Registering a Death

In order to register a death you will need to know the deceased’s full name at the time of death, along with any previous names, their address, date of birth and their previous occupation. You will also need to provide details of the surviving spouse/civil partner and their occupation.

You should get together the relevant paperwork. This includes a medical certificate or notification of referral to the coroner, the deceased’s birth certificate, their national insurance number, their NHS medical card and any marriage/civil partnership certificate.

The gov.uk website has a useful tool to help you understand in more detail how you can register the loss of your loved one, depending on the individual circumstances.

The appointment to register the death should be done within 5 days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 8 days in Scotland.

You may also wish to make use of the ‘Tell Us Once Service’ for notifying multiple organisations, for example DWP, at the same time. You can find out more about this service on the website.

Once the death is registered you can obtain the death certificate. We usually recommend to the families that we work with that they pay for several copies at this stage, as it is often cheaper to do so now than in the future. Having copies available will help you sort out the affairs of your loved one quickly and easily.