What to do now that you have suffered a bereavement
If an expected death occurs at home or a nursing home
Inform the doctor as soon as possible that death has occurred. If it is out of hours you will need to contact the on call doctor. The doctor may write out the Medical Cause of Death Certificate when they visit or may request that you visit the surgery the following day for this purpose. Once the doctor has attended and certified death you can now phone our on call team who will attend within the hour.
When a death occurs in hospital or hospice
The hospital will arrange for you to attend a bereavement meeting where you will be given the medical cause of death certificate which you will need in order to register the death with the Registrars.
The coroner – When a death is reported to a coroner
A doctor may report the death to a coroner if the:
Cause of death is unknown
Death was violent or unnatural
Death was sudden and unexplained
Person who died was not visited by a medical practitioner during their final illness
Medical certificate isn’t available
Person who died wasn’t seen by the doctor who signed the medical certificate within 14 days before death or after they died
Death occurred during an operation or before the person came out of anaesthetic
Medical certificate suggests the death may have been caused by an industrial disease or industrial poisoning
If the coroner decides that the cause of death is clear
The doctor signs a medical certificate
You take the medical certificate to the registrar
The coroner issues a certificate to the registrar stating a post-mortem isn’t needed.
If the coroner decides a post-mortem is needed to find out how the person died
This can be done either in a hospital or mortuary
You can’t object to a coroner’s post-mortem – but if you’ve asked, the coroner must tell you (and the person’s GP) when and where the examination will take place.
If no inquest is needed
The coroner will release the body for a funeral once they have completed the post-mortem examination and no further examinations are needed.
The coroner will send a form (‘Pink Form – form 100B’) to the registrar stating the cause of death.
The coroner will also send a ‘Certificate of Coroner – form Cremation 6’ if the body is to be cremated.
If inquest is required
possibly died a violent or unnatural death
died in prison or police custody
You can’t register the death until after the inquest. The coroner is responsible for sending the relevant paperwork to the registrar and can give you an interim death certificate to prove the person is dead. You can use this to let organisations know of the death and apply for probate. When the inquest is over the coroner will tell the registrar what to put in the register.
How to register a death
Our advice to all families, is that when a death does occur they contact us immediately. In many cases now when people pass away in hospital, it is not necessary for us to attend immediately, but our caring team can give the helpful advice needed to put peoples minds at ease, and to ensure that the family are aware of everything which needs to be done. We can begin making the necessary funeral arrangements when required, it isn’t essential to wait until after the registration has taken place.- these will be needed for sorting out the person’s affairs.
For all other registry office contact numbers please follow the link below;
Who should register the death?
A close relative of the deceased should be the one to register the death.
If a relative cannot for any reason register the death then you can do it if you:
were there at the time of the death
are an administrator for the hospital (if the deceased passed away in hospital)
are in charge of making funeral arrangements
Documents required
birth certificate
Council Tax bill
driving licence
marriage or civil partnership certificate
NHS medical card
passport
proof of address (eg utility bill)
Ask the register office what to do if you do not have them.
You’ll need to tell the registrar:
the person’s full name at the time of death
any names previously used, eg maiden name
the person’s date and place of birth
their last address
their occupation
the full name, date of birth and occupation of a surviving or late spouse or civil partner
whether they were getting a State Pension or any other benefits
Documents you’ll get
When you register a death you’ll get:
a Certificate for Burial or Cremation (the ‘green form’) – gives permission for burial or an application for cremation
a Certificate of Registration of Death (form BD8) – you may need to fill this in and return it if the person was getting a State Pension or benefits (the form will come with a pre-paid envelope so you know where to send it)
You can buy extra death certificates – these will be needed for sorting out the person’s affairs.