Registering a Death

A death needs to be registered with the Registrars of Births and Deaths within five working days of its occurrence, unless the coroner has been involved and it may then be necessary to wait for the coroner to issue documents to the registrar before an appointment can be made.

The medical certificate of Cause of Death (commonly referred to as the Death Certificate) will be emailed, by the doctor who last cared for the deceased, directly to the Registry office. You will need to make an appointment, at the relevant register office, to register the death.

The death should be registered in the district where it happened. This should be done by a relative or an executor. However, if there are no relatives then someone, such as a person who was present at the death, a senior administrator of the establishment in which the death occurred or the person arranging the funeral, can register. (Please note that this cannot be done by the Funeral Director).

Death certificates cost £12.50 each. They are required by solicitors, banks, building societies and other financial institutions.

Information Needed to Register

  • Full name of the deceased
  • The deceased’s usual address
  • The date & place of death
  • The deceased’s maiden name or any previous names
  • Occupation
  • Full name, address and occupation of spouse or civil partner

During the appointment, the registrar will issue a document referred to as the “green form”. This is provided free of charge and is required by the Funeral Director for the cemetery/crematoria. It will be given to you to hand to your nominated Funeral Director, although some register offices may email it to them directly.

For the contact details of our local register offices, please see our Useful Contacts page.