Registration of Unregistered Death

If a death has not been registered within three months of its occurrence, such a death can be registered.

The declaration pertaining to the death must be submitted within a period not exceeding 25 years from the occurrence of the death (excluding sudden deaths).

The declaration must be submitted to the Additional District Registrar of the Divisional Secretariat corresponding to the place where the death occurred.

Persons who may submit the declaration,

• The closest relative present at the time of death or who attended to the deceased during their last illness
• Any other interested party

The fees for the declaration is Rs.60.00

The Declaration must be submitted to the Additional District Registrar of the Divisional Secretariat corresponding to the place where the death occurred.

The Declaration must be submitted by one of the following persons,

• The informant who supplied the particulars for the registration of the event
• A credible person who has knowledge of the true facts regarding the matter

All information in a death register, except the date of registration, may be amended.

The fee payable for the declaration is Rs. 60.00.

Written evidence must be submitted along with the declaration to substantiate the authenticity of the request made therein.

Due to the lack of sufficient evidence to prove certain disappearances as deaths, or due to the reluctance of relatives to register a death certificate for such persons, there are no registered legal documents pertaining to those missing persons, resulting in their relatives having to face various difficulties.

Provisions have been made by the following Acts regarding the issuance of a death certificate or a Certificate of Absence for such persons:

• Registration of Deaths (Temporary Provisions) Act No.19 of 2010
• Registration of Deaths (Temporary Provisions) (Amendment) Act, No. 16 of 2016

Requests may be made based on information revealed by Commissions of Inquiry, a Special Presidential Commission, or the Office on Missing Persons regarding the registration of deaths of persons reported to have disappeared as a result of conflicts in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, or subsequent to such conflicts, political unrest, civil disturbances, or enforced disappearances; or members of the Armed Forces or Police identified as missing in action; and persons who have gone missing due to natural disasters or calamities.

A Certificate of Absence must be applied for by a relative of the missing person.

 N.B. - As per the interpretation in Section 14 of the Act, "relative" means,

• Spouse;
• Children, including adopted children, children of unmarried parents, or stepchildren;
• Parents, stepmother, stepfather, or adoptive parent;
• Full or half-brothers or sisters, or adopted brothers or sisters;
• Father-in-law, mother-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law;
• Grandsons, granddaughters, and grandfathers and grandmothers

How to Apply

For persons who have been missing for more than one year, the application for the registration of a "Certificate of Absence" (COA) or a Certificate of Death (COD) must be submitted to the District Registrar of the area where the missing person last resided or where their permanent residence was located.

Additional documents that must accompany the application (Section 8B of the Act)

• Affidavit (Annexure 02)
• Grama Niladhari Report
• Other evidence substantiating the request
• A certified copy of the decision of the Commissions