Registration

A death must be registered in the district in which it has occurred. Under normal circumstances the deceased’s doctor or a hospital doctor will issue a ‘medical certificate of cause of death’. This certificate is then emailed to the Registrar’s Office by the doctor.

Once this has been done you can then ring the registrar’s office (Telephone 0345 155 1002 ) to book an appointment.

If the Coroner is involved and an inquest is held the coroner will release the certificate so you can register the death.

The procedure for registering a death is a simple question-and-answer interview between the registrar and the person reporting the death. The registrar will then issue a disposal certificate (Green Form) which needs to be given or emailed to the funeral director before burial or cremation can take place.

Copies of the death certificate may be obtained from the registrar for:

Insurance purposes
Probate
Solicitors
Banks
Post Office
Pensions
Savings Accounts, etc

A close relative of the deceased
A person present in death
The person who is to arrange the funeral

Medical certificate of cause of death (already at the registrar’s)
Medical card or birth certificate (if available)
Photo ID for yourself

Date and place of death
Full name of deceased (maiden name if applicable)
Date and place of birth
Occupation and home address (and if the deceased was a married woman or a widow the full name and occupation of her husband)
Whether the deceased was in receipt of a pension or allowance from public funds
If the deceased was married, the date of birth of the surviving widow or widower