When someone dies it can be a stressful and upsetting time. As well as coping with the emotional distress a death may bring, you need to notify a number of different organisations.
Registering a death
You are legally required to register a death. Doing so will provide you with documents needed to arrange the funeral and to deal with the deceased's estate.
A death should be registered within five days, unless the Coroner is involved (in which case the Coroner’s Officer will advise you). Please try to contact your local register office before attending, since many offices are only part-time and all operate an appointment system.
Deaths should be registered in the district where they occurred. Nottinghamshire is classed as one registration district, while Nottingham City is another.
If it is not convenient to visit the register office for the appropriate district, details of the death may be given at any other register office in England and Wales by making a declaration. If you register a death by declaration, the necessary documentation cannot be issued immediately, but will be sent to you by the relevant office upon receipt of the declaration. This may cause a delay to the funeral arrangements.
There is no charge to register a death. You will be charged only for any certificates which you request - typically you may wish to buy a certified copy of the register entry (a death certificate) to deal with the deceased's estate. The certificates, costing £4 per copy, are needed for the following purposes:
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Probate or letters of administration
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bank and building society accounts
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the deceased’s life insurance policies
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dealing with the deceased’s stocks and shares.
This is not an exhaustive list, and there are many other purposes for which a death certificate may be required.
All certificates requested after the date of a registration will be £10.
About the registration process
In the event of a death, one of the following people, in order of preference, is legally required to register that death:
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a relative
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a person present at the death
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the occupier of the premises where the death occurred (if he/she was aware of the death)
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the person arranging the funeral (this does not mean the funeral director).
The registrar will need to see the medical certificate of cause of death issued by the GP or hospital doctor who was treating the deceased, unless the Coroner is holding a post mortem or inquest. In addition, it is often useful to take the deceased’s birth certificate, NHS medical card and marriage certificate (where appropriate) to your appointment.
The registrar will ask for the following details about the deceased:
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date and place of death
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full name (including maiden surname where appropriate)
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date and place of birth
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occupation, where appropriate
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full name, date of birth and occupation of spouse/late spouse or civil partner/late civil partner, where relevant
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usual address
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whether or not the deceased was receiving any pensions or allowances from public funds.
The registrar will issue two documents for specific purposes:
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the certificate for burial or cremation (green form). This must be handed 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.
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Certificate of Registration of Death (Form 344 or BD8). This is for Social Security purposes. It should be completed and sent to the local Department of Social Security (benefits) office as directed.
Tell us once
Losing a loved one is hard enough without the stress of paperwork and telephone calls to make. 'Tell Us Once' aims to ease this burden by allowing you to tell multiple government agencies about a death, at the same time.
By taking part in the 'Tell Us Once' service, we can notify the following organisations for you:
Local councils
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Housing Benefit Office
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Council Tax Payments and Benefits Office
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Council Housing
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Libraries
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Blue Badges (please bring the Blue Badge with you if available)
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Adult Social Care
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Collection of payments for Council Services
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Electoral services.
Identity and Passport Service
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
- Driving licence cancellation
Department for Work and Pensions
You will need to bring with you:
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Deceased's National Insurance Number
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Deceased’s surviving husband, wife or civil partner’s National Insurance Number or next of kin's National Insurance Number
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Next of kin's name, address and telephone number
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Information about any benefits and services the deceased may have been receiving (e.g. state pension, income support, housing benefit, library card etc)
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Name and Address of the person dealing with the deceased's estate (if different).
Plus the below (if held):
The Tell Us Once service is provided straight after the registration of a death, so you won't even need to leave the register office. However, if you don't have all the documentation to hand or would prefer to complete the Tell Us Once process at another time (within 28 days), the registrar will give you details of how to do this online or by phone, including a unique reference number. You'll then be able to go online at: www.gov.uk/tell-us-once.
Please note: you cannot start the Tell Us Once process with the registrar and then finish it online or by phone. The whole process must either be done with the registrar immediately following the registration of death or by phone or online.
Find out more
If you have any questions, please contact your local register office. You will also find more detailed information about what to do when someone dies on the Direct Gov website.
