Births, Death, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995, ss 42, 47, 48
After the deceased’s body has been buried or cremated, Births, Deaths and Marriages at the Department of Internal Affairs must be notified. This has to be done within three working days.
If a funeral director is in charge of the burial or cremation, they’ll take care of notifying Births, Deaths and Marriages. If you’re not using a funeral director, this will be the responsibility of the person in charge of the body, which will be the executor under the deceased’s will or, if there’s no will, the closest relative (see in this chapter “Burial and cremation / Decisions about the deceased’s body”).
You’ll need to fill out the special form for this, called a “Notification of Death for Registration” form (BDM 28). To get a copy of this form, phone 0800 22 52 52, or go into a BDM office. They have offices in Auckland, Manukau, Wellington and Christchurch.
It doesn’t cost anything to register a death, but there is a charge if you want a copy of the death certificate (see below).