Section 21: Registration of death free of charge

(1) Where the registrar receives personally from any qualified informant, at any time before the expiration of seven days from the date of death or finding of the dead body of any person, information of the particulars required to be registered concerning that person's death, then, so soon as he has received any particulars required to be registered concerning the cause of death which are required to be given by any person other than the informant, he shall forthwith register the death and the particulars, if not previously registered, in the prescribed form and manner without the payment of any fee or reward from the informant.
(2) Subject to such conditions as to fees as may be prescribed by the Registrar-General, a death may after the expiration of thirty days but within twelve months be registered by the registrar or Deputy Chief Registrar in whose custody the relevant register of deaths may be at the time the report for registration is received.
(3) After the expiration of twelve months from the date of death or finding of the dead body of any person, such death shall not be registered except with the written authority of the Deputy Chief Registrar.
(4) The provisions of subsections (2) and (3) of this section. shall be without prejudice to any action that may be taken against a person for failure on his part to register any death within the time specified thereof and any such death may be registered during the pendency of any such action.