Register a death

Register the death 

After someone dies, a medical examiner will check the cause of death to make sure it’s accurate.

They will be a senior doctor and they will not have been involved in the care of the person who has died.  

The medical examiner’s office will then contact you to:

• explain the cause of death
• answer any questions you have about this or the healthcare provided to the person before they died

This is voluntary and you do not have to speak to them.

Registering the death

You’ll also be contacted by the medical examiner’s office to confirm you can register the death.

Register the death within 5 days (8 days in Scotland) of being contacted. This includes weekends and bank holidays.

We will:

• see you in private and ask for the information we need
• enter the information onto the computer
• check the information with you before we add it to the register
• add the information to the register and ask you to check it again
• give you a reference number (Tell Us Once) so you can notify other government departments in one go

Tell Us Once is a free government service that allows you to report a death when you suffer a bereavement and need to tell central and local government.

You will need to register the death at the Register Office in advance of using the service. When you register the death you will be advised by the registrar how to use the service. 

Find out about Tell Us Once at GOV.UK.

A relative should register the death.

If a relative cannot register the death, you can do it if you:

• were there at the time of death
• are the person who found the body
• are the person in charge of the body
• are in charge of making funeral arrangements
• are an administrator from the hospital (if the person died in hospital)

You'll need to tell us about the person who has died, including:

• date and place of death
• full name (including maiden name and any other names)
• date and town of birth
• occupation and address (even if they had retired)
• the full name and occupation of their spouse (if they were married or widowed)
• the date of birth of their spouse (if they were still married)

You'll also need to give us your name and address.

We'll add the medical cause of death details to the entry. We don't need evidence of birth and marriage.

Please make sure your information is correct. Making changes afterwards can be complicated.

You'll need to show us:

• notification from the coroner (this is usually sent directly to the register office)
• the NHS medical card for the person who has died (if possible)
• photographic identification for you
• a document showing your address

There is no fee to register a death. If you need certified copies of the entry, the fee is £12.50 per certificate when you register. You can buy as many as need.

If you buy certificates at a later time they cost:

• issued within 5 working days - £12.50 each
• same day (if before 2pm) - £38.50 each

If you buy certificates after they have been passed to the superintendent registrar they will cost:

• normal service - £12.50 each
• priority service - £38.50 each

You might need a death certificate for:

• probate or letters of administration
• bank and building society accounts
• life insurance policies of the person who has died
• applying for tax rebates
• dealing with stocks and shares owned by the person who has died
• tracing your family tree

In most cases we'll give you a certificate for the burial or cremation of the body. This is sometimes called the 'green form'.

If you are making the funeral arrangements you'll need to give it to the funeral firm, who will pass it on to the burial authority or the crematorium.

A funeral can't go ahead until this certificate is given to the burial authority or the crematorium.

From 1st November 2017 anyone applying to have a correction made to a death entry will be charged a fee of £83 - £99, if the error is deemed to be incorrect information given by the informant at the time of registration. This fee is for the consideration of a correction only and there will be no refund should the correction not be granted.

The Death Notification Services is a free, online service that allows you to notify member organisations of the death of a family member.

This might include a:

• bank
• building society
• utility company
• insurance company
• telephone company

For more information see the website of the Death Notification Service