Amended and unsatisfactory certificates

If you completed the original Medical Certificate of Cause of Death certificate via Death Documents, simply make your updates by logging into the Death Documents website.

Your submitted certificates are listed under the heading 'Recently completed documents'.

1. Select the Amend button. It opens to a page called 'Amending a previously completed document'.
2. Make your updates and save, then go to the Declarations page to review the changed document.
3. To submit your amended form, select Confirm and print.

If you completed a paper version of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (HP4720), you will need to:

• complete a new certificate in full
• sign and date it with the current date
• write ‘Amended Certificate’ at the top of the certificate
• return the certificate to the correct government agencies.

You must either email or post in your amended HP4720 certificate.

By email:

Attach the  document in an email and send to both:

• Health NZ: email Mortality_Administration@tewhatuora.govt.nz
• Department of Internal Affairs: email ISBDM.RegistrationsTeam@dia.govt.nz

By post:

• Mortality Administration
  Health New Zealand |Te Whatu Ora
  PO Box 793
  Wellington 6140

• Health NZ and the Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) Registry teams will update their records with the changes.
• The cause of death coding will be reviewed and updated if required.
• Official BDM Death certificates are issued with the correct information.

Sometimes a completed certificate is unsatisfactory due to missing or non-specific information.

It is an important responsibility of Health NZ to seek clarification and/or additional information from the certifying health practitioner to allow more precise statistical classification. Inquiries are kept to a minimum.

The cooperation of doctors and nurse practitioners in responding promptly to these inquiries is appreciated.