Death Registration

When someone passes away, you should register the death at the Registrar’s Office within the district where the death has occurred. The death
must be registered within 5 days of the registrar receiving the paperwork from the Medical Examiner and/or H.M Coroner.

How to register a death when someone passes away at home, private residence or care home?

You should register the death in the district where the person has passed away. Under some circumstances, making a declaration can be made where you attend your local registrar and the completed details are forwarded to the district where the death occurred, this can delay proceeding however. The attachments below show the registration process within local areas. 

How to register a death when someone passes away in hospital?

You should take instruction from the hospitals bereavement office. Once you have been notified that the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) has been completed and sent by the Medical Examiner to the hospitals district register office. You can then follow from step three on the above links. 

Who can register the death?

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 an administrator from the hospital (if the person died in hospital)
• Are in charge of making funeral arrangements (this is the person signing the paperwork for the funeral director, not the funeral director)

For full guidance, see register a death on GOV.UK. This will tell you how to register the death, based on the circumstances, and what information you will need to provide to the registrar.

Tell Us Once service

The registrar will also advise you of a service called Tell Us Once – a process which will enable you to notify all government departments at once without having to provide a death certificate.

If the death is referred to the coroner

The GP and/or Medical Examiner might need to report the death to the coroner.

This may happen if the death was sudden or unexpected. The death could also be referred to the coroner if it may have been related to their work.

Try not to worry if the death is reported to the coroner. The coroner may decide that the cause of death is clear and there will be no further investigation. Or they might investigate why and when the death occurred, potentially ordering a post-mortem be carried out. If you have concerns, contact the coroner’s office to find out what will happen next.