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Register a birth in Ireland
From Department of Social Protection
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You will need to register the birth of your child no later than three months after his or her birth. Registration is a legal requirement in Ireland, but you will also need a birth certificate to enrol your child in school, to apply for a passport and for many other purposes.
A birth may be registered in any Civil Registration Office regardless of where it took place in the state.
A birth which has already been registered can be re-registered to include the name of the father or non-biological parent in donor conceived births.
The parents, mother, or second parent can apply to have the details of the father or non-biological parent recorded in the register of births.
For donor-conceived births, see how to re-register the birth of a donor-conceived child for more information.
Since 4 May 2020 you can record the details of the parent(s), including the non-biological parent, when registering the birth of a donor conceived child (also known as DAHR).
The DAHR procedure must have taken place after 4 May 2020 and must have been in a DAHR facility in the state.
To complete the registration, you will need:
- a certificate from the DAHR facility
- a statutory declaration, signed by the parent(s)
You can request a birth registration form and statutory declaration by emailing the GRO at dahr@welfare.ie
You can submit completed forms by:
- email to dahr@welfare.ie
- or post to DAHR Section, General Register Office, Government Offices, Convent Road, Roscommon Town, F42 VX53
The GRO will forward the paperwork to a civil registration office of your choice. The registrar will let you know when you can attend to sign the register.
Births of donor-conceived children (also known as DAHR), where the procedure was performed before 4 May 2020, must first be registered in the state as a non-DAHR birth. This applies to donor-conceived children born before or for a period after 4 May 2020.
After the birth has been registered, a court order naming another person as the parent of the child is required prior to a DAHR re-registration.
The parents can then apply for the birth to be re-registered as a DAHR birth using the application form below.
To apply, download the form and attach a certified copy of the Court Order.
You can send the completed form and Court Order by
- email to dahr@welfare.ie
- or post to DAHR Section, General Register Office, Government Offices, Convent Road, Roscommon Town, F42 VX53
The GRO will forward the paperwork to a civil registration office of your choice. The registrar will let you know when you can attend to sign the register.
There is no fee charged for the registration of a birth, or for re-registration to include a parent's details.
There is a fee of €5 for insertion or alteration of a forename. Fees are charged for Birth Certificates.
A birth certificate is issued for social welfare purposes at a reduced cost. Evidence it is for social welfare purposes is required, such as a note from the department.
