National Population Commission death certificate obtaining process
When somebody dies, the question how to register their death and obtain an NPC certificate is often treated as something not so important. Still, it’s a vital matter and all the necessary procedures must be done. The following short guide will help you handle the task without additional problems.
What is the NPC and why it should register death?
The National Population Commission is a special body in Nigeria that registers deaths and births and issues respective certificates. Every death and every birth in the country are eligible for registration. It is a necessary process that allows the Commission always know the number of people in the country and the conditions of their birth and death.
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The certificates the NPC issues are valid forever. Quite often, people are interested: how much does it cost to obtain a death certificate? The procedure is free of charge and there are no hidden fees but it works only in case the death is registered within a certain prescribed period of time.
At the same time, you should remember that the certificates which are issued by medical facilities and which are necessary to obtain the final death certificate are not free. The cost varies from one hospital to another.
The process to obtain a death certificate from the National Population Commission
There are certain conditions under which a death can be registered in a prescribed way.
- The death should be registered by an NPC official in the location where it has happened
- The person who applies for the death certificate should necessarily have proofs of the death
- The person who applies for the death certificate should be a blood relative of the deceased one
- The death should be reported to the NPC nearest office within 7 days since the death date
- The death that’s reported after 30 days of the death date and within 12 months since the death date can be registered for a fee that’s prescribed by the Commission
- The death that’s reported after 12 months since the death date can be registered only if the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Commission renders written and signed permission
Well, now, when you know how to register somebody’s death, you need to know also how to get a death certificate in Nigeria.
There’s also a range of conditions under which a death certificate can be issued.
To begin with, it’s necessary to receive a certificate from a medical institution in which the death has happened. In case the death has happened outside a medical facility, it’s necessary to apply for a certificate from medical officers. Then, the certificate is accepted by a registrar of deaths and births in any nearest affiliate of the National Population Commission.
To receive a death certificate, you need to provide the following information:
- Your application for the death certificate
- Your name if you are reporting the death (or the name of the other person who reports the death)
- The name of the deceased person
- The birthplace and birth date of the deceased person
- The age, gender, and marital status of the deceased person at the moment of their death
- The place where the death has happened
- The reasons that have caused the death
- Detailed information on the spouses or children of the deceased person (especially if they were dependent on the deceased one)
- Identification documents of the person who reports the death
- Copies of the documents of the deceased person
- The death certificate issued by a medical facility
- Proofs of the fact that the deceased person is a relative (by blood) of the person who applies for the death certificate
If you are able to provide this information, it will be considered by the officials. As you can see, apart from rendering quite a lot of information and documents, there’s nothing really complicated in the procedure. This is a short guide on how to register death and obtain an NPC certificate easily, quickly, and without additional fuss and problems.
Are there cases when an NPC certificate cannot be obtained or other special cases?
However as simple as the procedure seems to be, it’s necessary to remember that death certificates can’t be issues in a number of situations:
- If a person dies under suspicious circumstances
- If a person is a subject of a police investigation
- If the family is against autopsy
In all these cases, medical facilities have no right to issue any death certificates. Besides that, if the deceased person was a criminal and died under the governmental custody, the body can never be given to the family. In this situation, the death certificate will not be given out, either.
Regarding the situations when all the demands are observed, blood relatives are not the only ones who can receive a death certificate but it happens in extremely rare cases. It can happen that a deceased person has no blood relatives living but a spouse only. Technically, spouses are not blood relatives, yet, they can receive certificates of their spouses’ death.
Sometimes, other family members can obtain death certificates on behalf of blood relatives because of financial conditions or literacy. In such a situation, it’s necessary to appoint somebody (he or she may not even be a family member) who would represent the family members in a due way. For instance, biological children of the blood relatives of the deceased person can be the representatives in such a situation.
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Source: Legit.ng
