FioraHow to register a death in the UK
What happens before you can register, how long you have, what to take, and what you come away with.
Registering a death is a legal requirement, and for most families it is the first official appointment after someone dies. It can feel like a big moment. Knowing what happens beforehand, and what you will be asked, takes some of the weight out of it.
One thing has changed recently and still catches people out. In England and Wales you no longer collect a certificate from the doctor and take it in yourself. A medical examiner reviews the cause of death first, and you wait to hear from their office before you book. A lot of guidance still describes the older process.
Official guidance is on the GOV.UK page on what to do after someone dies.
At a glance
- England and Wales: within 5 days of the medical examiner's confirmation.
- Scotland: within 8 days of the death, at any registration office.
- Northern Ireland: within 5 days, and the registrar phones you.
- Cost of a certified copy: £12.50 in England and Wales, £8.00 in Northern Ireland.
What you need to know
- In England and Wales the medical certificate goes to the registrar, not to you.
- The clock starts when the medical examiner's office confirms, not at the death.
- You cannot hold the funeral until the certificate for burial or cremation is issued.
- Buy several certified copies at the appointment. Banks and pension providers each need their own.
- Tell Us Once covers government departments only, never banks or insurers.
Before You Can Register: The Medical Examiner
In England and Wales, every death that is not being looked at by a coroner is now reviewed by a medical examiner before it can be registered. This is the part of the process families are most often unprepared for, because it did not used to exist.
A medical examiner is a senior doctor who was not involved in caring for the person who has died. They check the cause of death independently, and the certificate is then sent to the registrar. You do not carry it there yourself.
The medical examiner's office will usually contact you to explain the cause of death and answer any questions, including questions about the care the person received before they died. That conversation is offered, not required. You can take it up or decline it.
The practical effect
Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own systems and do not use the medical examiner process in the same way.
How Long You Have to Register
England and Wales
Within 5 days of the medical examiner's office confirming the cause of death. The 5 days runs from that confirmation, not from the date of the death, which is why the wait beforehand does not count against you.
Scotland
Within 8 days of the date of death, where possible.
Northern Ireland
Within 5 days. In practice the registrar contacts you to arrange it, so the timing is largely led by them.
Who Can Register a Death
Most deaths are registered by a relative. If no relative is able to, the list widens.
- A relative of the person who has died.
- Someone who was present at the death.
- The person arranging the funeral, though not the funeral director themselves.
- An official from the hospital or care home where the person died.
Only one person needs to go. If several of you are sharing the arrangements, it is worth agreeing in advance who that will be, because the registrar will ask for details that one of you may know better than the others.
Where You Register
England and Wales
Normally the register office for the district where the person died, which is not always the district where they lived. You can go to a different office and have the details passed on, but that adds time, and you will not come away with the certificates the same day.
Scotland
Any registration office in Scotland, whichever council area the person lived or died in. You can also register remotely by telephone or video call rather than attending in person.
Northern Ireland
Any district registration office. The registrar will telephone you to arrange completing the registration, and it can be done on that call, or in person at the office if you would rather.
What to Take With You
The registrar needs information more than paperwork. Anything you can bring that confirms the details will help, but none of it is compulsory, and a missing document will not stop the registration.
- Their birth certificate, if you can find it.
- Their marriage or civil partnership certificate, if that applies.
- Their NHS medical card, if there is one.
- Their passport or driving licence.
- Proof of their last address, such as a utility bill.
You will also be asked for things no document carries, so it is worth thinking about them before you go: their full name and any previous names, date and place of birth, last occupation, and whether they were getting a state pension or other benefits.
What Happens at the Appointment
The registrar works through the details with you and types them into the register. They will read the entry back and ask you to confirm it is right before anything is signed. Most appointments take around 30 minutes.
Take your time over the read-back. Correcting an entry after it is registered is possible but involves a formal process, so it is easier to catch a misspelled name or a wrong date while you are sitting there.
Near the end, the registrar will ask how many certified copies of the death certificate you want to buy, and will explain Tell Us Once.
What You Receive After Registering
- 1
The certificate for burial or cremation
Usually called the green form. The funeral cannot go ahead without it. In England and Wales the registrar hands it to you to pass to the funeral director. In Northern Ireland the registrar issues it to the funeral director directly. In Scotland you receive a certificate of registration of death, which does the same job.
