Registering A Death

    If the medical practitioner who certifies the death is not referring the Medical Cause of Death Certificate (MCCD) to the Coroner, a Medical Examiner must formally approve the MCCD before the death can be registered.

please do not book to register a death until advised to do so by either -

a Medical Examiner’s Office or the Coroner (if referred to the Coroner’s Office).

From 9 September it is no longer a requirement to register the death within 5 days of death, but within 5 days of the Medical Examiner’s Office or Coroner authorising the registration.

At the point of sending an authorised MCCD to the registration service, the Medical Examiner’s Office will contact the family/representative of the deceased to advise them of the need to register the death (and how to do this, with more information available as indicated below. 

The Registrar will arrange an appointment date and time for you back to register at your chosen location.  Please allow yourself at least 30 minutes to Register as all the information has to be logged on to a computer &  checked before a Death Certificate is issued.  When you have registered, you will be given:

There are several people who can legally register a death including:

• A relative
• A partner
• A person present at the death
• A senior member of the establishment (such as a nursing home) in which the death occurred
• The occupier of the residence where the death occurred
• Personal representative.  (There is no strict legislative definition but will be a person appointed by and acting on behalf of the deceased person’s family (such as a solicitor, family friend or funeral director). 

This form is for social security purposes. Please refer to the notes shown on the back of this form.

A Death Certificate is a Certified Copy of the Entry in the Death Register.  These will be required for banks, building societies, solicitors, insurance companies and other financial institutions.

The fee for certificates requested on the day of the registration is £12.50 each – this can be paid for via debit or credit card over the phone. Please note that registrars do not issue a free death certificate as standard.

Often if you produce and original copy of the Death Certificate to a bank etc., they will photocopy the Certificate and return the original.  They will not however usually accept a photocopy of the original Death Certificate without having seen the original Certificate first.

This will be sent electronically to the designated Crematorium or Burial Authority (if known) or Funeral Director.

If in any doubt, please request this form is emailed to our office and we will forward it on where necessary.

• The date and place of death
• The full name of the person who has died,  and any previous or maiden names where  appropriate.
• The date and place of birth of the person who has died.
• The occupation and usual address of the person who  has died.
• If the person who has died was married or in a civil partnership, the full names, date of birth and occupation of their spouse or civil partner.
• Your name and address.
• If the deceased was receiving any pension or allowance  from public funds, other than a state pension from public funds, please tell the registration officer.

When someone dies you will need to contact a wide variety of organisations to inform them of the death.

Registrars offer a service to help you with a number of central and local government department notifications, such as the Passport office, the DVLA and Department for Work and Pensions; called Tell Us Once. Tell Us Once is offered at every death registration.  The details of the registration are entered on the Tell Us Once system by the registrar and you will be given a reference number.  You can then complete the notification either online or by telephone directly with Tell Us Once after the appointment.  Full contact details will be given to you by the registrar.

If the person arranging a funeral is claiming Benefits or Tax Credits, you may be eligible for help paying the funeral costs.

To download the form SF200 go to www.direct.gov.uk and type SF200 into the search column or contact Job Centre Plus on 0800 055 6688 and request a form SF200.