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General Proceedures
Deaths in England and Wales should be registered within 5 days of the death. The medical certificate of cause of death must be taken to the register office. Sometimes the coroner needs to be involved and, if so, the registrar cannot register the death until the coroner has completed any investigation that he or she decides is necessary.
A death which takes place in England can only be registered in English but deaths in Wales may be registered bilingually in English and Welsh.
These pages explain what to do for a death which takes place in England or Wales – please visit the registration websites for Scotland and Northern Ireland for information on how to register a death in these countries.
Who should register?
If the person died in a house or hospital, the death can be registered by:
- a relative
- someone present at the death
- an occupant of the house/official from the hospital, if that is where the death occurred
- the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors
Deaths taking place anywhere else can be registered 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 directors
The majority of deaths are registered by a relative of the deceased. The registrar would normally allow one of the other people listed above to register the death only if there are no relatives available to do it.
Where do I go?
When someone dies in England or Wales the death needs to be registered within 5 days at the register office for the district in which it happened. You can go to a different office if it is more convenient, but the process will take a day or two longer because the registrar will need to forward your information to the original district where the registrar will issue and send out the death certificate and other paperwork. Doing things this way may mean a slight delay to the funeral, since it is not possible for a burial or cremation to take place until after the registrar has issued the necessary paperwork.
Register office opening hours vary from one district to another and most operate an appointment system.
To find details of your local or other register office, visit the appropriate county council (or London or Metropolitan borough) website. Please put the town or postcode into the search box on the right hand side of this page to return a link to the website you need. Alternatively, addresses and phone numbers for local register offices can be found in the local area phone book.
You should allow about half an hour to complete the registration process.
What documents do I need?
You just need the medical certificate of cause of death which was issued by the doctor treating the person who has died. The registrar will need to refer to it when making the registration. If possible, you should also take the deceased's NHS medical card.
If the death has been reported to the coroner, the registrar will need additional documentation from him or her before the death can be registered.
Why is a coroner sometimes involved?
Some circumstances require the registrar to report a death to the coroner before the death can be registered. Examples include:
- where there is no doctor who can issue a medical certificate of cause of death
- where the person was not seen by the doctor issuing the medical certificate after he or she had died, or during the 14 days before the death
- where the cause of death is unknown
- where the cause of death is believed to be unnatural or suspicious
- where the death happened during an operation or before recovery from an anaesthetic
- where the death is due to industrial disease or industrial poisoning
The coroner must then decide whether there should be further investigation into the death – and the registrar cannot register the death until the coroner notifies him/her of their decision.
What information will I be asked for?
The registrar will ask you for the following details:
- date and place of death
- name and surname of the deceased
- maiden surname, if the deceased was a woman who had married
- date and place of birth
- occupation
- name and occupation of husband, where the deceased was a married woman or widow
- usual address
- whether the deceased received a pension or allowance from public funds
- if the deceased was married, the date of birth of the surviving widow or widower
You will not be asked about the cause of death, as the registrar will take this information from the doctor's medical certificate.
It is vital that all the information recorded in the death register is completely correct as mistakes can take quite a bit of time and trouble to put right. This is why the person registering the death should check the information very carefully before signing the entry. I don't speak English very well what do I do?
Some register offices provide interpretation services but it is always best to check before you go. You are welcome to bring a friend or relative along to help you understand and answer the registrar's questions – but they won't be able to sign the register on your behalf.
When do I get the death certificate?
After giving the registrar all the necessary information, the person registering the death signs the register and has the opportunity to buy one or more death certificates, which are often required for a range of administrative purposes. It is also possible to order copies at any time in the future. If you want them within 18 months of registration, you will need to go to the register office for the district where the death occurred.
After this time, you can also obtain them from the Family Records Centre in person, or by post, fax or online from the GRO – see Obtaining certificates.
What other paperwork will I be given?
Certificate for burial or cremation
The registrar will issue a certificate for the burial or cremation of the body which is normally passed to the funeral director – who cannot proceed with the funeral without it - by the relative who is making the arrangements. If registration of the death is delayed for any reason, it is possible for a certificate for the burial of the deceased's body to be issued before registration, provided the death does not need to be reported to the coroner. A certificate for cremation cannot be issued before the death is registered. In cases where a death has been reported to the coroner, he or she will usually issue a certificate for burial or cremation so that the funeral can go ahead as soon as possible.
Certificate for social security benefits
This certificate needs to be filled in and sent to your local Benefits office so that the Department for Work and Pensions (formerly the Department of Social Security) can sort out what happens to any benefits and state pensions.
What to do after a Death booklet
The registrar will also give you a booklet called What to do after a Death. Issued by the Department for Work and Pensions, it gives helpful advice on probate and other administrative issues that will need to be sorted out around this time.
Obtaining Certificates
Each local register office holds records of every birth, marriage and death which has taken place within their district and can provide copies of entries, in the form of a certificate, on request. Alternatively, because we hold a central index at the GRO in Southport, you can also obtain copies of these entries from us.
Now Government offer the facility to order certificates online, this can be used to place orders using the GRO index reference and for certificates dating from 1900 up to 18 months before the present date where the exact details are known. See Ways to apply for a range of other options.
If the event for which you require a certificate has taken place in the last 18 months, you should contact the register office at which the details were recorded, or, in the case of a marriage, the register office, church or other religious building at which the details were recorded, as our central records may not have been updated. To find details of your local or other register office, visit the appropriate county council (or London or Metropolitan borough) website. Please put the town or postcode into the search box on the right hand side of this page to return a link to the website you need. Alternatively, addresses and phone numbers for local register offices can be found in the local area phone book.
