How long have I got to register the
death?
Normally a death should be registered within five days from its
occurrence. In certain circumstances registrars may agree to extend
this to 14 days. You should contact the registrar of the district
in which the death occurred as soon as you can after the death. Do
not wait until you have been able to collect a medical certificate
from the doctor or hospital as this may mean you cannot get an
appointment to register within five days.
The coroner has been consulted about the
death. What does this mean?
If the coroner is involved, what happens next
depends on the action the coroner takes.
If he decides that the cause of death is clear and
doesn't require further investigation he will usually issue
paperwork to allow the death to be registered using the Medical
Certificate Cause of Death issued by the doctor. The Registration
Service and funeral director will need to know about the coroner's
involvment.
If the coroner orders a post mortem, he will
provide the cause of death to the registrar directly so you wont
need to collect a Medical Certificate Cause of Death from the
doctor. If the funeral is a cremation, the coroner will also
send the necessary papers direct to your funeral director. You will
need to let the Coroner's Service know who the funeral
director is and make an appointment to register the death. The
Registration Service will allow time to obtain the coroner's
paperwork.
If the coroner opens an inquest, you will not
have to register the death. The Coroner's Service may be able
to provide interim death certificates so that you can deal with the
deceased's affairs. When the inquest is concluded the Coroner's
Service will register the death and will usually advise relatives
that this has been done. You can then apply for death certificates
if you still need them.
I need to register a death. Am I qualified
to do so?
The law sets out who is required to register a death. This will
normally be someone who was related to the deceased by blood,
marriage or adoption at the time of the death. If there is nobody
qualified in this way to register, the registar can accept the
information from someone who was present at the death or who will
be taking charge of making the funeral arrangements.
The list of qualified informants is arranged in a
particular order. The registrar has to pay due regard to
that order and seek to obtain the information from a person highest
on the list. It is the registrar's decision as to who is most
qualified to register the death and unless undue hardship would be
caused, someone qualified to register a death cannot pass
responsibility to somone lower down the list, however willing
that person may be to deal with matter.
If you are not related to the deceased by blood, marriage or
adoption, you need to confirm with the Register Office whether or
not they can accept the information from you.
I am the executor of the deceased’s will.
Can I register the death?
Simply being an executor does not qualify you to register the
death. However, you may be qualified in some other way.
If the deceased has already made thier own funeral arrangements
by a pre-paid funeral plan, an executor cannot be deemed qualified
to register as the person making the funeral arrangments. Unless
they are qualified in some other way another informant must be
found. The registrar will advise you.
When I register the death do I need to
bring any documents with me?
You are welcome to bring birth certificates, marriage
certificates and other documents with you to help you answer the
registrar’s questions but the registrar does not need to see these
documents. As long as you know the answers to the questions asked,
the documentary proof is not needed.
If an error is discovered after the entry is completed there are
correction procedures available although if the error is in a date
or somones name the correction process can be quite
involved.
What if I don't know some of the
information the registrar will ask for?
If necessary the registrar may be able to allow
you time to find out some of the essential information for the
registration. Although it is important to try to make the entry as
complete as possible, if any information is unavailable it will be
replaced with a horizontal line in the relevant place in the entry.
As long as the essential details are available, the absence of
other background information should not delay the registration.
How many death certificates do I
get?
You can have as many certified copies of the death entry (death
certificate) as you require. A fee, currently £3.50 is payable for
each one. There is no “original” death certificate. Unless you
purchase certified copies you will not have a document to prove
registration of the death to third parties.
How much is the death
certificate?
The statutory fee is currently £3.50 per copy. You can have as
many copies as you require. The fee stays the same for a
short time after registration and you can obtain additional copies
if you find you need them.
Can I photocopy certificates?
Many organisations will require sight of an
'original' certificate but may simply take a photocopy for their
records. In practice this will mean that you should not need to
make any copies yourself.
If somone else, perhaps a solicitor, offers to
make and certify copies for you, this should not be done. Their
charges for doing so may exceed the cost of obtaining further
copies from the registrar anyway.
How many copies of the death certificate
might I need?
Generally you will need to show an 'original' to
organisations where the deceased held assets, for example insurance
companies, pension providers, banks etc. They will in many cases
make a copy and return the original to you if you ask them
to.
If a solicitor or somone else is acting as an
executor of the estate, you might like to find out how many
copies they will need. The executor may charge the estate
additional fees for applying for certificates from us.
Can someone else come with me when I
register the death?
Yes. You can have other people with you at the registration. The
registrar will ask for some information which is used for
statistical analysis. If you invite someone else into the office at
the time of registration the registrar will presume you are happy
for them to hear the answers to these questions. If you are not,
you should say so before the registration appointment begins.
How long will the appointment last?
Generally the appointment will last around half an hour. The
appointment system is designed to allow everyone sufficient time to
conduct their business in a calm and unhurried way with a minimum
of undue waiting. We aim to treat all informants as individuals and
to take account of their particular needs. If an earlier
appointment has needed a little more time, we hope you will
understand if this means a slight delay.
Will I have to deal with Probate?
Registrars are not able to advise on probate but will be happy
to give you contact details so that you can make your
enquiries.
The funeral director has asked me for a Green Form, what
is it?
The Green Form is issued by the registrar after the
death has been registered and is one of the forms needed to allow
the funeral to proceed. Usually the form is given to the informant
to take to the funeral director.
If the coroner has carried out a post mortem and the funeral is
to be by cremation, the registrar will not issue a Green Form
because the coroner will already have provided the funeral director
with everything they require.
