Register a death

To register a death the doctor must send the medical certificate cause of death (MCCD) to the Register Office and let the relatives know that this has been done. The MCCD must be with the Register Office for the registration to take place.

When someone dies:

• the doctor who was treating the deceased issues a medical certificate for the death
• you must register the death within 5 days – this includes weekends and bank holidays
• when registering a death you will need to take certain documents with you to the appointment

A small number of deaths must be reported to the coroner before they can be registered. This may unfortunately lead to a delay in registering the death.

If the coroner is involved the coroner’s officers will keep you informed of progress.

Who can register a death

A death may be registered by: 

• a relative of the deceased 
• a person present at the death 
• the occupier of the institution, home or hospital in which the death occurred
• the person making the funeral arrangements – this does not include an executor, unless they are also making the funeral arrangements 

How to register a death

You can call us on 01454 863140 to book an appointment and you will be asked to provide your name, contact phone number and some brief details of the deceased for a call back by the registrar. Our email address is registrationservice@southglos.gov.uk. 

In the event of an emergency where you need to contact us out of normal office hours call 01454 868009.

If the death took place outside South Gloucestershire you can still provide us with details. We will pass the information you provide to the registrar for that area. They will register the death and send you the form for the funeral director. 

Documents needed

When you register a death you need to take as many of the following documents as possible with you to the appointment.  

You should take:

• the deceased’s medical card 
• the deceased’s birth certificate and marriage certificate (if you have them) 
• the deceased’s passport (if applicable) 
• ID documents and proof of address for yourself (this helps us avoid mistakes in recording spellings of names and addresses)
• details of any pensions or allowances paid from public funds to the deceased

You will also need:

• the date and place of the death 
• the full names and surname of the deceased together with any other names they have ever used 
• the place of birth of the deceased and their age (or date of birth) 
• the maiden surname of a woman who has married 
• the occupation of the deceased 
• the name and occupation of the deceased’s husband or wife or surviving civil partner 
• the deceased’s home address, including postcode 
• the date of birth of any surviving spouse 

It is important that the information provided and the entry in the register is correct. It is your responsibility to ensure that there are no mistakes, including spelling errors.  

Errors discovered after you have signed the register may take considerable time to process and cause delays in dealing with the deceased person’s estate.

Issue of certificates

Once a death has been registered you will be issued with a form for the funeral director.

You may request as many certified copies of the entry in the death register (certificates) as you will need to deal with the deceased’s affairs. Each certificate costs £11. We can accept debit and credit card payments (Visa and Mastercard) only at the appointment.

You cannot pay by cheque or card from a Power of Attorney account.

Department for Work and Pensions booklet “What to do after a death”

This useful booklet is currently being reviewed and is out of print.

Tell Us Once

Once you have registered a death, you can use the Tell Us Once service to give relevant information to the Department of Work and Pensions. They will pass this on to other government departments and council services on your behalf. For more information on how the Tell Us Once service works you can access a short video.

This service is voluntary and free to use and will be offered during your appointment with the registrar.