Registering A Death
Before we are able to proceed with funeral arrangements for your loved one, it is a legal requirement for their death to be registered. If there is no coroner involvement and the death was expected, you’ll be contacted by the medical examiner’s office to confirm you can register the death. You must register the death within 5 days (8 days in Scotland) of being contacted. This includes weekends and bank holidays.
You will need to contact the local registry office to make an appointment to register the death. You can contact any register office but it will be quicker if you use the one in the area where the person died. After registration, you will receive two important documents. The first document will be the Registrar’s Certificate for Burial or Cremation; which is green in colour and this is the form we need in order to proceed with funeral arrangements. If your loved one passed away in hospital, we will need this document to be able to convey them into our care. The second document you will be able to purchase is the Certified Copy Of An Entry which most people refer to as the “Death Certificate“; we advise that you purchase several of these (£12.50 each). These certificates will be needed for sorting out the person’s affairs and some insurance companies and banks will only accept original documents.
The register office will tell you what you need to do when you contact them.
The register office may also want to see the person’s:
- birth certificate
- Council Tax bill
- driving licence
- marriage or civil partnership certificate
- NHS medical card
- passport
- proof of address (such as a utility bill)
Ask the register office what to do if you do not have them.
You’ll need to tell the registrar:
- the person’s full name at the time of death
- any names previously used, eg maiden name
- the person’s date and place of birth
- their last address
- their occupation
- the full name, date of birth and occupation of a surviving or late spouse or civil partner
- whether they were getting a State Pension or any other benefits
“Tell Us Once”
During your appointment, the registrar will offer the ‘Tell Us Once’ service, which notifies government organisations of the person’s death.
A registrar will explain the Tell Us Once service when you register the death. They will either:
-Complete the Tell Us Once service with you
or
-Give you a unique reference number so you can use the service yourself online or by phone
The registrar will give you a number to call. This includes Relay UK if you cannot hear or speak on the phone. If you’re a British Sign Language (BSL) user, there’s a video relay service if you’re on a computer.
You must use the service within 28 days of getting your unique reference number.
For more information on the “Tell Us Once” service, please follow the link below:
What to do after someone dies: Tell Us Once – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If you cannot register the death because an inquest is underway, you can still ask a registrar for a unique reference number. You’ll need to get an interim death certificate from the coroner holding the inquest first.
If the death has been reported to the coroner, the time period before you are able to register may be longer, depending on whether a post-mortem or inquest is needed, and different documentation may be required to be able to finalise the funeral arrangements.
