Before registering
The doctor must have issued the medical certificate of cause of death to the Register Office before the appointment to register the death.
If the death has been referred to the coroner, you will be informed when you can make an appointment to register.
If you have already collected the medical certificate of cause of death from the doctor, you will need to deliver the certificate to the register office prior to your appointment.
To give the doctor time to electronically send the medical certificate of cause of death to the register office, we recommend that you select an appointment for the next working day.
Information you need when registering a death
During the appointment, the registrar will ask you to provide the following information:
- Date of death
- Name and surname of the deceased
- Sex: male or female
- Maiden surname of a woman who has been married or in a civil partnership
- Place of birth
- Occupation
- Marital status
- Spouse/civil partners name and surname
- Spouse/civil partners' occupation
- Usual address
Book an appointment
You must attend a death registration appointment in person at the office you have selected.
We will text the next of kin to book an appointment once the Medical Certificate of Cause of death (MCCD) or the coroner's paperwork has been received.
If you are unsure if the MCCD or coroner's paperwork has been sent, please get in touch with your GP, bereavement service or coroner's office in the first instance.
You can only book an appointment online if all of the following apply:
- The medical certificate of cause of death has been issued by the doctor or hospital and sent electronically to the Register Office, or where the death was referred to the coroner, you have the relevant reference number.
- You are a relative of the deceased, were present at the death or are personally arranging the funeral.
- The death occurred within England or Wales.
- You can speak and understand English.
Amend or cancel your appointment
After registering
What you will be given
The registrar will ask you to read and check all the information on the register page before signing.
It is essential that all the information is correct, as this is a legal document. This includes, names, spelling, and dates.
If there are any errors in the registration, you will be required to apply for a formal correction, which will incur a charge.
The registrar will:
- Issue the certificate for burial or cremation (known as the Green Form), and with your permission, email it directly to the Funeral Director unless the coroner has issued an Order for burial or a Certificate for cremation already.
- Register you for the Tell Us Once service and give you a reference number, enabling you to inform multiple local and central government departments of the death in one contact.
There is no charge for the death registration or Tell Us Once registration.