When someone passes away, it can seem very daunting to have to deal with the situation you face. We are here to help you. Please do not hesitate to give us a ring and we can guide you.

An expected death at home or residential care home.

Please contact the GP or out of hours GP service
The GP, on call doctor or district nurses will attend and ascertain that death has occurred.
Call us on 01204 696311 (24 hours)
We will transfer the deceased from the place of death to our premises.
The Medical Examiner will contact you to confirm when the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death has been sent to the registrars. (See Registering a death section)
Once you have registered the green registration document is usually emailed to us.

An expected death in a Hospital or Hospice

The attending Doctor will ascertain that death has occurred.
The hospital will provide information on what to do next.
Call us on 01204 696311
We will transfer the deceased person from the hospital to our premises.
Contact the General Office/Patient Services to make arrangements to collect any personal effects.
The Medical Examiner will contact you to confirm when the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death has been sent to the registrars. (See registrar section)
Once you have registered the death, the green registration document is usually emailed to us.

Dial 999 and explain the situation.
The Police will call the duty Funeral Director to transfer the deceased from the place of death to the Hospital Mortuary.
The Police will notify the Coroner that a Sudden Death has occurred.
The Coroner will decide whether a Post Mortem examination will be ordered.  The Coroner’s Officer will liaise with you to keep you informed.
Please contact us 0n 01204 696311
We will liaise with the Coroner’s Office.
If there is to be no Inquest the Coroner will send the documentation necessary to Register the Death directly to the Register Office.
Make an appointment with the Register Office to register the death.
We will receive confirmation from the Coroner’s Office that the deceased may be released for the funeral to take place.  We will transfer the deceased from the hospital mortuary to our premises.
If an inquest is ordered the Coroner will issue interim Death Certificates to you and will send the necessary documentation to the ourselves to enable the funeral to take place.  It will not be possible to register the death until the Inquest has taken place.
When the inquest has taken place the Coroner will send the necessary documentation directly to the Register Office to enable you to register the Death.

Registering the Death

Once the Medical Examiner has issued the Medical Certificate, the Informant must register the death within 5 days at the Registry Office for the sub-district in which the death occurred. If this is not possible the Registrar must be informed in writing. The Medical Certificate of the cause of death and the deceased’s Medical Card (if available) must be given to the Registrar. It is also possible to register by declaration in a different area. Please ask us for more details about this.

The person registering the death will be asked for the following information about the deceased:
The date and place of death
The full name and usual address (and maiden name if applicable)
The date and place of birth
The occupation (and name and occupation of her husband if applicable)
Details of any pension or allowance from public funds
The date and place of birth of any surviving spouse
The full name and usual address of the Informant
The qualification of the Informant
A Death Certificate can then be obtained on payment of the prescribed fee. This will be needed for obtaining Probate or Letters of Administration, closing bank accounts and making claims on insurance policies.
The Registrar will also issue a green Registrar’s Certificate for Burial or Cremation which will be needed by the Funeral Director, and a white Certificate of Registration of Death – Form 344/BD8 – which is for Social Security purposes to cancel the payment of pensions and allowances from public funds.
Without a Cause of Death, the Registrar cannot allow the death to be registered.