Register a death

Book an Appointment to Register a Death

Every death in England and Wales must be registered within 5 days of receiving confirmation from the Medical Examiner's Office or the Coroner's Office that you may register the death.

Death Registration Appointments are face to face appointments held in local Registration Offices.

Do not try and make an appointment unless the Medical Examiner's Office or the Coroner's Office has advised you to do so. The easiest way to book your appointment is online. However, please read all the below information before starting to make your booking.

Book appointment online to register a deathBefore you book your appointment to register a death, please note you will not be able to save this form to complete later so please allow yourself at least 5 minutes to complete the booking online.

For details and opening hours of our offices, please visit our Registration Offices page.

When to register a death

The Medical Examiner's Office or Coroner's Office will prepare the paperwork needed for the appointment. They will send this directly to us. They will confirm with you that you can book to register the death. You should register a death within 5 days of receiving that confirmation.

Our appointment booking system, either online or on the phone, will only allow you to book an appointment if we have received the paperwork from the Medical Examiner’s Office or the Coroner’s Office. You should not receive the original paperwork personally.

When you provide the details of the deceased, our booking system will link this to the paperwork we hold under the same details you have entered and allows you to book the appointment for the death registration.

If the details you have entered do not match to any paperwork we hold, no appointment can be made. This could be down to spelling and/or the date of death differing or simply the paperwork has not yet been received. Please allow time for the receipt of the paperwork before trying to book an appointment. 

Where to register a death

If the death took place in Cornwall you can book an appointment with Cornwall Registration Service, or you may attend any other registration office in England and Wales to make a declaration of the details required for the registration. Should you choose to make a declaration any death certificates you may order will be sent to you by post and the Certificate of Burial or Cremation (Green Form) can be forwarded direct to the relevant crematorium or cemetery.

Who can register a death

You can register a death if you are:

• A relative of the deceased (a relative is someone that is connected by blood, marriage, civil partnership or adoption).
• A partner of the deceased (a partner is someone who was living as a partner in an enduring relationship at the time of death).
• Someone who was present at the death.
• The occupier of the property (if the death occurred at home or in a communal establishment).
• The person arranging the funeral.
• A personal representative of the deceased (this is someone appointed by and acting on behalf of the family such as a solicitor, funeral director or family friend).
• A person finding or taking charge of the deceased.

Information you need to provide

You will need to have the following information ready for your appointment.

• Date of death.
• Place of death. - This will be the:
  • name of the hospital or nursing home
  • name or number of the house
  • name of the street and village town etc.
    If the death took place in an ambulance, car etc then you need to provide information about the locality of the vehicle when the death occurred. As well as its intended destination
• Name and surname. - This should be the name they were known as at the time of his or her death. You should also establish if they are known by any other name currently or previously. 
• Sex. - Male or female
• Maiden surname of woman who has married.  This is the surname in which a woman contracted her (first) marriage.
• Date of birth. - Please provide approximate dates if exact date not known.
• Place of birth. - Town and county/London borough or country of birth. You only need the country if they were born outside UK
• Occupation. - Provide as much information as possible relating to the most recent occupation and whether the deceased was retired.
• Deceased's spouse or civil partner. - Provide full name, occupation and date of birth of the deceased's spouse or civil partner
• Burial or cremation.
• Usual address. - This should include the name or number of the house, name of the street and village or town. Where the death occurred in a hospital the deceased’s usual address should be recorded.

Certificates

After the death has been registered, the Registrar will issue the following documents. These will be needed to help sort out the persons affairs. 

• A Certificate for Burial or Cremation
  This is often known as the 'Green Form' and is free of charge. This form is needed before the burial or cremation can take place. In some circumstances this is issued by the Coroner. We can give this to you at your appointment or at your request send to the authority affecting the disposal of the body e.g. Crematorium or Cemetery. Please let us know the details at your appointment.
• Standard Death Certificates
  Death certificates are available at £12.50 each. You can order death certificates when you make your appointment booking or we accept cash, cheques, credit or debit card at your appointment. Death certificates will be issued to you at your appointment. 
• Short Death Certificate
  These certificates are available to order after your appointment. They are £12.50 each.  A short certificate does not include the deceased’s sex or cause of death. You can ask your Registrar at your appointment.
  Order a copy certificate

Errors and corrections

It is important that the information recorded in the register is correct. The Registrar will give you an opportunity to check the information before the Register page is signed and the registration is complete. If you notice a mistake, however small, after the registration is complete, there will be a correction fee. The fee to apply for a correction will be £83 or £99 depending on the nature of the correction. Some corrections require evidence of the correct information to be presented. Some require authorisation from the General Register Office.