Formalities after a death
By law, a death must be registered within 5 days unless a
registrar agrees that this may be extended or a coroner is
involved. The doctor who was attending the deceased will sign and
issue a medical certificate showing the cause of death. This may be
the family doctor or a duty doctor if the deceased died in
hospital. This sealed envelope containing this document must be
handed to the registrar. In some circumstances the death will have
to be referred to the coroner, either by the doctor or the
registrar.
The coroner will decide to:
- take no further action and inform the registrar of the
decision
- carry out an after death examination (post mortem). In this
case the coroner will issue the cause of death certificate and send
it to the registrar
- hold an inquest. Until the coroner's decision is known it will
not be possible to register the death
Where to register a death
The death must be registered in the district in which the death
occurred. If it is not convenient to visit the register office for
the district it is possible to go to any other register office in
England or Wales to make a declaration of the particulars required
for the registration. In that case, any death certificates required
and paid for, the form issued for social security purposes and the
one issued for the burial or cremation to proceed will be sent by
post. This may cause the funeral arrangements to be delayed.
To register a death at Peterborough Register Office, please
contact the Peterborough Register Office before
attending in order to make an appointment, which will usually last
some 30 minutes.
How to register a death
It is usual for a relative of the deceased to register the
death. If there are no relatives then it is possible in certain
circumstances for other individuals to register, for example
someone who was present at the death or the person who is
responsible for organising and paying for the funeral. Please
contact any register office for specific advice where a relative
will not be able to attend to register.
It is useful to bring the deceased's birth certificate, marriage
certificate (where appropriate) and NHS medical card.
The registrar will ask for the following details:
- date and place of death
- full names of the deceased, including maiden name where
appropriate
- the deceased's date and place of birth
- the deceased's occupation where appropriate
- if the deceased is a married/widowed woman, the full names and
occupation of her husband/late husband
- the deceased's usual address
- if the deceased was married, the date of birth of the
spouse
- if the deceased was receiving any pensions or allowances from
public funds, including pensions from previous employment or
sickness/retirement pensions
Certificates
Two forms for specific purposes will be issued:
- The certificate for burial or cremation, sometimes called the
green form. This is the certificate to take to the funeral director
so that arrangements can be made for the funeral to take place. In
certain circumstances a form will be issued by the coroner.
- The certificate of registration of death, sometimes called form
BD8. This is for Department of Work and Pensions purposes. It
should be completed and sent to the local DWP office as
directed.
Certified copies of the death entry (death certificate) are
needed for the following purposes:
- probate or letters of administration
- bank and building society accounts
- life insurance policies covering the deceased
- dealing with stocks and shares owned by the deceased
- applying for a tax rebate
They can be purchased from the registrar for a fee of
£3.50 at the time of registration. The fees for
certificates after the time of registration are
£7.00 if issued from a current register or
£9.00 if issued from a completed register.
Other useful information