{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/civil-registration-regulations-northern-ireland-2012/regulation-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/civil-registration-regulations-northern-ireland-2012/regulation-2.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/2012/408",
  "legislation_title": "The Civil Registration Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/civil-registration-regulations-northern-ireland-2012",
  "path": "regulation/2",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "(1) In these Regulations —\n“the 1976 Order” means the Births and Deaths Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1976;\n“the Act” means the Civil Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 2011;\n“birth” does not include a still-birth;\n“description”, in relation to a coroner, means his official designation and the area of his jurisdiction;\n“maiden surname” means the surname under which a woman contracted her marriage or entered into a civil partnership (or, where she has married or entered into a civil partnership more than once, her first marriage or civil partnership);\n“name”, in relation to a person, excludes a surname except in regulations 12, 13, 27 and 30;\n“occupation” includes rank or profession;\n“prescribed fee” means a fee prescribed under Article 47 of the 1976 Order, Articles 35(3) and 37 of the Marriage (Northern Ireland) Order 2003, section 157 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 or paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Presumption of Death Act (Northern Ireland) 2009;\n“the Record of Northern Ireland Connections” means the register maintained in accordance with section 31(1) of the Act;\n“a relevant event” means an event mentioned in Schedule 1 to the Act;\n“relevant period” means: in relation to information relating to a birth or the adoption of a child, the period of 100 years from the date of the child's birth; in relation to information relating to a death, the period of 50 years from the date of the death; in relation to information relating to a marriage or a civil partnership, the period of 75 years from the date the marriage was solemnised or the civil partnership was registered; in relation to information relating to presumed deaths, the period of 50 years from the presumed date of death;\n“relevant register” means: a register of births or deaths, for which the 1976 Order provides, but not a register of still-births; the Adopted Children Register for which Article 50(1)(a) of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 provides; any marriage registration record, for which the Marriage (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 provides; any civil partnership registration record, for which the Civil Partnership Act 2004 provides; or the Register of Presumed Deaths, for which section 15(1) of the Presumption of Death Act (Northern Ireland) 2009 provides;\n“remote search” means a search in a relevant register which is conducted by any person at a place other than the General Register Office or a Register Office using electronic communications;\n“second female parent” means a woman who is a parent of a child by virtue of section 42 or 43 or, where appropriate, section 46(1) or (2) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008\n“short birth certificate” means a certificate of birth issued under Article 40 of the 1976 Order;\n“short death certificate” means a certificate of death issued under Article 40A of the 1976 Order;\n“signature” or “sign” shall include the entering of a person's name in such manner as the Registrar General may direct;\n“status” means marital or civil partnership status.\n(2) In these Regulations, any reference to a numbered form shall be construed as a reference to the form bearing that number in Schedule 1; and any reference to a numbered space on a form shall be construed as a reference to the space bearing that number on the form.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2012/408/regulation/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T01:13:11.295076+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}