Register the death within 5 days (8days in Scotland) – this includes weekends and bank Holidays.
Before you can register the death, you’ll need either:
A medical certificate – ask the GP or hospital doctor
Permission from the coroner that you can register the death – if the death was reported to a coroner (Procurator Fiscal in Scotland)
You will receive a “certificate for burial’ to give to the funeral director/cemetery. You must hand over the certificate before the funeral can take place.
You can go to any register office but if you use the one in the area where the person died, you’ll be given the documents you will need on the day.
If you use a different register office the documents will be sent to the office in the area where the person died before they are issued to you. This means you will usually wait a few days. This is not recommended as it will unnecessarily delay the funeral, which is against the Sunnah.
Registering the death will take about 30 minutes – you might need to make an appointment. Where an appointment system is in place, turn up at the Register office and explain the need to obtain a burial order urgently for faith reasons.
Who should register the death
A relative should register the death.
If a relative can’t register the death, you can do it if you:
- Were there at the time of death
- Are an administrator from the hospital (if the person dies in hospital)
- Are in charge of making funeral arrangements
What you need to do
at the Register Office
Take the medical certificate showing the cause of death (signed by a doctor) with you.
If available (but don’t worry if not), also take the person’s:
- Birth certificate
- Council Tax bill
- Driving license
- Marriage or civil partnership certificate
- NHS medical card
- Passport
- Proof of address (e.g. Utility bill)
You’ll need to tell the registrar:
- The person’s full name at the time of death
- Any names previously used, e.g. 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
You should also take supporting documents that show your name and address (e.g. utility bill) but you still can register a death without them.
Documents you’ll get
from the registrar
When you register a death, you’ll get:
- A certificate for Burial (the ‘Green Form’) – gives permission for burial
- A certificate of Registration of Death (form BD8) – you may need to fill this out 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 – 10 is usually a good starting point