Registering the Death


Once you have the medical cause of death certificate you will need to register the death at the Registrar's Office. The death must be registered within five days at the Registrar's Office for the area in which the death occurred. You will need to make a prior appointment before you go there but please do not make an appointment until the bereavement staff have informed you that the certificate is ready for collection from them.

Kings Mill Hospital has a limited Registration service located within the Bereavement Centre. This registration service is provided by Notts County Council. The Bereavement staff may be able to arrange for you to collect the death certificate and register the death with the Registrar at the same time.

If the death has been referred to the Coroner, you will not be able to register the death until the Registrar has received notification from the Coroner's office.

For a list of local Register offices please refer to:-

http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/living/life/births-marriages-and-deaths/register-offices/

Who can register the death

A death must be registered by a qualified person (called an 'informant') and this is nearly always a relative of the deceased.

However, if there are no relatives available, a death can be registered by another qualified person. This includes, in order of preference:

  • a person present at the death
  • the occupier of the premises (house, hospital or nursing home) where the death occurred if he/she knew of it happening
  • the person arranging the funeral (this is not the funeral director, but the relative, friend or legal representative who is instructing the funeral director).

Tell Us Once service

The Registrar can notify the following organisations for you about a death:

  • Local councils
  • Identity and Passport Service
  • Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
  • Driving licence cancellation
  • Department for Work and Pensions
  • State Pension, Disability and Carers Service
  • Jobcentre Plus
  • Overseas Health Team.

What you need to take to your appointment

The registrar will need to see:

a. the medical cause of death certificate
b. your own personal identification. This can be in the form of a Passport, Council tax Bill, Driving Licence or Proof of Address such as a utility bill, although any documents provided that support the information contained in the register should be accepted. This is to ensure accuracy of records, prevent fraudulent registrations and to improve the quality of information being recorded.

In addition, it is often useful to take the deceased's:

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

To complete the Tell Us Once service, please try to bring with you as many of the following as possible:

  • The deceased's National Insurance Number
  • The deceased's surviving husband, wife or civil partner's National Insurance Number or next of kin's National Insurance Number
  • Next of kin's name, address and telephone number
  • Name and address of the person dealing with the deceased's estate (if different
  • Dates of any recent stays in hospital/hospice/care home during the last 26 weeks, providing the most recent if more than one
  • Information about any benefits and services the deceased may have been receiving (e.g. state pension, income support, housing benefit, library card etc)
  • The deceased's driving licence (if held) or driver number if licence not available
  • Passport (if held) or passport number if passport not available
  • Blue Badge (if held).

If you do not have the passport or driving licence, the Tell Us Once service can still go ahead but you will need to inform the DVLA and the HM Passport Office separately.
If you are not the next of kin or person dealing with the deceased's estate, you will need their permission in order for the Registrar to pass on this information as part of Tell Us Once.

You will receive a Tell Us Once letter at the end of the registration that will list the services that have been informed of the death.

Documents you will receive from the Registrar

  • 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.
  • Certificate of Registration of Death (Form BD8). This is to inform the Department of Work and Pensions of the death. The Registrar will explain what you need to do with this form.
  • Certified copies of the death certificate