How to register a death

It is a legal requirement to register a death and this should be done within five days of us receiving the medical certificate cause of death, unless the coroner is involved.

If the death occurred in Nottingham city, please contact Nottingham City Council to make an appointment.

The Registration Service will contact you when all necessary paperwork has been received.

List of informants in order of priority for in-person appointments

• a relative or partner of the deceased, present at the death;
• a relative or partner of the deceased, in attendance during the last illness;
• a relative or partner of the deceased, residing or being in the sub-district where the death occurred; in the case of an out of district declaration, the relative is deemed to be in the sub-district where the death took place at the time of giving the information for the declaration;
• a personal representative of the deceased;
• a person present at the death;
• the occupier of the house if he/she knew that the death had happened; or
• any inmate of the house if he/she knew that the death had happened; or
• the person causing the burial or cremation of the body.

There are additional requirements if you want to register a death by telephone. 

If you are a relative or partner, you can register the death by telephone if you:

• were present at the death or during the person's last illness
• live in Nottinghamshire (excluding Nottingham City) or are in Nottinghamshire (excluding Nottingham City) at the time of the appointment

If you do not meet these requirements, you may still be able to register by telephone in another capacity, for example if you are arranging the burial or cremation.

Otherwise, you can register in person or, where applicable, make an out-of-district declaration.

If you register a death by telephone

You do not need to visit the Register Office. A registrar will call you at around your appointment time to register the death with you.

The call will come from a withheld number. If your phone does not accept withheld calls, give us another contact number when you book.

Please allow up to five minutes after your appointment time for the registrar to call.
All certificates will be sent to you by second class post.

If the death took place in Nottinghamshire (outside the city boundary) you can register the death - in person - at the register office most convenient for you.

• Arnold
• Eastwood
• Mansfield
• Newark
• Retford
• Sutton in Ashfield
• West Bridgford
• Worksop

If you're not sure the death took place in Nottinghamshire you can check which county the death took place in by searching for the town, street or postcode if it is known. 

If the death took place in another county but it is more convenient to register the death in Nottinghamshire, you can complete a declaration at your local office and the details will be sent on to the correct council who will then post out the death certificate paperwork to you.

If attending in person, your own personal identification (e.g. passport, Council tax Bill, Driving Licence or Proof of Address such as a utility bill).

When registering the death, either in person or by telephone, you will need to tell us the following details about the deceased:

• their date and place of death
• their full name and surname, if they are known by any other name currently or previously (and the maiden surname if they were a woman who had married or formed a civil partnership)
• their sex as recorded on their birth certificate
• their date and place of birth (town and county if born in the UK, and country if born abroad)
• If they were married or a civil partner, the date of birth of the surviving widow, widower or civil partner
• their occupation and the name and occupation of their spouse or civil partner
• their last (usual) address
• full name and address of the person registering the death
• whether the deceased was receiving a pension or allowance from public funds
• their NHS number
• whether there will be a burial or cremation, where it will take place and name of the funeral directors

If attending in person, it is often useful to take the deceased's:

• birth certificate
• NHS medical card
• marriage certificate (if applicable).

Errors on the death certificate

Before completion of the registration, you must verify the accuracy of the details you have provided to the registrar. 

You are responsible for ensuring that all details are correct, including all spellings.

If you subsequently wish for something to be corrected, you will need to submit a formal correction application to be considered by either our register office or the General Register Office.

This will incur a consideration fee, depending on the nature of the correction required. You can find out more by visiting our fees page.

You will also need to pay for a new death certificate(s) showing the corrected information. The correct information will show as a marginal note at the bottom of the certificate.

For in person appointments

• Certificate of 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 instead. If you do not yet know which funeral director you will be using, the registrar will retain this form until we are notified accordingly.
• Certified copies of the register entry – you can purchase as many certificates as you wish. 
• Payment for certificates can be made with cash or card, as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay via your mobile phone.

For telephone appointments

• Certificate of burial or cremation (green form) – if you know which funeral director you will be using, the form will be sent to them electronically. If not, the registrar will retain this form until we are notified accordingly.
• Certified copies of the register entry – these will be sent to you by second class post.