Can I change the death record at a later date?
Each entry in a death register is an historic record of the facts as they were at the time of the death. If errors are discovered later, the law allows for details to be changed or added. Corrections should be arranged with the register office where the death was registered – but sometimes your paperwork will need to be sent to Corrections and Re-registration Section at the GRO in Southport for authorisation.
Wherever possible, applications for corrections should be made by the person who gave the information for the registration. He or she will be asked to provide documentary evidence to prove an error was made at the time of the registration.
There is no charge for authorising a correction – but if you would like to buy certificates of the corrected record, see Obtaining new certificates after a record has changed.
If you have any further questions on correcting the record of a death that happened in England or Wales, please contact us.
How do I obtain new certificates after a record has been changed?
There is no charge for authorising a correction - but there is a fee for providing certificates of the corrected record. You can buy these at any time - although, if it is less than 18 months since the correction was made, you should apply to the register office where the death was registered. For details about prices, see certificate fees .
After 18 months, you can also obtain certificates from the Family Record Centre in person or by post, fax or online from the GRO in Southport - for more details see the appropriate section on the right.
Registering an overseas death
If a British citizen or member of the British Armed Forces dies abroad, a death certificate is issued by the relevant authorities in the country concerned. This document is usually acceptable for all official purposes although it may need to be translated into English or Welsh, as appropriate. We are not automatically notified or sent copy certificates. Additionally, the death can often be registered at the request of the deceased family, by the British Consul or High Commission in the country where it happened. If the person was a serving member of the British Armed Forces, his or her commanding officer can also request it. A British Armed Forces registration, as long as it takes place within 12 months, may be made by the Forces Registering Officer.
Addresses:
- Australia - British Defence Liaison Staff, British High Commission, Commonwealth Avenue, Canberra, ACT 2600
- Germany- G1 Compassionate (BMD) Headquarters UKSC, Germany, BFPO 140
- Gibraltar - HQBF Registry, The Tower, British Forces Gibraltar, BFPO 52
- Cyprus - Personnel Branch Headquarters, British Forces Cyprus, BFPO 53
- Washington- British Defence Staff (Washington), British Embassy, 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008-3688 USA.
- Canada - British Defence Liaison Staff, British High Commission, 80 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5K7
- Canada (BATU) - Headquarters, British Army Training Unit Suffield, BFPO 14
- Kenya - British Army Training Liaison Staff, Kenya, BFPO 10
- CINC Fleet - Personnel Division, CINCFLEET, Room 211, PP 73A Jago Road, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth PO1 3LU
- Falkland Islands - Headquarters, British Forces Falkland Islands, Mount Pleasant Airfield, BFPO 655
- RAF (Innsworth) - Royal Air Force, Personnel Management Agency, Royal Air Force Innsworth, Gloucestershire GL3 1EZ
The advantage of registering with the British authorities is that a record of the death will be sent to the GRO within 12 months, after which time we hold a permanent record. This also means death certificates can be provided by the GRO - for full details see How to order overseas certificates. Please note that registering with British authorities does not happen as a matter of course and the family needs to ask for it.
The following is a list of the countries where it is not possible to register with the British authorities.
- Ascension Islands
- Australia
- Bermuda
- Canada
- Cayman Islands
- Christmas Islands
- Falkland Islands
- Gibraltar
- Nevis
- St.Helena
- South Africa
- Turks & Cacos Islands
- Virgin Islands (UK)
- Zimbabwe
If you would like to arrange for a death that has taken place overseas to be registered with the British authorities or have any further queries, please contact our Overseas Section or get in touch with:
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Consular Division
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
+44 (0) 20 7 008 0186
www.fco.gov.uk
Removing the body out of England or Wales
There is no restriction on moving bodies within England and Wales, but you need to notify the coroner for the district in which the body is lying if you want to move the deceased to Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, or overseas. Names and telephone numbers of coroners are listed in your local phone book.
To do this you will need a form 104 (Form of notice to a coroner of intention to remove a body out of England) which can be obtained from any registrar or a coroner. You will also need to give the form 104 to the coroner and enclose any certificate for burial or cremation already issued.
The coroner will acknowledge receipt of your notice and let you know when the body can be moved – this is usually four clear days from when your notice was received. In urgent situations, it may be possible to bring this forward.
How do I find my local register office?
To find details of your local or other register office, visit the appropriate county council (or London or Metropolitan borough) website. Please put the town or postcode into the search box on the right hand side of this page to return a link to the website you need. Alternatively, addresses and phone numbers for local register offices can be found in the local area phone book.
Obtaining death certificates
The registration of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales started in 1837 and legal adoptions have been registered since 1927.
Each local register office holds records of every birth, marriage and death which has taken place within their district and can provide copies of entries, in the form of a certificate, on request. Alternatively, because we hold a central index at the GRO in Southport, you can also obtain copies of these entries from us.
We now offer the facility to order certificates online, this can be used to place orders using the GRO index reference and for certificates dating from 1900 up to 18 months before the present date where the exact details are known.
If the event for which you require a certificate has taken place in the last 18 months, you should contact the register office at which the details were recorded, or, in the case of a marriage, the register office, church or other religious building at which the details were recorded, as our central records may not have been updated. To find details of your local or other register office, visit the appropriate county council (or London or Metropolitan borough) website. Please put the town or postcode into the search box on the right hand side of this page to return a link to the website you need. Alternatively, addresses and phone numbers for local register offices can be found in the local area phone book.
For costs, see Certificate fees.
If you are looking for certificates as part of your family history research, please see Investigating your family tree for more hints and tips.
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