Personal Profile for the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages

The form on this page can be used to help you to collect the information required to be supplied to either whoever is going to organise the funeral or a Funeral Director.

This information needs to be collected by the Next-of-Kin or family or the Executor whether you have a DIY funeral or you use a Funeral Director.

Some documents that can be very helpful are:

Birth certificate. A Birth certificate does NOT need to be supplied to register a death, but it will help to accurately supply a lot of the information required.
Passport, including old passports. Again, passports are not required to register a death but the person's passport can supply useful information. If possible try to find old passports as they can have valuable information about anyone who was not born in New Zealand.
Marriage Certificate(s).
Civil Union Certificate(s).
Parents' birth certificates and parents' marriage certificates.
Military Service Records.

When planning for a Funeral Service or a Memorial Service this service organiser guide can help you. The Service Organiser Guide can also be very useful to leave instructions to help your Next of Kin or the Executor of your Will to fulfill your wishes for your own Funeral or Memorial.

Contact the Registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages for the Notification of Death for Registration (BDM 28) form. The form is NOT downloadable from their website.

There is NO CHARGE for this form and there is NO CHARGE for filing it.

The law requires that all deaths in New Zealand are notified to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages within three working days after the burial or cremation of the body. Where a funeral director is not involved, the person in charge of the funeral arrangements is responsible for notifying the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages of the death. The Before Burial or Cremation pamphlet explains how to register a death and what must be done before a body can be buried or cremated.

Click here for Before Burial or Cremation Information Brochure (black and white version) (pdf 190kb) from the BDM website.
Click here for Before Burial or Cremation Information Brochure (colour version) (pdf 196kb) from the BDM website.

Once a death has been registered then a Death Certificate (if required) can be issued by the BDM office for a small fee:
Click here for Request for Death Certificate or Printout BDM 93D (pdf 85kb) from the BDM website

BDM (Births, Deaths and Marriages) Contact Information:

Freephone: 0800 22 52 52 (New Zealand only)

Phone: (+64 4) 463 9362

Email: bdm.nz@dia.govt.nz

Stillbirth and Infant Death

There is a slightly different procedure for notifying the Births, Deaths and Marriages office of stillbirths and infant deaths:

When arranging a funeral for a stillborn baby or an infant, you will need to follow the procedures outlined in the Before Burial or Cremation Information Brochure (pdf 190kb) from the BDM website for preparing and moving a body and for choosing a place for burial or cremation.

A stillbirth must be notified jointly by the parents using a Notification of Birth for Registration (BDM27) form. Do not use the BDM28. Contact the Registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages for the form. The form is NOT downloadable from their website.

NOTE

A stillbirth is legally defined as a dead foetus weighing at least 400 grams when it issued from its mother, or issued from its mother after the 20th full week of pregnancy.

Foetal death is death of the foetus prior to the completion of the birth. Neonatal death is defined as a liveborn infant dying within 28 days of birth.

Information to collect for your Personal Profile:

Surname / Family Name	:
First / Given Names	:
Surname at birth (if different than surname at death)	:
First Names at birth (if different than names at death)	:
Birth date	:
Birth Place	:
Usual Residential Address	:
If not born in New Zealand, what year did the person arrive in NZ?	:
The person's usual occupation	:
Was the person decended from a New Zealand Maori?	: Yes / No / Don't know
Full name of Mother	:
Full name of Mother at her birth	:
Mother's Occupation	:
Full Name of Father	:
Full Name of Father at his birth	:
Father's Occupation	:

Detail of Community Service, Honours and Awards, and Service Record:

Was the person a Marriage or Civil Union Celebrant?	: Yes / No
Was the person a Justice of the Peace?	: Yes / No
Was the person a holder of Honours or Awards?	: Yes / No
Name(s) of Honour(s) held	:
Name(s) of Award(s) held	:

Person's Relationships:

The registrar requires information about each time (if any) that the person (a) entered into a civil union, (b) married, or (c) entered into a de facto relationship.

Latest Type of Relationship	: Civil Union / Marriage / de facto
The person's age at the time of the solemnisation of the union (Civil Union or Marriage), or entered a defacto relationship	:
The place of solemnisation of the union (Civil Union or Marriage)	:
Partner or Spouse's Full Name at that time	:
The sex and age of the partner or spouse of the person (if still living when the person died)	:

Previous Type of Relationship	: Civil Union / Marriage / de facto
The person's age at the time of the solemnisation of the union (Civil Union or Marriage), or entered a defacto relationship	:
The place of solemnisation of the union (Civil Union or Marriage)	:
Partner or Spouse's Full Name at that time	:
The sex and age of the partner or spouse of the person (if still living when the person died)	:

Previous Type of Relationship	: Civil Union / Marriage / de facto
The person's age at the time of the solemnisation of the union (Civil Union or Marriage), or entered a defacto relationship	:
The place of solemnisation of the union (Civil Union or Marriage)	:
Partner or Spouse's Full Name at that time	:
The sex and age of the partner or spouse of the person (if still living when the person died)	:

Navy, Military, Air Force Service Record:

Service Number	:
Overseas or NZ service?	: Overseas / NZ
Which war and rank?	:
Which Unit or Regiment?	:

Service Personnel:

The registrar requires further information about service personnel who died overseas while on service with any of the following:

a naval, military, or air force raised in New Zealand, or
any other State that was a Commonwealth country when the force was raised; or
any State for whose international relations New Zealand or another State that was a Commonwealth country when the force was raised was then responsible; or
a United Nations activity within the meaning of sections 91 to 95 of the Policing Act 2008

For more information refer to http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1995/0016/latest/DLM364185.html and contact the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.