The “Declaration of Defection” is a standard form so, without the cover letter, the rest of the document is just as valid anywhere in the world as it is in Ireland. Print it out, fill in the details and then find the address of the parochial house or bishop’s office of the diocese in which you are resident.

You can download a completely blank form here.

Note that for those in non-English speaking countries, it may be necessary to translate the document into the local language.

There are some existing internet resources that can help people in particular countries:

• For those in Canada, the site Apostasie.org provides defection forms for Canadian dioceses, and also blank forms and information translated into Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Japanese and Korean;
• For the United Kingdom, Wikipedia provides a complete list of Roman Catholic Dioceses. Moreover, you can find a list of parishes here;
• Pour les utilisateurs francophones, ce site explique le processus de la débaptisation;
• For those in Italy, this site explains the process and provides a sample document;
• This site in Iceland offers information on how to defect;
• A site in Finland provides a similar service to Count Me Out and has seen huge success in that country, with up to 160,000 people defecting (doubtless to avoid the 1,2% tax on their salary). The owner of the site contacted us, and sent us this interesting description of the origins of the site.
• Polish residents should try Apostazja.pl;

Finally, for detailed information on defection procedures in a range of countries, take a look at the excellent Concordatwatch.eu website.

For more information on the defection process in general, please consult the How and Why pages, and the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).