Registering a death
A death should be registered by a relative of the deceased whenever this is possible. A relative of the deceased includes someone who the deceased was married to, in a civil partnership with or someone who was in a relationship with and living as partners with the deceased at the time of their death.
If there is no relative available to register the death, someone present at the time of the death can carry out the registration.
If this is not possible the person organising the funeral, or a representative of the deceased can complete the registration.
The Medical Examiner’s Office will usually have a conversation with the next of kin, family or person attending the deceased before sending the medical certificate of death to the Register Office. The Medical Examiner will tell you when you can register the death and they will pass on the contact details for the person who will be responsible for the registration to the Registrars.
There should be no need to contact the register office to book an appointment. The registrar will contact this person when they have all necessary paperwork.
We have more information on what needs to happen before a death can be registered.
All involved will work together to try and avoid delays and ensure that the death can be registered at the earliest opportunity. However, we do ask that you are patient It is important to allow time for the Medical Examiner to fulfil their role and it may be up to 5 working days before you are contacted about an appointment to register the death.
If more than 5 working days have passed and you know the medical examiner has completed their scrutiny but you have not been contacted about an appointment, or you have missed a call from the registrars you can complete the form below to contact the registrars.