it, the following individuals can also act as qualified informants:

• a designated member of the staff of the hospital (or other institution, organisation or enterprise) where the birth took place
• any person present at the birth
• any person present in the dwelling where the birth occurred
• any person who has charge of the child
• a person appointed guardian of the child
• a person found to be the parent of the child by order of the courts

Unmarried Parents

There are different options for registration, including the father's details, where the mother and father are not married. (The appropriate forms are available from the Registrar's Office.) The options are as follows:

• Mother and Father - Both the mother and father can jointly request the registration (Form CRA 9). Both attend the Registrar's Office together and sign the register jointly.

• Mother Only - The mother can complete a declaration form naming the father (Form CRA 1) and bring it, along with a declaration by the baby's father acknowledging that he is the father of the child (Form CRA 3). The mother signs the register.

• Father Only - The father of the child may complete a declaration form acknowledging that he is the father (Form CRA 2) , and may go to the Registrar's Office himself, bringing with him a declaration by the mother naming the father (Form CRA 4)

• Written Request - The mother or father may make a written request (Form CRA 5 and Form CRA 6 respectively) on production of a certified copy of a court order which names the person to be registered as the father. The parent making the request will be required to attend at the Office of the Registrar to sign the Register of Births.

• Subsequent Marriage - If the parents marry after the birth of their child, and if the father's name has not already been entered in the Register of Births, they may re-register the birth. It is possible to change the surname of the child where a couple are re-registering a birth in order to add the father's details, if the registration took place between October 1997 and the commencement of the legislation in October 2002. However, it is not possible to change the surname of the child in the Register of Births if the father's details were recorded in the original registration. The child's surname can only be changed at the joint request of both parents.

For births on or after 5 December 2005, parents who marry each other after the birth may re-register the birth to reflect their marital status, and may change the child's surname.

The following information is recorded in the Register of Births:

• Surname. Since October 1997, a surname for the baby is registered when the birth is being registered. The surname registered must be the surname of the father or mother or both. If you want your child to have a surname other than the surname of the father or mother or both, then an application must be made to the Registrar General or a Superintendent Registrar in writing.
• Time, date and place of birth of the child
• Gender of the child
• Personal Public Service number (PPSN) of the child (allocated at registration)
• Forename(s) and surname of the child
• Forename(s) and surname of the mother
• Birth surname of the mother
• All previously used surnames of the mother (if any)
• The mother's normal occupation
• The mother's normal address at the date of birth
• The mother's date of birth
• The mother's marital status
• The mother's Personal Public Service number (PPSN)
• Birth surname of the mother's mother
• Similar information is entered for the father

Costs

There is no charge to register a birth that occurs in Ireland, or for the re-registration to include a parent's details.

Fees are charged for providing a copy of a birth certificate. A certificate can be issued for social welfare purposes at a reduced cost, when a letter from the Department of Social and Family Affairs is provided.

The fees for a certificate are:

• €10 for a full standard certificate – personal or postal application
• €25 for a full standard certificate – online application

How and Where to apply

To register a birth, you must bring the appropriate form(s) to any Registrar. You must then sign the Register in the presence of the Registrar. This registration is free.

Late Registration

Applications for late registration of birth (after three months) should only be made to:

General Register Office
Government Offices
Convent Road
Roscommon
County Roscommon
Ireland
Tel: +353 90 663 2900
Locall: 1890 25 20 76

How and Where to obtain a birth certificate

To obtain a birth certificate, you can go in person to any Registrars Office.

You can apply by post by completing the GRO birth certificate application form, stating the child's full names, parents names, date and place of birth, and enclosing a cheque or postal order for the relevant fees in euro.

You can apply online by completing the birth certificate application form, stating the child's full names, parents names, date and place of birth, and giving the required credit card details.