Interim death certificate: what it is and where you can use it
A coroner can give you an interim death certificate while an investigation is open. What it is, how to get one and where it is accepted before registration.
What is an interim death certificate?
An interim death certificate is a document from the coroner that confirms a person has died whilst the coroner's investigation into the death is still open, so that the family has proof of death during the weeks or months before the death can be registered. Its formal name in England and Wales is a certificate of the fact of death, which is the term used in regulation 9 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013, and that regulation allows a coroner who has begun but not yet completed or discontinued an investigation to provide one to the next of kin or the personal representative if they ask for it. The Ministry of Justice's Guide to Coroner Services calls it a "coroner's certificate of the fact of death", given to help you deal with administrative matters and sometimes called an interim death certificate, whilst some coroners' offices call it a coroner's interim certificate of death.
What it confirms is the fact of the death rather than its cause. Manchester City Council's coroner pages, for example, describe its interim certificates as looking and working much like ordinary death certificates, except that the cause of death is not confirmed. It is also separate from the certified copies of the death register entry that families normally order when they register a death, which our guide to death certificates and how many you need explains.
When does a coroner issue an interim certificate?
A coroner can issue one whenever an investigation has begun but is not yet finished, for example because an inquest has been opened or the coroner is waiting for further results, and the family needs proof of death in the meantime. Many deaths reported to a coroner never reach that stage, because GOV.UK's guide to when a death is reported to a coroner explains that the coroner may decide not to investigate, in which case the medical examiner contacts you to confirm you can register the death. Alternatively the coroner may decide the cause is clear and send the registrar a certificate saying no inquest is needed, in which case the registrar contacts you to arrange registration.
The Ministry of Justice's Coroners statistics 2025 show how often an inquest follows. Coroners in England and Wales received reports of 147,814 deaths in 2025, which was 26% of all registered deaths, whilst 35,989 inquests were opened in the same year, equivalent to 24% of the deaths reported, which means most deaths reported to a coroner do not lead to an inquest. Our guide to registering a death explains how registration works in those cases, including the role of the medical examiner.
How do you get an interim death certificate?
You ask the coroner's office for it, usually through the coroner's officer who is your contact during the investigation. GOV.UK's advice is simply to ask the coroner if you need proof of the death while you wait for the inquest to finish, and the regulations treat it as something the coroner may provide on request, although some coroners' offices send interim certificates out once an inquest has been opened. The Black Country Coroners Service, for example, says it issues one once an inquest has been opened or an investigation formally begun.
Neither GOV.UK nor the regulations mention a fee or a limit on the number of copies, and coroners' offices do not all work in the same way, so ask the coroner's officer how many you can have and whether there is any charge. Manchester City Council's coroner pages, for instance, say more copies will be sent whenever you need them. It helps to work out how many organisations will want one before you ask.
Where can you use an interim death certificate?
GOV.UK names two uses directly, and the Student Loans Company and a charity that supports families through inquests describe several more.
Probate: GOV.UK says you can use the interim certificate to apply for probate, and its guidance on what you need to apply lists having an interim death certificate from the coroner as one of the cases where you will need a copy of the certificate. Our guide to applying for probate covers the rest of the process.
Tell Us Once: GOV.UK says the interim certificate lets you report the death to several government organisations at once through Tell Us Once, with the registrar's help, which a later section explains.
Banks and other financial organisations: the Coroners' Courts Support Service, a charity that helps families through the inquest process, says in its answers to frequently asked questions that the interim certificate is issued to help with administering the estate and should be acceptable to banks and financial institutions.
Benefits and National Insurance: the same charity says the certificate can also be used for benefit claims and National Insurance purposes.
Student loans: the Student Loans Company lists an original coroner's interim certificate, or a copy of the coroner's certificate stamped by the coroner, among the evidence it accepts before it cancels a student loan.
Where might an interim certificate not be accepted?
Insurers are the exception these sources name, because an insurance claim can depend on how the person died as well as on the fact that they died. The Coroners' Courts Support Service says the interim certificate may not be enough where an organisation needs to know the outcome of the inquest, with an insurance settlement as its example, and Manchester's coroner pages say insurance companies are the only organisations that do not always accept interim certificates and will need to write to the coroner's office directly with their questions.
Beyond insurers, each organisation sets its own evidence rules, so the practical approach is to ask what they need before you post anything, which saves using up copies on organisations that will not accept them. If an organisation says it will wait for the full death certificate, make a note of it so that you can send one once the death is registered, and if it has questions about the investigation itself, ask whether it can put them to the coroner's office instead of to you.
Can you use Tell Us Once during an inquest?
Yes, you can. GOV.UK's Tell Us Once page says that if you cannot register the death because an inquest is underway, you can ask the coroner for an interim death certificate and then ask a registrar for a Tell Us Once reference number. The usual rules then apply, which means the reference number has to be used within 28 days or it expires, and the service can only be used once, so it makes sense to gather the passport, driving licence, vehicle and benefit details GOV.UK asks for before you start.
Tell Us Once is only available where the person lived in England, Scotland or Wales, and it only reaches government organisations such as HMRC and the DWP, along with some public sector pension schemes. Our guide to what Tell Us Once covers lists the rest, and the person's bank, energy supplier, phone provider and subscriptions are not among them, so those accounts and any direct debits and standing orders carry on during the investigation until each company is told.
