Northern Ireland - Obtain a Birth Certificate
Contents
- 1 Procedure
- 2 Required Documents
- 3 Office Locations & Contacts
- 4 Eligibility
- 5 Fees
- 6 Validity
- 7 Documents to Use
- 8 Sample Documents
- 9 Processing Time
- 10 Related Videos
- 11 Instructions
- 12 Required Information
- 13 Need for the Document
- 14 Information which might help
- 15 Other uses of the Document/Certificate
- 16 External Links
- 17 Others
Procedure
Online
You may order a certificate online through nidirect using your credit or debit card.
Order a Birth Certificate Online
In Person
Apply in person by taking your application form to the General Register Office (GRO).
- The General Register Office
- Oxford House
- 49-55 Chichester Street
- Belfast
- BT1 4HL
Office Hours: Monday to Friday 9.30 am to 4.00 pm (excluding public, bank and all Northern Ireland government holidays). Please note that the office opens at 10.00 am on the first Tuesday of each month due to staff training.
District Registration offices
Aside from the General Register Office, some certificates are also available from local District Registration offices. Certificates for births registered on or after 1 January 1997 are available from any District Registration Office in Northern Ireland, no matter where in Northern Ireland the event took place.
Applications to District Registration Offices must be submitted in person so you may need to contact your local office for details of accepted payment methods.
District Registrars in Northern Ireland
By Post
You may also request for a certificate by post. Submit a completed application form and send along with your payment to:
- The General Register Office
- Oxford House
- 49-55 Chichester Street
- Belfast
- BT1 4HL
By Phone
For those who have a Visa, Mastercard or Maestro card, you can request certificates by phone by calling 0300 200 7890 (within the UK) or (44 (0) 28 9151 3101 from outside the UK. You should have your card with you when you ring, as GRO will require your card number and expiry date. Certificates ordered by phone will be sent out by post or, on request, can be collected from the office.
By Fax
Fax your completed application form to: 028 9025 2120
Information required to obtain a copy of a birth certificate:
- Full name of person whose birth certificate is required
- Date and place of birth (district or street and town)
- Names of parents (including mother's maiden name)
- Mother's address at time of birth
Required Documents
List down the documents required for successfully completing the procedure. e.g. 1. Proof of child birth from the Hospital.
Office Locations & Contacts
General Register Office for Northern Ireland
Oxford House
49 - 55 Chichester Street
Belfast
BT1 4HL
Phone number: 0300 200 7890
If calling from outside Northern Ireland: 028 9151 3101
Fax 028 9047 5746
Email address [email protected]
Contact details for councils in Northern Ireland
Eligibility
Provide eligibility criteria's for going through this procedure.
Fees
- Full birth or adoption certificate: 15.00
- Where two or more certified copies of the same entry are applied for at the same time, the first copy will be charged at 15.00 and any additional copies at 8.00 each.
- Short birth/adoption certificate: 15.00
- A short certificate shows only the surname, name, sex, date of birth and (in most cases) the district of birth. A short certificate is generally only accepted where evidence of age is required. To obtain either a UK or Irish Passport, a full birth/adoption certificate is required.
- Statutory Purpose certificate: 8.00
- Certificates for education and social security purposes can be produced at a reduced fee. Proof from the Department of Education or Department of Health and Social Services must be included with your application. These certificates may only be used for the purposes provided.
- Priority Certificate (certificate fee, plus 20.00)
- On payment of a priority fee, telephone, online, postal and faxed applications received before 2.30 pm will be dispatched on the same working day. Applications received after 2.30 pm, at weekends or during public holidays will be dispatched on the next working day. Applications made in person at the General Register Office will be processed and available to collect within one hour.
Postage charges
These amounts should be added to your payment to cover return postage costs:
UK
- 1 certificate: 0*
- 2 certificates: 0*
- 3 certificates: 0*
- 4 or more certificates: 0*
EUROPE
- 1 certificate: 0.85
- 2 certificates: 1.33
- 3 certificates: 1.33
- 4 or more certificates: 2.05
OTHER COUNTRIES
- 1 certificate: 1.17
- 2 certificates: 1.94
- 3 certificates: 1.94
- 4 or more certificates: 3.14
Note*: 6.15 for guaranteed next day delivery within the UK (8 for commemorative certificates)
Forms of Payment
- online, faxed and telephone applications can be paid by VISA (credit and debit), Mastercard or Maestro
- if you apply in person, you can pay by cash, cheque, postal order or by using a valid Visa, Mastercard or Maestro (card-holder only) - an international money order in sterling is also accepted from those applying from outside the UK
- if you apply by post you can pay by cheque or postal order made payable to 'The Registrar General' or by using a valid Visa, Mastercard or Maestro
Validity
Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid. e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever
Documents to Use
Sample Documents
Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.
Processing Time
- In Person: Your certificate may be ready for collection or posting in three working days
- By Phone: Your request will be processed within 5 working days of the application being received, or on request can be collected on the third working day to the fifth working day
- By Post, Online, By Fax: processed within five working days of the completed application form and payment being received
- Priority applications will be dispatched by first class mail
Related Videos
Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites. Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation. Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed. e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M".
Instructions
A birth certificate can be ordered from the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) in the following ways:
- Online
- In Person
- By Post
- By Phone
- By Fax
Required Information
Information required to obtain a copy of a birth certificate:
- Full name of person whose birth certificate is required
- Date and place of birth (district or street and town)
- Names of parents (including mother's maiden name)
- Mother's address at time of birth
Need for the Document
Following are procedures on how you can obtain a birth certificate in Northern Ireland.
Information which might help
Enter other informations which might help
Other uses of the Document/Certificate
Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate. e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.
External Links
- NIDirect:
Others
More information which might help people.
