How To Register A Birth in Ireland

Parent(s) of a new baby born in the Republic of Ireland are obliged under the Civil Registration Act of 2004 to register their baby’s birth. For newborn babies, the birth can be registered at ANY Civil Registration Office in the Republic of Ireland. Parent/s should bring current picture ID (Passport/Driver’s Licence) and be able to confirm their PPS Numbers. Additional documents may be needed depending on the parent/s marital status.

Parents have up to 12 months to register the birth, but if the Baby is registered within the first six months the Dept of Social Protection will automatically arrange the family Children’s Allowance payment.

Married Parents

For married parents, only ONE parent needs to attend to register the birth, however both parents can attend TOGETHER to register the birth if BOTH wish to sign the birth entry.

If parents were married in the Republic they will NOT need to bring their Marriage Certificate when registering the birth as the Registration Staff will be able to locate this record on the national Civil Registration Service database.

If parents where married OUTSIDE the Republic of Ireland, they will need to bring their Civil Marriage Certificate from the country they married in to the Civil Registration Office when registering the birth.

If the Marriage Certificate is not in English, a translation to English of the document by a certified translation agency will also be needed.

BOTH the original Marriage Certificate and the original translation will need to be brought to the Civil Registration Office. Please note, it MUST be the Civil Marriage Certificate, and not a Religious or Church document.

Single Parent(s)

If the parents of a child are not married to each other, AND mother of the child was never previously married, and the father is to be named on the Birth Certificate BOTH parents will need to attend together to register the birth.

If the Father is not to be named, the Mother of the child can attend by herself to register the birth. The Birth Certificate will only list the mother’s details and the child can only assigned the Mother’s surname.

When registering the birth jointly, the parents will be asked to complete two forms, a CRA9 and a Mutual Consent Form. The MCF is completed by the parents and confirms the surname that the parents are assigning to their child.

The surname of the child, can be the Mother’s, the Father’s, OR a combination of both. If the parents wish to use a surname that is part of their family history, or a reflection of the applicants cultural or national identity it may require the authorisation of the General Registrar’s Office.

This surname can only be altered AFTER registration if the parents MARRY each other at a later date.

The surname cannot be changed if there is ANY OTHER change in the relationship of the parents of the child with each other (e.g. the parents relationship breaks up)

Please be aware for single parents, sole guardianship of the child resides with the Mother even if the Father is named on the Birth Certificate.

If for some reason, only one parent is available to attend to register the birth, forms giving legal consent to the ONE parent to REGISTER the birth can be issued to the parents by the Civil Registration Office.

Please be aware that the form completed by the parent who will be ABSENT when the birth is registered, will have to be signed in the presence of a Peace Commissioner, Commissioner of Oaths or a Solicitor.

Divorced/Separated/Widowed Mother

If the mother of a newborn baby comes under any of above listed civil status categories, she should contact the Registrar at their local Civil Registration Office BEFORE attending to register their baby’s birth.

This aspect of Birth Registration can be an emotive subject for some parents, but the Registrar is bound by the Civil Registration Act of 2004 to seek certain legal documents when registering the birth of a baby whose mother’s civil status is listed above.

If the mother of a newborn baby is Divorced from a previous Marriage she will need to bring her Final Divorce Decree to the Civil Registration Office. The Final Decree MUST be issued by the Court a minimum of 10 MONTHS prior to the Birth of the baby.

If the Divorce Decree is not from an Irish Court, and not in English, the Mother of the Baby will ALSO need to bring a translation of this legal document from a certified translation agency to the Civil Registration Office.

If a Mother of a newborn baby is LEGALLY SEPARATED from her ex-husband - who is NOT the father of her child - she will need to bring her Legal Separation Agreement to the Civil Registration Office when registering the birth. The Separation Agreement will need to be more than 10 MONTHS old prior to the birth of the baby.

If a Mother of a Child is NOT legally separated or divorced from her ex-husband for 10 months prior to the birth of her baby, she has two options in registering her baby’s birth:

The Mother can be issued a CRA7 FORM by the Civil Registration Office which can be signed by her ex-husband in the presence of his Solicitor, or a Peace Commissioner or a Commissioner for Oaths, which states he is NOT the Father of the child (Rebuts Paternity). This can be presented when registering the birth. OR

The mother, and the biological father of the child, can apply jointly to the Family Law Court to obtain a Guardianship Order under Section 6A of the Family Law of 1967 to name the biological father (her partner) as a Guardian of the child. The couple should bring the resulting COURT ORDER with them when attending to register their child’s birth.

Widowed Mother

If the mother of a child was previously married, and is now widowed, and her late husband was NOT the father of her child, she will need to bring her late husband’s Death Certificate to the Civil Registration Office. This confirms that her late husband was not the father of the child, and no claim of paternity can be later made by his estate or kin.

If the birth is NOT registered after 12 months parents will need to apply for the Late Registration of a Birth which requires the agreement of the Superintendent Registrar and completion of Statutory Declaration which must be signed in the presence of a Peace Commissioner, Commissioner of Oaths or a Solicitor.