Death and Bereavement

When someone dies, the doctor who was treating that particular person will issue a medical certificate stating the cause of death to the relatives. The person registering the death must take this certificate to the registrar when the death is registered.

Occasionally, if the death was sudden, or the doctor who was treating the deceased person is unavailable it may not be possible for a medical certificate stating the cause of death to be issued. If this happens then the death will be reported to the coroner and this may lead to a delay in the death being registered. For further information about registering deaths where the coroner is involved, please use the link provided.

Every death that takes place in England and Wales should be registered within 5 days of the death and this needs to take place in the district in which the death occurred. The information provided to the registrar is recorded in the death register which is then signed by the person registering the death.

If you prefer, details of the death can be given at any register office in England or Wales, but the death will not actually be registered there.  The details will be forwarded by post to the Registration district where the death took place and the Registrar there will complete the registration using the information that you have provided.  The certificate will then be sent out by the Registrar receiving the details.  The timescale for this will be dependent upon the postal service.  This is known as Registering a Death by Declaration.

Last Modified: 27/06/2007 13:55:27
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