Registering a stillbirth

1. If the child died at the time at which the delivery was certified by the doctor or midwife, following a pregnancy lasting at least one hundred and eighty (180) days from the date of conception, the civil registrar will draw up a stillbirth certificate on the basis of a medical certificate.

If the pregnancy lasted 180 days or more, you must register the birth of your child.

The municipality will draw up a stillbirth certificate once it receives the medical certificate attesting to the birth of your child.

This medical certificate is sent to the municipality by the head of the hospital or institution where you gave birth, or by the doctor or midwife who assisted with the delivery outside a hospital (for example, if you gave birth at home).

Therefore, you do not need to do anything in this regard.

The hospital will inform the municipality, and the municipality will draw up the stillbirth certificate.

However, you may request that the stillbirth certificate include your child’s surname and first name.

If the child died at the time at which the delivery was certified by the doctor or midwife, following a pregnancy lasting between one hundred and forty (140) and one hundred and seventy-nine (179) days from the date of conception, the civil registrar will draw up a certificate on the basis of a medical certificate and at the request of (i) the mother; (ii) the father or female co-parent who is married to the mother or who has made a prenatal acknowledgement; or (iii) the father or female co-parent who is not married to the mother and has not acknowledged the conceived child but has the mother’s authorisation to make this request.

If the pregnancy lasted between 140 and 179 days, there is no registration obligation. However, you may ask the municipality to issue a stillbirth certificate.

The municipality will verify:

• the medical certificate received from the hospital or from the doctor or midwife; and
• the relationship between the parents and this child.

This certificate can be requested by:

• the mother alone;
• the father alone, if he is married to the mother or has acknowledged the child;
• the female co-parent (for same-sex couples) alone, if she is married to the mother or has acknowledged the child; or
• the father or female co-parent who is not married to the mother and who has not acknowledged the child, provided that the mother gives her consent.

The mother may give her consent in writing, or accompany the father or female co-parent to the municipality.

3. Stillborn foetuses born between 106 and 179 days after conception are covered by the Walloon Decree on Funerals and Interments (Décret wallon sur les funérailles et les sépultures).

Under the previous legal regime applicable until 31 August 2024, stillborn foetuses born between 106 and 180 days after conception could, at the parents’ request, be buried or have their ashes scattered (via cremation) on the basis of a medical certificate.

Since September 2024, parents’ rights have been significantly expanded, in particular to allow the following:

• burial in a family plot;
• recovery of the ashes;
• a wider circle of people who are entitled to submit a request.

Please note: a stillborn child does not have legal personality. This child has no rights or obligations. This means that, in principle, even if a stillbirth is registered, this has no legal effects.

In principle, registration is free of charge. However, we advise that you contact your municipal administration for further details on this procedure.

• Pregnancy of at least 180 days: registration is mandatory.

No statutory time limit is imposed on the parents, as they are not required to take the administrative steps themselves. The civil registrar draws up the record as soon as the medical certificate is received from the hospital.

• Between 140 and 179 days of pregnancy: registration is optional.

There is no statutory time limit for submitting a request to the municipality. Parents may do so at any time, even years later (this right is recognised retroactively).

• Décret du 11 avril 2024 modifiant le chapitre II du Titre III du Livre II de la première Partie du Code de la démocratie locale et de la décentralisation (CDLD) relatif aux funérailles et sépultures », publié au Moniteur belge le 26 juillet 2024 et entré en vigueur le 1er septembre 2024
• 22 avril 2004 - Code de la démocratie locale et de la décentralisation (CDLD)

The law does not provide for any specific appeal procedure in this matter.

In practice, if a municipality wrongly refuses to draw up a certificate, the standard appeal procedures applicable to civil status records apply.