Disclosure of death registration information

The disclosure of death registration information scheme allows the registrars general for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to disclose death registration information to assist in the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of offences.

The disclosure of death registration information (DDRI) scheme is administered, on behalf of the three registrars general, by the data delivery team in the General Register Office (England and Wales). Disclosure is legislated by the Police and Justice Act 2006 and the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006. The DDRI scheme was launched in 2008.

Organisations wishing to apply for a weekly supply of UK death registration data must be able to demonstrate that they will only use the information in the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of offences. In addition, they will need to meet the required security standards. Details of how organisations meet these criteria can be found on the eligibility page. You can find a description of the application process and a copy of the application form on the application process page.

For answers to any questions you have on the DDRI scheme, please check our advice for applicants.

The DDRI scheme only provides for the supply of death registration data for the UK as a whole. Requests for data should be made directly to the appropriate Registrar General.
Requests for data specific to Scotland should be made to the Registrar General for Scotland (see contact details below).
Licensed DDRI customers receive a weekly electronic file, on CD, of new deaths registered within the UK.

A review of the DDRI scheme was held in 2010. The following processes were considered:

• application process
• security and business compliance
• licence agreement renewal
• marketing, products and fees
• delivery options
  

Any queries relating to the review should be emailed to datagro@ips.gsi.gov.uk.

The provision of historic information is dependent on the progress of the digitisation and indexing project to digitise death records for England and Wales. Information on the status of this project can be found in the digitisation project area.

Contacts for more information:

• England and Wales: datagro@ips.gsi.gov.uk
• Scotland: gros.ddrischeme@gro-scotland.gsi.gov.uk
• Northern Ireland: civilreg.nisra@dfpni.gov.uk