How long does a coroner's investigation take?
When an inquest is held, the latest official figures suggest the wait is usually measured in months. The Ministry of Justice estimates that the average time taken to process an inquest in England and Wales was 31.3 weeks in 2025, measured from the date the death was reported to the end of the inquest, which it describes as stable compared with 2024, although the average for individual coroner areas ranged from 11.2 weeks to 77.4 weeks. Of the inquests completed in 2025, 29% took less than three months and 56% less than six months, whilst 19% took more than a year.
The Ministry of Justice's Guide to Coroner Services (2020) says the inquest hearing should take place within six months of the death being reported, or as soon as reasonably possible, and that a coroner who has not finished within 12 months must report the reasons for the delay to the Chief Coroner, whilst during a long investigation the coroner's office should update you at least every three months. The funeral does not usually have to wait for the inquest, because the coroner will normally release the person who died once their first enquiries are complete, as our guide to how long after a death a funeral takes place explains.
What happens when the investigation ends?
When the coroner's work is finished, the death can be registered and full death certificates become available. GOV.UK says that once the inquest is over you can get the final death certificate from the registrar, and the Ministry of Justice's guide says you will be told when and how the death can or will be registered once the coroner has concluded or discontinued the investigation. Once it is registered, you can order certified copies, and the death certificates guide linked above explains where to order them and how many you are likely to need.
Sometimes a coroner suspends an investigation rather than finishing it, for example while a criminal trial or a public inquiry takes place. In that case the Ministry of Justice's guide says the coroner must send the registrar the information needed to register the death and issue a death certificate, so registration can happen before the inquest itself is resolved.
How does this work in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
Scotland: deaths in Scotland that need investigating are dealt with by the procurator fiscal rather than a coroner. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) says coroners investigate deaths in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, whilst in Scotland it investigates sudden, suspicious, accidental and unexplained deaths on behalf of the Lord Advocate. mygov.scot says a death certificate can be issued once the procurator fiscal has finished investigating, and that a death referred to the procurator fiscal may not be registered within the usual eight days. COPFS's guide for bereaved family members says that in some cases an interim death certificate is issued so that the funeral can go ahead while further tests are done, and that it can often give families the final cause of death within 12 weeks. If the recorded cause changes, COPFS says a new death certificate will be provided, and it suggests asking your funeral director how certificates are issued in your area.
Northern Ireland: the Coroners Service for Northern Ireland can issue a "Coroner's Certificate of Evidence of Death" on request before the death is registered, which nidirect says is intended to help with administering the estate. It cannot be used to register the death, and nidirect warns that some financial organisations may not accept it, so you may need to wait for registration before the estate can be finished. The Department of Justice suggests telling organisations that hesitate that they can contact the coroner's office directly for more information. There is no Tell Us Once service in Northern Ireland, and the Coroners Service can be reached on 0300 200 7811.
What to do next
Ask the coroner's officer for interim certificates, how many you can have and whether any charge applies.
If you want to use Tell Us Once now, ask a registrar for a reference number and use it within 28 days.
Before posting a copy anywhere, ask the organisation whether it accepts an interim certificate, bearing in mind that insurers may ask for more.
If probate is needed, you can apply with the interim certificate rather than waiting for the inquest to finish.
Keep a list of where each copy went and which organisations are waiting for the full certificate.
When the investigation ends, order certified copies of the death certificate and send them to anyone still waiting.
If you would like to talk to someone about the inquest process itself, the Coroners' Courts Support Service gives free, confidential advice to anyone affected by a death reported to a coroner in England and Wales, through its helpline on 0300 111 2141.
A coroner's investigation can hold up registration for months, but it does not pause the person's accounts, so direct debits can keep leaving their bank account and accounts such as energy and phone carry on until each company is told. When you are ready, Legacy Trail's free notification service can tell those companies about the death on your behalf, with each company still deciding what evidence it needs before it closes or changes an account, which leaves you with one less thing to deal with.
Frequently asked questions
No. The interim certificate is proof of death for paperwork while a coroner's investigation is open, and the death cannot be registered until the coroner's work allows it, which is normally once the investigation has been concluded or discontinued. At that point you will be told when and how the death can or will be registered.
GOV.UK does not set a number, and coroners' offices do not all work in the same way. Manchester's coroner pages, for example, say it will send more copies whenever you need them, so tell the coroner's officer how many organisations need one and ask whether there is any charge.
A funeral, including a cremation, can usually go ahead before an inquest ends, but that depends on the coroner releasing the person who died and giving the authority needed for the burial or cremation. The Ministry of Justice says the coroner will usually release the person once their first enquiries are complete, and the coroner's officer will tell you when.
Yes, registering a death is a legal requirement. When a coroner is investigating, though, the death cannot be registered until the coroner's work allows it, and the coroner's office will tell you when and how registration can go ahead.
Not quite. A certificate of the fact of death is the formal name for the coroner's interim certificate, which confirms that the person has died without confirming the cause, whereas a death certificate is a certified copy of the entry in the death register. The Coroners' Courts Support Service says banks and financial institutions should accept the interim version, but insurers in particular may wait for the full certificate.
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.