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Registering A Death

After someone passes away, a medical examiner—a senior doctor not involved in the person’s care—will review the cause of death to ensure its accuracy. The medical examiner’s office will then contact you to:

  • Explain the cause of death

  • Answer any questions you may have about the cause of death or the healthcare provided before the person passed away

Speaking with the medical examiner is voluntary, and you are not required to do so.

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

The death must be registered within 5 days (8 days in Scotland) of this contact, including weekends and bank holidays.

What information is required when registering a death?

When you attend your appointment to register a death, please ensure you taking the following information with you:

  • The medical certificate issued by the doctor treating the final illness of the person who died. Without this certificate the Registrar will not be able to register the death. If the Coroner has been involved the Coroner’s Office will advise you what to do.

  • The deceased person’s birth certificate or passport. This is not essential but can be helpful.

  • The deceased person’s medical card. This is not essential but is helpful if it can be produced.

What will happen at the appointment?

A Registrar of Births and Deaths will talk to you privately at the Register Office and will ask you for:

  • The date and place of death.

  • The full name and surname of the deceased person (and the maiden surname if the deceased was a married woman).

  • The date and place of birth.

  • The occupation of the deceased and if the deceased person was a married woman, the full name and occupation of her husband.

  • The date of birth of the surviving husband or wife if the deceased person was married.

  • Whether or not the person who died was receiving a pension from public funds.

Once the registration has been completed, the Registrar will ask you to check that all the details are correct before signing the Register. You should check the information carefully before signing. Once you have signed the record, the Registrar will give you:

Documents you will receive at the appointment:

  • A “Green Form,” officially known as the 'Registrar’s Certificate for Burial and Cremation,' will be issued to allow you to arrange the funeral. This form is provided free of charge. However, if a Coroner is involved, a different process may apply.

  • You will also receive an official copy of the death certificate at this stage. If you require additional copies, you can request them, but please note there will be a fee for each extra copy.

The Coroner

In the case of a sudden, unexpected or industry related death, a Coroner is required to investigate the circumstances of death. It then becomes the Coroner’s responsibility to determine how and why an individual died.

The Coroner and their officers are working in your interest and will always keep you up to date with any issues that may affect the funeral arrangements.

There may be no Medical Certificate of Death issued. Instead, the Coroner will forward the relevant documents to the Registrar’s Office to enable you to register in the usual way.

For More information, please use the following link:

GOV.UK ‘What to do after someone dies’

When a death is reported to a coroner?

A doctor may report the death to a coroner if:

  • The cause of death is unknown

  • The death was violent or unnatural

  • The death was sudden and unexplained

  • The person who died was not visited by a medical practitioner during their final illness

  • The medical certificate isn’t available

  • The person who died wasn’t seen by the doctor who signed the medical certificate within 14 days before death or after they died

  • The death occurred during an operation or before the person came out of anaesthetic

  • The medical certificate suggests the death may have been caused by an industrial disease or industrial poisoning

The coroner may decide that the cause of death is clear. In this case:

  1. The doctor signs a medical certificate.

  2. You take the medical certificate to the registrar.

  3. The coroner issues a certificate to the registrar stating a post-mortem isn’t needed.

Post-mortems

To find out how the person died, the coroner may decide a post-mortem is needed. This can be done either in a hospital or mortuary.

You can’t object to a coroner’s post-mortem – but if you’ve asked the coroner must tell you (and the person’s GP) when and where the examination will take place.

After the post-mortem:

  1. The coroner will release the body for a funeral once they have completed the post-mortem examinations and no further examinations are needed.

  2. If the body is released with no inquest, the coroner will send a form to the registrar stating the cause of death.

  3. If the body is to be cremated, the coroner will also send a ‘Certificate of Coroner – form Cremation 6’.

If the coroner decides to hold an inquest

A coroner must hold an inquest if the cause of death is still unknown, or if the person:

  • Possibly died a violent or unnatural death.

  • Died in prison or police custody.

You can’t register the death until after the inquest. The coroner is responsible for sending the relevant paperwork to the registrar.

The death can’t be registered until after the inquest, but the coroner can give you a certificate to prove the person is dead. When the inquest is over the coroner will tell the registrar what to put in the register.

What to do when somebody dies?

Expected death at home

If the death was expected and has occurred in the home, contact the doctor who had been attending to the deceased during their final illness. The doctor may write out the Medical Certificate of Death when they visit the house, or they may request that you attend the surgery for this purpose.

If a death occurs in the home outside of normal surgery hours a deputising doctor or paramedic may attend the home and issue a “certificate of attendance” which will need to be passed onto the doctor’s surgery when it re-opens.

You do not need to wait for the doctor to attend before making first contact with the funeral director of your choice, though it is not possible for the funeral director to attend to transfer the deceased to their Chapel of Rest until the doctor has attended and given a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death.

Unexpected death at home

If a body has been discovered or if the death was unexpected then the family doctor and the police should be contacted. In the event of an unexpected death the Coroner may become involved.

Once the coroner has investigated the circumstances of death, they may issue you with a Medical Certificate of Death, alternatively they may forward the certificate to the registrar on your behalf, allowing you to begin the death registration process.

When all necessary forms have been signed and upon being informed by the coroner that the deceased’s cause of death has been established, we will then transfer the deceased into our care at our private chapel of rest in one of our homes

When death occurs in hospital

Unless present when death occurs, the relatives will be notified by the nursing staff as soon as possible. Arrangements can then be made with the Hospital Administrative staff to deal with the formalities. These will include collecting the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (issued by a Hospital Doctor) and personal possessions of the deceased. The Hospital may also issue a ‘Release Form’, which needs to signed by the next of kin, releasing the deceased into our care.

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