Register a birth in Ireland
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
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:
You can request a birth registration form and statutory declaration by emailing the GRO at dahr@welfare.ie
You can submit completed forms by:
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
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.