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Foreign Births Register documents checklist

Last checked 30 October 2026 against the official DFA page. Rules and fees can change: always check the DFA page before you post.

Every document the Department of Foreign Affairs asks for, for adults and children, whether you're applying through a grandparent or a parent.

In short

Send originals unless the DFA says otherwise. The only photocopies are the photo ID copies, and each must be certified.
Every birth certificate must show parental details.
You need documents for yourself, for your parent and, on the grandparent route, for your Irish-born grandparent.
Incomplete applications are returned without being processed.

These lists follow the DFA's current page. We've kept the DFA's wording and only tidied the layout. Jump to your route:

Adult, through an Irish-born grandparent
Adult, through an Irish-citizen parent who wasn't born in Ireland
Child under 18
Notes that apply to everyone

Adult applying through an Irish-born grandparent

Your documents

Completed, signed and witnessed application form
Original civil birth certificate (showing parental details)
Original civil marriage certificate (if applicable) or other change of name document (if applicable)
Photocopy of your current state-issued photo ID (passport, driving licence or national identity card), certified as a true copy of the original by your application form witness
2 separate original proofs of address
4 colour photographs, 2 of them witnessed. Don't attach them to the application form.

Your parent (the one descended from the Irish-born grandparent)

Original civil birth certificate of your parent (showing parental details)
Original civil marriage certificate (if applicable) or other change of name document (if applicable)
Photocopy of their current state-issued photo ID, certified as a true copy of the original by a professional from the witness list, or their original civil death certificate (if applicable)

Your grandparent born in Ireland

Original civil birth certificate of your Irish-born grandparent (showing parental details)
Original civil marriage certificate (if applicable) or other change of name document (if applicable)
Photocopy of their current state-issued photo ID, certified as a true copy of the original by a professional from the witness list, or their original civil death certificate (if applicable)

Adult applying through an Irish-citizen parent who wasn't born in Ireland

This is the route where your parent became an Irish citizen before you were born, for example through the Foreign Births Register or naturalisation. Your own documents are the same as above:

Completed, signed and witnessed application form
Original civil birth certificate (showing parental details)
Original civil marriage certificate (if applicable) or other change of name document (if applicable)
Photocopy of your current state-issued photo ID (passport, driving licence or national identity card), certified as a true copy of the original by your application form witness
2 separate original proofs of address
4 colour photographs, 2 of them witnessed. Don't attach them to the application form.

Your Irish-citizen parent

Original civil birth certificate of your Irish-citizen parent (showing parental details)
Original civil marriage certificate (if applicable) or other change of name document (if applicable)
Photocopy of their current state-issued photo ID, certified as a true copy of the original by a professional from the witness list, or their original civil death certificate (if applicable)

Plus the original document that made your parent a citizen:

How your parent became a citizen	Extra original document
Entered on the Foreign Births Register	Original Foreign Birth Registration Certificate
Naturalisation	Original Irish Naturalisation Certificate
Post-nuptial citizenship declaration	Original Post Nuptial Citizenship Certificate
Born abroad and adopted under Irish law by an Irish citizen	Original adoption certificate and adoption order (instead of a birth certificate), plus original proof of Irish citizenship at the date the adoption took effect. The DFA also lists the Irish-born grandparent's documents for this route.

Child under 18

A parent or guardian applies on the child's behalf. The child's documents:

Completed, signed and witnessed application form
Original civil birth certificate (showing parental details)
Change of name document (if applicable)
Photocopy of the child's current state-issued photo ID, certified as a true copy by the application form witness
A letter on headed paper from the child's school, family doctor or another relevant source, which includes the child's address
4 colour photographs of the child, 2 of them witnessed

If the Irish-citizen parent is applying

Original civil birth certificate of the Irish-citizen parent (showing parental details)
Original civil marriage certificate (if applicable) or other change of name document (if applicable)
Photocopy of the parent's current state-issued photo ID, certified as a true copy by the application form witness
2 separate proofs of address for the parent
4 colour photographs of the parent, 2 of them witnessed
On a parent route: the parent's original FBR, naturalisation or post-nuptial certificate, as in the table above

If a guardian who isn't an Irish citizen is applying

The Irish-citizen parent's original birth certificate, marriage or change of name document (if applicable), and either a certified copy of their photo ID or their civil death certificate
Photocopy of the declarant's (the person applying) photo ID, certified by the application form witness
2 separate proofs of address for the declarant
4 colour photographs of the declarant, 2 of them witnessed
Proof of guardianship or parental responsibility, if the declarant isn't named as a parent on the child's birth certificate

On the grandparent route, also

Original civil birth certificate of the Irish-born grandparent (showing parental details)
Original civil marriage certificate (if applicable) or other change of name document (if applicable)
Photocopy of their current state-issued photo ID, certified as a true copy of the original by a professional from the witness list, or their original civil death certificate (if applicable)

Notes that apply to everyone

Originals come back. The DFA returns all original certificates by recorded mail at the end of the process.
Grandparent born before 1864: a baptismal certificate is accepted, because Irish civil registration started that year.
Amended birth certificates are accepted if issued by the state authority.
Siblings living in the same country can share one set of supporting documents in one envelope, with a covering letter.
Proof of address: the DFA page doesn't list which documents count. Check the guidance that comes with your online form, or ask the DFA's Customer Service Hub.
Certified copies: the DFA describes a certified copy as one marked "Certified to be a true copy of the original seen by me", signed, dated, with the certifier's printed name, occupation, address and phone number, and their stamp, seal, business card or professional register number. For your own ID, the certifier is your application form witness.

Next: where to order each certificate and how the witness and photos work.

Sources

Facts on this page come from the official pages above, checked on 30 October 2026. Where we give our own practical tips, we say so. This guide is not legal advice.