Registering a death

Since the medical examiner system was introduced in England and Wales in September 2024, your loved one’s GP practice will send a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) to the local medical examiner (ME) for further scrutiny, provided the death was not sudden or unexpected. The ME your GP practice works with is typically based at the nearest acute NHS Trust hospital.

A medical examiner’s officer will call you to ask some questions about the circumstances surrounding the death, giving you the opportunity to raise concerns or ask questions about what has happened. Once this process is complete the ME’s office will send the MCCD to the registrars for your area (find a register office) who will contact you to make an appointment to register the death. Every death in England must be registered before a funeral can take place, and should be registered within five working days.

If someone dies suddenly or unexpectedly, the death may be referred to the coroner to investigate the cause of death and circumstances surrounding it. When this happens somewhere other than in a hospital, the coroner’s officer will arrange for a firm of funeral directors to collect your loved one and take them to the designated coroner’s mortuary. It is possible that the coroner will request that a post-mortem examination is carried out. Once the coroner’s investigation is complete (not the inquest), the funeral preparations can begin with the funeral director of your choice. The coroner’s office will notify the registrar who will issue the paperwork to your funeral director. You can find out more about the coroner’s service here Guide to coroner service for bereaved people

Obtaining a death certificate

When a person dies, one of the first steps is for their representative (usually a family member) to obtain a death certificate. Depending on the reason for the circumstances surrounding their death, there will either be an investigation by a coroner, or an independent review by a medical examiner.

If the registrar is notified by the coroner of the death, there will be no need to attend the registrar’s to register. The registrar will provide the necessary paperwork to your nominated funeral director and issue a ‘certified copy of the entry in the register’ known more commonly as a ‘death certificate’.

Most often death will be scrutinised by a medical examiner who will, once they are content with the record of what has happened, forward the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) to the relevant registry office. The registry office will contact you to let you know this has happened and invite you to make an appointment to register the death.

Once you have completed the registration process, the registrar will ask for your nominated funeral director’s contact details, so that they can forward the green coloured Registrar’s Certificate for Burial or Cremation to them. They will then provide you with a “certified copy of the entry in the register” or “death certificate”. Even for the most modest estates it is advisable to purchase additional copies of this certificate, to assist in the administration of the deceased person’s estate; we normally recommend at least six copies. You cannot make your own copies of these certificates.

Where to register a death

The medical examiner responsible for the coroner’s office will inform you as to when and where you can register the death.

Almost all registry offices operate appointment systems, so please do telephone or use their online appointment booking process to arrange an appointment. You will find the numbers and relevant information on your local county council website (or unitary authority in many cities). It’s important to remember that where a death is registered is determined by where someone died and not where they lived.

It is possible to register from a different geographical area if you are unable to travel, but it will require documents to be posted between registrars which can add a time delay possibly impacting the funeral date. More information can be found on the Gov UK website.

When you go to register the death, you will be asked for:

Birth certificate
Council Tax bill
Driving licence
Marriage or civil partnership certificate
NHS medical card
Passport
Proof of address (such as a utility bill)

You will also be asked for the following information about the person who has died:

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

Certified copies of a Death Certificate

As mentioned above, after the death has been registered, you will receive ‘certified copies’ of the entry in the register and these are what is meant when banks and other organisations ask for an ‘original’ death certificate. Each certified copy has a unique number and is signed by the registrar in person. You will have to pay for certified copies of the death certificate. The cost varies from one country to another. The cost per copy is £12.50 in England and Wales, £15.00 in Northern Ireland and £12.00 in Scotland. You can obtain more copies at a later date. The more complex the estate, the more certified copies you may need, especially if you do not use a professional to administer the estate. Between 6 and 12 copies is advisable. You can order additional copies online

Authority for burial or cremation:

Once you have registered the death, the registrar will produce a Registrar’s Certificate for Burial or Cremation. This form is green in colour and is free of charge. It is automatically emailed to the funeral director of your choice, who will pass it to the cemetery or crematorium, to prove that the funeral can legally proceed. In some circumstances when the coroner is involved, you will not get this form as the coroner will issue an alternative directly to your funeral director. Many people just refer to this as the ‘green form’ but you may also hear it referred to as the ‘disposal certificate’.

Tell Us Once:

Tell Us Once is a free government service that allow you to report a death to most government departments in one go, such as council departments, HM Revenue & Customs, the Passport Office and the DVLA. You will be issued with a unique 12-digit code which will allow you to access the service online.

You may also be given a BD8 form for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). This form is free and is used if the deceased person was in receipt of a state pension or any other benefits. If there is to be an inquest, you can either make an appointment with the registrar to obtain this form OR you can use the coroner’s certificate to inform the DWP.

Once the death has been registered, you can book a date for the funeral service to take place with your chosen funeral director