Northern Ireland has moved to simplify proof-of-pregnancy requirements for maternity benefits. The Department for Communities has made the Social Security and Statutory Maternity Pay (Evidence of Pregnancy) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 (SR 2026 No. 44), signed on 9 March 2026 and coming into operation on 1 April 2026. The change affects evidence used for both Maternity Allowance and Statutory Maternity Pay claims.
The instrument removes a long‑standing formatting instruction in two legacy regulations: Schedule 2, Part 1, paragraph 4 of the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976, and the Schedule, Part 1, paragraph 4 of the Statutory Maternity Pay (Medical Evidence) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987. In each case, the requirement that a maternity certificate “be completed in ink or other indelible substance” is omitted.
By removing this phrase, the Department has clarified that non‑original copies of a maternity certificate may be supplied as evidence. The explanatory note states the intent plainly: to make it possible for non‑original copies to be accepted when establishing entitlement to Maternity Allowance or Statutory Maternity Pay. This aligns evidential practice with current administrative reality without altering the underlying eligibility rules.
Who is affected is clear. Claimants for Maternity Allowance in Northern Ireland can provide a copy of their maternity certificate rather than an original. Employees seeking Statutory Maternity Pay can give their employer a copy, rather than being required to submit an original document. Employers and payroll teams processing SMP in Northern Ireland should therefore accept a legible copy of the certificate for evidential purposes from 1 April 2026.
For day‑to‑day administration, the practical takeaway is that clear, readable copies are now acceptable documentation. Organisations should update HR guidance, payroll workflows and internal checklists that previously asked for “originals only”, and ensure document management systems can store copies alongside other payroll records in line with existing retention duties. Policy Wire analysis: this is a low‑cost administrative tidy‑up that should reduce friction where documents are scanned or transmitted electronically.
What does not change is as important as what does. The content of the maternity certificate, who may issue it, and the timing of when evidence must be provided remain exactly as set out in the 1976 and 1987 Regulations. Entitlement tests for Maternity Allowance and Statutory Maternity Pay, payment rates, and qualifying weeks are unaffected by this amendment.
The commencement date is 1 April 2026. Employers and advisers should treat evidence received on or after that date in line with the updated rules. Where claims were submitted earlier, existing practice at the time of submission applies, but from April the presumption should be that a non‑original copy will suffice if it is legible and contains all required information.
The Department for Communities has not produced a full impact assessment, citing no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector. For claimants and employers, the operational effect is a modest reduction in administrative burden and fewer rejected claims on technical grounds over document format rather than substance.