Documents & practical guidance
MCCD Form 4 and Form 4A explained
The certificate every later step depends on: which form applies, who signs it, and how it differs from the death certificate.
- Official procedure
- Read it in a few minutes
One less thing to work out alone.
The short answer
The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) is the doctor's record of why a person died, required under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969. Form 4 is for a death in hospital and is issued by the hospital; Form 4A is for a death anywhere else, issued by the doctor who was treating the person. Doctors must issue it free of charge. The cremation ground asks for it, and the death is registered with it - it is not the death certificate, which the MCD issues afterwards.
The hospital (Form 4) or the treating doctor (Form 4A)
Before the cremation - the ground asks for it
Free - doctors must issue it without charge
Start here
What to do,
in order.
Work down the list. Each step assumes only that the one above it is done.
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Know which form applies
Death in a hospital or nursing home: Form 4, filled in by the attending doctor or the medical superintendent. Death at home or elsewhere: Form 4A, filled in by the doctor who was treating the person.
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For a hospital death, ask before you leave
The hospital usually prepares Form 4 and reports the death to the registrar itself. Confirm it has been done and take your copy before you leave with the body.
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For a death at home, call the treating doctor
The doctor who treated the person can certify the cause on Form 4A. If no doctor can certify it, the death is treated as unexplained and the police must be informed first.
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Check the details
Name, age, date and place of death must match the deceased's ID. A spelling mistake here travels into the death certificate and is slow to correct later.
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Use it for the cremation and the registration
The cremation ground checks it, and the death is registered with it. Keep photocopies - banks and insurers sometimes ask to see it too.
Before you leave the house
What to take
with you.
Gather these once and you will not be sent home for them.
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Photo ID of the deceased, so the details on the form match
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Hospital admission or IP number, for a hospital death
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The treating doctor's prescriptions or records, for a death at home
A little clarity
Common questions
If something here is still unclear, call us - someone answers at any hour.
Is the MCCD the same as the death certificate?
What is the difference between Form 4 and Form 4A?
Can a doctor charge for the MCCD?
What if no doctor was treating the person who died at home?
Where to go next
Related reading.
The other steps families usually need around this one.
If you would rather not do this yourself
We handle the paperwork.
It is part of every arrangement we make - the registrations, the certificates and the queueing. Ask us what is involved in your case.