How to Register a Death in the UK: Step by Step
This guide covers how to register a death in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: who can do it, what the registrar asks for, and what registering a death in the UK gives you at the end.
How long do you have to register a death?
You have 5 days to register a death in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 8 days in Scotland (GOV.UK). The three deadlines are not counted from the same starting point.
England and Wales: 5 days, counted from the date the register office receives the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death.
Scotland: 8 days, counted from the date of death.
Northern Ireland: 5 days, counted from the date of death.
The England and Wales start point changed with the death certification reforms that became law on 9 September 2024. Before that date, the clock ran from the date of death.
The 5 days include weekends and bank holidays, so a death certified before a long weekend can leave a tight window. If you cannot register in time, phone the register office and explain. Failing to register a death is a criminal offence, though registrars are understanding about delays reported in advance.
If a coroner is involved, the 5 day rule does not apply, and you cannot register until the coroner has finished.
How do you register a death in England?
To register a death in England, book an appointment at the register office for the district where the person died. At the appointment you give the registrar the details of the person who died. Book only once the medical examiner's office has confirmed it sent the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, because the register office cannot register the death without it. The steps for how to register a death in England are the same in Wales.
Wait for the medical examiner's office to confirm the certificate has reached the register office.
Find the register office for the district where the person died, using the postcode search on GOV.UK.
Book an appointment, because most offices ask you to book rather than turn up.
Attend with the person's details. The appointment takes 30 to 45 minutes.
Buy certified copies of the death certificate at the appointment.
Take away the certificate for burial or cremation, so the funeral can be arranged.
Register in the district where the person died, not where they lived, if those are different. If reaching that district is difficult, you can register a death in England or Wales by declaration at any register office, though that route is slower.
What does the medical examiner do before you can register?
The medical examiner reviews the cause of death, speaks to the family, and sends the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death to the register office. A medical examiner is a senior doctor who was not involved in the person's care. Almost every death in England and Wales is now scrutinised independently, by a medical examiner or a coroner, before it can be registered.
The attending doctor sends the certificate to the medical examiner's office. The medical examiner checks it, reviews the medical records, and contacts the next of kin to talk through the cause of death. That conversation is also your opportunity to raise concerns about the care the person received.
If you have heard nothing within a few days of the death, contact the medical examiner's office, or the hospital or GP practice dealing with it. National figures show the median time to register a doctor-certified death rose by about 2 days after the new system came in.
Who can register a death?
A close relative normally registers the death, and the registrar will accept someone else only if no relative is available. Where the person died in a house or a hospital, four groups can register.
A relative: the registrar's first choice, and the person expected to attend in most cases.
Someone present at the death: accepted where no relative can attend.
An official from the hospital: available where the person died in hospital.
The person arranging the funeral: the family member or friend instructing the funeral director.
A funeral director cannot register the death for you, though yours can guide you through it. You do not need to be the executor or the next of kin, and only one person needs to attend.
What do you need to register a death?
You need information about the person who died rather than documents, because the medical examiner sends the medical certificate straight to the register office. The registrar will ask you for the following.
Full name: their name at the date of death, plus any names they were previously known by.
Date and place of birth: both, as recorded on the birth certificate.
Last address: where they were living at the date of death.
Occupation: their occupation, or their last occupation if they had retired.
State Pension and benefits: whether they were receiving a State Pension or any other benefits.
Spouse or civil partner: the full name and occupation of their husband, wife or civil partner, if they were married or in a civil partnership.
Three documents make the appointment smoother, though the registration can go ahead without them.
Birth certificate: confirms the date and place of birth, not required.
Marriage or civil partnership certificate: confirms spouse details, not required.
Recent proof of address: confirms the last address, not required.
What do you get when you register a death?
You leave with the certificate for burial or cremation, a form for the Department for Work and Pensions, and any certified copies of the death certificate you have bought.
Certificate for burial or cremation (the green form): free, and handed to your funeral director as legal permission to hold the funeral.
BD8 form: reports the death to the Department for Work and Pensions so pensions and benefits can be stopped or adjusted, and not needed if you phone the DWP Bereavement Service instead.
Certified copies of the death certificate: £12.50 each in England and Wales, bought at the appointment (GOV.UK).
The registrar does not hand out death certificates automatically, so you buy certified copies. You need an original certified copy to close many of the person's accounts, and most banks, pension providers and insurers will not accept a photocopy. Because you can usually deal with only one organisation at a time per copy, ordering several at the appointment saves weeks. Our guide to how many death certificates you need works through the number by organisation.
You do not need the death certificate to arrange the funeral. The green form is enough, so funeral planning can start as soon as you leave, and how long after death is a funeral sets out the timings to expect.
How do you register a death in Scotland?
To register a death in Scotland you have 8 days from the date of death, and you follow the separate Scottish system administered by National Records of Scotland. Scotland runs its own system of medical review and uses different forms from England and Wales.
You receive the Certificate of Registration of Death in place of the green form, and Tell Us Once is available in Scotland. A death can be registered at any registrar's office in Scotland, not only the one for the district where it happened. An extract of the death entry bought at the time of registration, or within a month of it, costs £10, and an abbreviated extract is issued free (National Records of Scotland).
How do you register a death in Northern Ireland?
In Northern Ireland you have 5 days to register, counted from the date of death rather than from the date the paperwork reaches the registrar. Northern Ireland has its own arrangements, set out by nidirect.
You receive the GRO21 form in place of the green form. Tell Us Once is not available in Northern Ireland, so each government department must be contacted separately.
What happens after you register a death?
After you register, the registrar usually offers Tell Us Once, which reports the death to most government departments in one go. Tell Us Once covers the DWP, HMRC, the DVLA, the Passport Office and the local council. It is available in England, Wales and Scotland, but not in Northern Ireland.
Tell Us Once has one significant limit: it covers government and public bodies only. It does not touch the private sector, where most of a person's accounts sit, including banks, insurers, pension schemes, utilities, mobile contracts, subscriptions and store cards. Our guide to Tell Us Once explains that gap.
Registration is the start of the administration rather than the end. Our guide to what to do when someone dies puts registration in context. The list of who to notify when someone dies sets out the organisations to work through, and how to notify a bank after someone dies covers the documents banks ask for.
Frequently asked questions
Contact the register office as soon as you know you will be late, because failing to register a death is a criminal offence. In practice, registrars are understanding about delays they have been told about in advance. The 5 days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland include weekends and bank holidays.
No. A funeral director cannot register a death for you, because the law requires a relative, someone present at the death, a hospital official, or the person arranging the funeral to attend in person. Your funeral director can guide you through the appointment and liaise with the register office.
The certificate for burial or cremation (the green form) is free. You pay only for certified copies of the death certificate, which cost £12.50 each in England and Wales. Order 3 to 6 copies at the appointment, because you can usually deal with only one organisation at a time per copy.
In England and Wales you can register by declaration at any register office, but the registration is completed by the office for the district where the person died. The second office posts the funeral paperwork and certificate copies to you, which slows things down. Registering in the correct district in person is faster.
The coroner usually registers the death where there is an inquest, so you do not attend a register office appointment. You cannot register while a coroner is still investigating, and the 5 day deadline does not apply. A coroner's investigation can take from a day to many months.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Individual circumstances vary. If you are dealing with an estate, consider taking advice from a solicitor who specialises in probate. For other guidance specific to your circumstances, speak to a funeral director, Citizens Advice, or a regulated financial adviser.