Registering a death in England and Wales

Almost every guide to this still says you have five days from the death. That stopped being true in September 2024. A step was added before registration, and the five days now start somewhere else. This explains where, because families who expect the old timetable book flights that have to be moved.

A medical examiner looks at the death first

Since 9 September 2024, every death in England and Wales is independently reviewed. If a coroner has a duty to investigate, the coroner takes it. Every other death goes to an NHS medical examiner, a senior doctor who was not involved in the care of the person who died.

The medical examiner checks the proposed cause of death with the doctor completing the medical certificate, and their office will normally telephone the next of kin to explain that cause and give you the chance to raise anything that concerns you. That call is offered, not compulsory. You can decline it without holding anything up.

Only once that review is finished does the paperwork reach the register office, and only then can you book an appointment.

The five days start later than people expect

The deadline is five days from the point the medical examiner's office confirms you can register, not five days from the day the person died. Weekends and bank holidays are counted inside those five days. In Scotland the period is eight days, and Scotland has its own system.

In practice the whole thing takes longer than it used to. The Office for National Statistics measured the first period after the reform and found the median time from death to registration was eight days, against six days in the year before. If you are holding a date in your head, hold it loosely.

If you cannot make the appointment inside the five days, tell the register office straight away rather than letting it pass.

Who can register

This is normally a relative. Where there is no relative available, it can be someone present at the death, an official from the hospital, or the person arranging the funeral with the funeral director. You register at a register office, usually in the district where the person died, and most offices are appointment only.

You do not need to bring the deceased's passport or birth certificate, although having them helps. What the registrar needs is accurate information: full name and any name previously used, date and place of birth, last address, occupation, and the details of a surviving spouse or civil partner.

What you walk out with

Registering costs nothing. Two things are produced, and they do different jobs.

• The certificate for burial or cremation, known to everyone as the green form. This is what releases the body for a funeral, and it goes to your funeral director. Without it nothing can be arranged.
• Certified copies of the death certificate, currently £12.50 each. These are what banks, insurers, employers and foreign authorities ask for.

Order several copies at the appointment. Organisations routinely keep the copy you send them, and buying more later from the General Register Office is cheaper per copy but slower, which is the wrong trade when an estate is waiting. For a repatriation you will need copies in Romania as well as in the UK, so families in that position usually take more than they think they need.

If the coroner is involved

A death is reported to the coroner when it was sudden, unexplained, violent, or happened in circumstances that require investigation. The death cannot be registered until the coroner's investigation concludes, and where there is an inquest that can take months.

You are not stuck in the meantime. On request, the coroner's office will issue an interim certificate of the fact of death, which lets you begin dealing with the estate and lets the funeral be arranged. Be aware that some banks and insurers are awkward about interim certificates; if one refuses, ask them to put the refusal in writing to the coroner's office.

If you are planning to take the person home

Registration is the gate everything else waits behind, and repatriation adds a second one. Before a body can be moved out of England and Wales, the coroner for the district must be given notice on a form usually called Form 104, and the removal cannot normally go ahead until four clear days have passed from the day the coroner received it. The coroner can release it sooner, but nobody can promise that in advance.

This is the single most common reason a family's own flight booking falls through. Do not book transport until the coroner has signed and returned the form. It applies to moving someone to Scotland as well as abroad. What the documents are and who obtains each one is set out in our guide to the documents needed to repatriate someone from the UK to Romania.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to register a death in England and Wales?

Five days from the point the medical examiner's office confirms you can go ahead, not five days from the death. Weekends and bank holidays count. In Scotland it is eight days.

How much does a death certificate cost?

Registering is free. Certified copies of the death certificate are currently £12.50 each at the register office, and you should order several, because organisations keep the copy you give them.

Can we register the death if the coroner is investigating?

Not until the investigation concludes. The coroner's office will give you an interim certificate of the fact of death on request, which is enough to arrange the funeral and start dealing with the estate.