Register a death

Book an appointment to register a death

A death must be registered within 5 days of the event. Where possible please choose the first available appointment at your chosen Register Office. You may wish to register at another registration office if they have earlier appointments if this is convenient to you.

Please contact us on 0300 555 0255 for more information.

We are part of the Tell us once service which lets you report the death to most government organisations in one go.  You can arrange to use this service when booking your appointment.

Where should you register a death?

You should register a death in the area where the person died. You can book an appointment at any of our registration offices if this is within Warwickshire. You will be given the documents you will need on the day of your appointment.

The documents will be sent to the office in the area where the person died before they are issued to you if you use a registration office outside of Warwickshire. This means you’ll usually wait a few days.

Who can register the death?

You can register the death if you are:

• a relative
• someone present at the death
• the person who found the body
• the person in charge of the body
• the person making arrangements with the funeral directors

Information you will need to bring

Please collect the medical certificate of cause of death from the doctor or hospital before booking an appointment. You must take this certificate with you to your appointment and hand it to the Registrar. You will also need to give details about the deceased:

• the date and place of death
• their full name and any other names they are known by or have been known by, including maiden surname if a married woman
• the date and place of birth
• their last occupation
• if married, a civil partner, or widowed the full name and occupation of their spouse or civil partner
• their usual home address
• whether they were in receipt of any public sector pension eg. civil service, teacher, armed forces
• their NHS number if known or the medical card if available

You should also take supporting documents that show your name and address (eg a utility bill) but you can still register a death without them.

What the Registrar will give you

A certificate for burial or cremation (green form)

This is for you to take to the funeral director so that the funeral can take place. In some circumstances the coroner issues this.

A certificate of registration of death (form BD8/344)

This is for social security purposes. Please read the back of the form in your own time. Please complete it and return it to the Department of Work & Pensions in the envelope that the Registrar will provide you with.

Cost

Death certificates cost £11.00 each. These may be required by banks, building societies, solicitors or for pension claims and some insurance claims.

After the registration

The Registrar can give you information about returning official documents such as driving licence and passport to the relevant authorities. Leaflets relating to benefits and help with funeral expenses are also available from the registrar. If you have any questions which are not answered in these pages, the registrar will be pleased to help you.

Tell us once

When someone has died, we can help you tell the people who need to know by using the Tell us once service.

There are lots of things that need to be done, at a time when you probably least feel like doing them. One of these is contacting government organisations that need to be told of the death.

We are providing a service which we hope will make things easier for you. This service means that you can just tell us, and we will contact the other government organisations on your behalf.

GOV.UK – Tell Us Once – more information.

What happens to the information?

The information you give will be treated securely and confidentially.

The organisations who are contacted will use the information to update their records.

We are committed to ensuring that your information is protected.

Access to personal information and the Data Protection Act – more information.