Register a Death

A relative or partner of the deceased should register the death.

If a relative or partner cannot register the death then you can do it if you:

• Were there at the time of death
• A personal representative of the deceased (nominated by the family)
• Are an administrator from the hospital (if the person died in hospital)
• Are in charge of making funeral arrangements

The Registrar will interview you in private and will need to know the following information for recording in the Register.

You will need to tell the registrar

• The date and place of death
• The person's full name at time of death
• Any names previously used, including maiden surname
• The person's date and place of birth (town and county if born in the UK and country only if born abroad)
• Their last address
• Their occupation
• The full name, date of birth and occupation of a deceased or surviving spouse or civil partner
• Whether they were receiving a state pension or any other state benefit

The appointment will last about 30 minutes. You will need to sign the completed register entry to confirm that all the information is correct.

Any errors can only be changed in accordance with the legal procedures and may cause delays. 

There is a statutory fee of £83 or £99 for the consideration of a correction. You should therefore check the register very carefully before you sign.

On completion of the registration, you will be issued with

• Certificate for Burial or Cremation (called the 'green form')
• Certified copies of the entry ("death certificates") may also be purchased at the time of registration at a cost of £12.50 each. These will be needed by the executor or administrator when sorting out the person's affairs

At Northern (Bulwell) and Southern (Wilford Hill) cemeteries, there are special areas set aside for babies.

When someone dies, there can often be a number of government departments and agencies to notify.

For example, a passport or driving licence may need to be cancelled, or benefits stopped.

The 'Tell Us Once' service is designed to make things simpler for you, by helping you give this information to the government only once.

If I take part in 'Tell Us Once', what government departments and organisations will be told about the death?

'Tell Us Once' can notify the following departments after you have registered a death:

• Adult Social Services
• Attendance Allowance
• Blue Badge parking permit
• Child Benefit
• Child Tax Credit
• Children's services
• Council housing
• Council tax
• Council Tax Benefit
• Disability Living Allowance
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
• Employment Support Allowance
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• Job Jobseeker's Allowance
• Library services
• Overseas Health Team
• Owed payments to the Council
• Passport Service
• Personal taxation
• Tax help for older people
• War Pensions scheme
• Working Tax Credit

Where applicable, Tell Us Once will pass details to these departments on your behalf. The departments you choose to notify will contact you directly if they need any more information to process your change in circumstances.

Following the registration of the death, the registrar will set up the deceased's details on the 'Tell Us Once' national database. This usually takes around five minutes at the end of the registration. Your registrar will then provide you with a unique Tell Us Once reference number.

• Please access the 'Tell Us Once' service online here. Tell Us Once - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• You can also access the service Online via What to do after someone dies: Register the death - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

To help you further we've put together a simple checklist of all the things you need to do after a death. If you would like to print or save a copy then use the PDF link below.

The registrar will also give you a booklet called 'What to do after a death'. This offers advice on probate and other administrative issues that will need to be done around this time. You can also download a copy below.

• Visit 'What to do after someone dies: Register the death - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)' 

The Death Notification Service is a free, online service that allows you to notify participating banks and building societies of the death of a family member, friend or other acquaintance.

By completing the form at death notification service you can make one quick and straightforward notification that will then be used to contact all the participating organisations that you select.

Each bank or building society will then contact you within 10 days to advise you of the next steps, which will be specific to the types of accounts and products the deceased held.

Which Companies are involved?

Details of the organisations that are part of the service can be found here:

Organisations involved 

If the Bank or Building Society that you need to notify is not yet part of the service, then you will need to contact them directly to inform them of the death.

What information will I need to provide?

To use the service you will need the following details of the person who has died:

• Full Name
• Date of birth
• Date of death
• Last address
• Death Certificate number (if known)

It is also helpful to the organisations if you can provide the account details such as sort code, account number or confirmation that a credit card was held, but these details are not mandatory to be able to submit the notification.

You will also be asked as part of the notification to provide your name, date of birth and address details for identification purposes. If you are not the person dealing with the estate you can also advise of who is, if that is a solicitor or other individual.

What happens when I use the service?

Once the form has been completed, confirmation of receipt will be provided by the Death Notification Service and the relevant organisations notified. The notified organisations will update their records and advise the individual of the next steps including any further action they will need to take. Notifiers can expect to receive communication from individual firms within 10 calendar days.

More useful information on the service can be found at:

Death Notification service

You'll need permission from a coroner before a body can be moved out of England and Wales.

The rules are complicated but the coroner's office will be able to give you information about what you need to do. The coroner will let you know when the body can be moved.

This is usually after four days, but in special circumstances the coroner can agree for the body to be moved sooner. For further information please contact the Coroner's Office