The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Regulations 1997

Amendment of provisions relating to the registration of deaths

3.—(1) The provisions of Part X (registration of deaths) of the principal Regulations shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this regulation.

(2) After regulation 42 there shall be inserted the following regulation—

“Declaration and registration under section 23A of the Act

42A.— (1) The officer before whom a declaration for the purposes of section 23A of the Act (giving of information concerning a death to a person other than the registrar) may be made shall be any registrar other than the relevant registrar.

(2) The officer before whom the declaration is to be made shall—

(a) enter in the declaration the particulars required to be registered concerning the death, using an approved form for the purpose;

(b) show or read the particulars entered on the form to the informant and correct any error or omission, requiring the informant to initial any amendment and then to sign the declaration;

(c) attest the declaration himself; and

(d) send the declaration to the relevant registrar in accordance with section 23A(3) of the Act.

(3) Except in a case to which regulation 41 applies, where it appears to the relevant registrar that the particulars contained in the declaration are in any material respect not proper to be registered, he shall return the declaration to the officer before whom it was attested together with a note of the matters in which it appears to need amendment, and—

(a) that officer shall then in the presence of the declarant amend any error by striking out any incorrect particulars and inserting the correct particulars;

(b) any amendment so made shall be initialled by the declarant and the declaration shall be returned to the relevant registrar.

(4) On receiving the declaration the registrar shall, subject to paragraph (3), enter the particulars of the death in the register in the following manner—

(a) in spaces 1 to 7 of form 13, he shall enter the particulars as appearing in the corresponding spaces of the declaration, except that where any particulars have been corrected in pursuance of paragraph (3) he shall enter in the register only the particulars as corrected, omitting any incorrect particular which has been struck out and the initials of the declarant;

(b) in space 8 of form 13 he shall enter the cause of death as it appears in the certificate of cause of death delivered to the registrar under section 22(1) of the Act;

(c) in space 9 of form 13 he shall enter the name of the declarant in the form in which he signed the declaration and shall add the words “by declaration dated ... ... ... ...”, inserting the date on which the declaration was made and signed;

(d) in space 10 of form 13 he shall enter the date on which the entry is made; and

(e) in space 11 of form 13 he shall sign the entry, adding his official description.”.

(3) In regulation 43 (registration where inquest is not held) in paragraph (1) after the words “in accordance with Regulation 42(2) to (7)” there shall be inserted “or, if a declaration is made for the purposes of section 23A of the Act, in accordance with Regulation 42A(4)”.

(4) After regulation 44 there shall be inserted the following regulation—

“Registration after receipt of declaration and coroner’s notification of cause of death

44A.   Where the registrar receives a notification as mentioned in regulation 43(2) in respect of a death in respect of which a declaration has been made for the purposes of section 23A of the Act, but that death has not yet been registered, he shall register that death in accordance with regulation 42A and shall enter in the margin of the entry the particulars required by regulation 44(a).”.

(5) In regulation 47 (registration after twelve months) at the end of paragraph (3) there shall be inserted the words “or shall enter in the register the particulars of death given in a declaration made for the purposes of section 23A of the Act, in accordance with regulation 42A”.