Registering a death
Who may go to register?
If the person died in a house or a hospital, the death can be registered by:
- A relative.
- Someone present at the death.
- An occupant of the house.
- An official from the hospital.
- The person making the arrangements with the funeral director.
Deaths that occured anywhere else can be regesitered by:
- A relative.
- Someone present at the death.
- The person who found the body.
- The person in charge of the body.
- The person making the arrangements with the funeral director.
Most deaths are registered by a relative. The registrar would normally only allow other people if there are no relatives available.
Stillbirth
A stillbirth normally needs to be registered within 42 days and at least within 3 months. In many cases this can be done either at the hospital or at the local register office.
Documents and information you will need
Documents
When registering a death you will need to take the following:
- Medical Certificate of the casue of Death (signed by a doctor).
And if available:
- Birth certificate.
- NHS medical card.
- Marriage / civil partnership certificates.
Information
You''l need to tell the registrar:
- The person's full name at the time of death.
- Any names previously used, including maiden surnames.
- The person's date and place of birth (town and county if born in the UK and country if born abroad).
- Their last address.
- Their occupation.
- The full name, date of birth and occupation of surving sppouse or civil partner.
- Whether they were receiving a state pension or any other state benefit.
Documents you will receive
If a post-mortem is not being held, the registrar will issue you with:
- A certificate for burial or cremation (called the 'green form'), giving permission for the body to be buried or for an application for cremation to be made.
- A certificate of registration of death (form BD8) issued for social security purposes if the person received a state pension or benefits (please read the information on the back, complete and return it, if it applies).
- A Bereavement Registraion Form.
If a post-mortem is being held to determine the cause of death and the deceased is to be cremated the Coroner will issue:
- Form Cremation 6 certificate of Coroner.
You'll be able to buy one or more Death Certificates at the time; these will be needed by the executor or administrator when sorting out the personal affairs.
The Registrar will also give you a booklet called "what to do after a death." This offers advice on probate and other administrative issues that will need to be done around this time.
Other things that need to be done
Not everything can be done straight away, particularly as this is a very difficult time for people to cope with, but it is important to:
- Make sure everyone who needs to know is told.
- Arrange to see the deceased's solicitor and read the will as soon as possible, this will tell you if there are any special funeral requests and who the executors are.
- Start arranging the funeral.
- Collect all the information and documents you will need.