- 2
Certified copies of the death certificate
These are what banks, pension providers, insurers and the probate process need to see. You buy as many as you want at the appointment, and it is worth ordering several, because organisations often keep a copy while they process things. How many death certificates you need goes through this in more detail.
- 3
A Tell Us Once reference number
If the service is available where you are, the registrar gives you a reference number so you can notify government departments in one step.
What Death Certificates Cost
England and Wales
- £12.50 for a certified copy.
- £16.00 if you order later without the reference number, which includes a £3.50 search fee.
- £38.50 for the priority service, sent the next working day if ordered by 4pm.
Northern Ireland
- £8.00 per copy bought at registration.
- £15.00 for the first copy afterwards, then £8.00 for each additional copy bought at the same time.
Scotland
Two documents are issued free of charge at registration: the certificate of registration of death, which the funeral director needs, and an abbreviated extract of the entry.
A full extract, which is what banks and other organisations usually ask to see, is bought separately.
- £12 for a certificate.
- £10 for each additional copy of the same certificate.
Fees can vary by council, so it is worth confirming with the registration office. The mygov.scot page on ordering certificates has the current detail.
Tell Us Once
Tell Us Once is a free service that reports a death to most government departments in one go, instead of you contacting each of them separately. The registrar explains it at the appointment and gives you a reference number.
It covers:
- The DWP, including State Pension and any benefits.
- HMRC, for tax and tax credits.
- The DVLA, for a driving licence.
- The Passport Office.
- Your local council, for Council Tax, Blue Badge and electoral roll.
It does not cover banks, building societies, insurers, pension providers, utilities or subscriptions. Those all need contacting yourself, and they are usually the longer job.
Worth knowing
If a Coroner or the Procurator Fiscal Is Involved
If the cause of death is not clear, or the death was sudden or unexpected, it gets looked at before it can be registered. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland that is a coroner. In Scotland it is the procurator fiscal.
While that is happening, registration waits, and the time limit waits with it. This can be the hardest part to sit with, because the funeral usually cannot be arranged either, and there is nothing you can do to speed it up.
The coroner's office or the procurator fiscal will stay in contact and tell you what happens next. If you have heard nothing for a while, you are entitled to ring and ask where things stand.
Common Questions
In England and Wales, you have 5 days from the point the medical examiner's office confirms the cause of death, not 5 days from the death itself. In Northern Ireland it is 5 days. In Scotland it is 8 days from the date of death, where possible. If a coroner or the procurator fiscal is involved, registration waits until they have finished.
Not in England and Wales. Since the medical examiner system became law, the certificate goes to the registrar directly, and you wait to be told it has arrived before you book. This changed how registration works, and older guidance online still tells people to collect the certificate and take it in themselves.
In Northern Ireland the registrar telephones you and the registration can be completed on the call. In Scotland you can register remotely by phone or video call. In England and Wales you usually attend the register office in person, though many offices take appointment bookings online.
Usually a relative of the person who has died. If no relative can go, it can be someone who was present at the death, the person arranging the funeral, or an official from the hospital or care home where the person died.
In Scotland you can use any registration office, and in Northern Ireland any district registration office. In England and Wales you normally use the office for the district where the person died, though you can go elsewhere and have the paperwork passed on, which adds time.
In England and Wales a certified copy costs £12.50. Ordering later without the reference number costs £16.00, and priority next-working-day service costs £38.50. In Northern Ireland it is £8.00 at registration, then £15.00 for the first copy afterwards and £8.00 for each additional copy bought at the same time. In Scotland the documents issued at registration are free, and a full extract costs £12, with additional copies at £10 each.
It is the certificate for burial or cremation, and the funeral cannot go ahead without it. In England and Wales the registrar gives it to you to pass to the funeral director. In Northern Ireland the registrar issues it to the funeral director directly. It is sometimes confused with form BD8, which is a different document.
A free government service that reports a death to most government departments in one step, including the DWP, HMRC, the DVLA, the Passport Office and your local council. The registrar explains it at the appointment. It does not cover banks, insurers, pension providers or any other private organisation.
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