How many death certificates needed?

S

shoppergal

Registered User
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My father died recently and I will be registering his death tomorrow. Can anyone advise how many copies of the death certificate I will need? At €20 each I don't wish to get too many unnecessarily.
 
sorry for your loss. The number of certificates required depends on a lot of things. If the estate is being managed by a solicitor you will need a minimum of 2, one for yourself and one for the solicitor.

It is illegal to photocopy a death certificate so bear this in mind.

You will likely need a death certificate to submit to each of the financial institutions that accounts were held at (banks, credit unions, insurance companies, stock brokerage firms etc). So remember that.
 
Thanks Pebble beach. I wasn't aware that it was illegal to copy the death cert so thanks for that info.
 
Copy of a death cert is free for Social Welfare purposes but you need a letter from the DSP. Might be worth asking them if they need it for closing off any state pension.

Not sure about Ireland but it is indeed illegal to copy a death cert in the UK for purposes of confirming that the death has occured (so closing bank accounts as an example), unless you are a solicitor and they have to certify that the copy is true and faithful
 
OK (if indeed true) but there's a world of difference between that and making and keeping a copy for your own purposes.
 
A death certificate is a document of public record and it is not illegal to photocopy it. Photocopies are useable as well. If necessary, the original can be certified by a Solicitor.
 
I got two for my mother's estate.

When I went to Bank of Ireland, they just copied it and certified there and then and gave it back to me.

Brendan
 
T McGibney said:
OK (if indeed true) but there's a world of difference between that and making and keeping a copy for your own purposes.
Click to expand...
Actually, I'm incorrect, in the UK the law was changed in 2020 under the Coronavirus Act so UK companies can accept a copy. I'd dealt with a death and an estate about 5 years ago and we had to get originals.

In Ireland, if a solicitor is dealing with things, 2 copies should be enough as they will be able to provide certified copies, so 1 for the solicitor and one as a back up
 
Most if not all banks and even social welfare will send you back the original if asked, it's a bit like id to open an account, they only need to sight the original and keep a copy for their records noted and stamped that they have seen original.
 
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