Search for the record at irishgenealogy.ie, then order your Irish grandparent’s long-form birth certificate online from Ireland’s civil registration service. The certificate costs €20, plus €5 postage to the United States, and it is mailed to you.
Here is each step, and what to do in the less common cases.
Watch: Do You Qualify for an Irish Passport?
The video starts at the part that answers this question. For the whole picture, read Irish Passport Through a Grandparent: Do You Qualify?
Subscribe to Love Ireland on YouTube for a new plain-English guide to Ireland every week. The full video is on YouTube: Do You Qualify for an Irish Passport? The Grandparent Rule Explained.
Step 1: Find the record
irishgenealogy.ie is a website run by the Irish government. It has civil birth records from 1864 to 1925.
Births only appear there once they are more than 100 years old.
The same site also has other civil records, which can help you fill in the rest of the family:
- Marriages: 1845 to 1950 (Roman Catholic from 1864)
- Deaths: 1871 to 1975
Step 2: Order the certificate, not the research copy
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What you find on irishgenealogy.ie is for research. It is not the document you send with a citizenship application.
- Research copy (€5): research only.
- Certificate (€20): for legal and administrative use.
Send the certificate.
What the certificate needs to show
For an application through a grandparent, you need their original civil birth certificate, showing parental details.
The Department of Foreign Affairs wants original, state-issued certificates, not photocopies. Your originals are returned to you at the end, by recorded mail.
Not sure you qualify in the first place? See Irish Citizenship by Descent: Who Qualifies and How to Apply.
If your grandparent was born in what is now Northern Ireland
- 1864 to 1921: the same Irish civil registration service has these births.
- 1922 onward: irishgenealogy.ie sends you to the General Register Office for Northern Ireland.
If your grandparent was born before 1864
Civil birth registration began in 1864. If your grandparent was born before then, the Department can accept a baptismal certificate.
The other papers for your grandparent
The birth certificate is the main one, but it is not the only one. For your grandparent you also need:
- Their marriage certificate, if that applies
- A certified photocopy of their current government-issued photo identification, or their original death certificate
Make sure each birth certificate in the chain shows the parents, so the three generations link together. If a name changed through marriage, include the document that shows it.
A practical order of work
- Search irishgenealogy.ie and note what you find.
- Order the long-form certificate online.
- Wait for it to arrive by mail.
- Check that it shows parental details before you build the rest of your application around it.
For what the certificate and the rest of the application cost, and how long each stage takes, see How Much Does Irish Citizenship by Descent Cost and Take?.
General information, not legal advice. Facts checked against official Irish government pages on 6 October 2026.
Official sources
- irishgenealogy.ie: Civil records
- irishgenealogy.ie: Civil records help
- irishgenealogy.ie: Frequently asked questions
- HSE: Order an Irish birth certificate
- Department of Foreign Affairs: Registering a foreign birth
- Department of Foreign Affairs: Citizenship
Subscribe to Love Ireland on YouTube for a new plain-English guide to Ireland every week. The full video is on YouTube: Do You Qualify for an Irish Passport? The Grandparent Rule Explained.
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