You must ensure the death is officially registered within a period of 5 days (8 days in Scotland), which includes weekends and bank holidays.
Upon registration, you will receive a ‘certificate for a burial’ that should be provided to the funeral director. Alternatively, you will be given an application for cremation that must be filled out and submitted to the crematorium.
It is essential to complete one of these processes before the funeral can proceed.
The death has been reported to a coroner
If a death is reported to a coroner, the documents you need to register the death may be different. The coroner will decide either:
- the cause of death is clear
- that a post-mortem is needed
- to hold an inquest
The death happened outside the UK
You must register a death with the local authorities in the country where the person died.
In many countries you can also register the death with the UK authorities.
These rules apply if you live in England and Wales. There are different processes in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
You’re registering a stillbirth
A stillbirth should be registered within 42 days.
Sometimes a stillbirth can be registered after 42 days – the register office can explain when this can happen. You can name the baby in the register.
Contact a register office to register the stillbirth.
In Scotland you must register a stillbirth within 21 days. In Northern Ireland you have up to 1 year to register a stillbirth.
Someone is missing and you think they’re dead
You can make a claim for a ‘declaration of presumed death’ from the High Court if someone you know in England and Wales has been missing for:
- 7 years or more
- less than 7 years and you think they’ve died, for example they went missing during a natural disaster
A missing person is not automatically presumed dead.
You must make a claim for a declaration of presumed death if you want to do certain things, for example deal with their estate.