Registering a death or stillbirth

The death can be registered by:

• a relative of the deceased
• a partner of the deceased
• a person present at the death
• the occupier of the house where the death took place
• the person who is arranging the funeral and instructing the funeral director
• a personal representative of the deceased (appointed by the family)

A Medical Certificate Cause of Death from the Medical Examiner that has been e-mailed to the Register office. Please note a death needs to be registered within five calendar days from the date the Registrar receives the Medical Certificate.

You do not need to collect a medical certificate cause of death to take to the Registrar. This will be sent directly to us via secure email.

The deceased's passport, marriage certificate, birth certificate, medical card and proof of address are useful but the registration can still proceed without.

There is no cost to register a death and you may purchase as many death certificates as you require at the cost of £12.50 each.

If you need to ask for something to be corrected after the death is registered, in most cases there is a non-refundable fee of £83 if the local Register Office can do the correction and £99 if it has to be referred to the General Register Office. Please Email us at [email protected]. For more information please visit GOV.UK - Correcting a death registration.

You will be given a green form for burial or cremation to take to the Funeral Director although in some cases the coroner will issue this. Any death certificates you may wish to purchase.

If you require an emergency registration from Monday to Friday, please email us @ [email protected] for an urgent appointment. This service will be accessible up to 15:00 Monday to Friday subject to availability.

There is an emergency call out service on Saturday and Sunday from 9 to 11am. Please call 07770 636038.

To use this service we will need a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death which must have been received by e-mail from the Medical Examiner.

Tell Us Once is a service that lets you notify central and local government departments about the person who has died by a single phone call or online contact with the Department of Works and Pensions.

Tell Us Once helps you notify other departments like the DVLA, Passport Office and local Council. The registrar will give you a reference number which will be valid for 28 days. For more information on this service, please visit GOV.UK - Tell Us Once

Watch the video on how to report a death using the Tell Us Once service, the BSL version.