General Register Office (GRO)
Keeps the birth, adoption, marriage, civil partnership and death records for England and Wales and issues certificates from them.
Home » Certificates and civil registration (BDM) » Register a death
Register a death
A death must usually be registered within 5 days (8 days in Scotland). Tell Us Once lets you inform most government departments in one go.
Official links
Show links for:
| Official source | Applies to |
|---|---|
| GOV.UK: register a death www.gov.uk/register-a-death | England, Wales |
| GOV.UK: what to do when someone dies www.gov.uk/when-someone-dies | England, Wales |
| GOV.UK: Tell Us Once www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once | England, Wales, Scotland |
| mygov.scot: register a death www.mygov.scot/register-death | Scotland |
| nidirect: registering a death www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/registering-death-district-registrar | Northern Ireland |
Who handles it
Handled by your local council This procedure is done with the council where you live. Find your council »
General Register Office for Northern Ireland (GRONI)
Registers births, deaths, marriages, civil partnerships and adoptions in Northern Ireland and issues certificates.
National Records of Scotland (NRS)
Keeps Scotland's birth, death, marriage and civil partnership records, runs the census and sells certificates through ScotlandsPeople.
Step by step
- Wait until the medical examiner's office (or the coroner, if the death was reported to one) confirms you can register.
- Contact a register office, ideally the one for the area where the person died, and register within 5 days of that confirmation (8 in Scotland).
- Take the certificate for burial or cremation (the green form) to the funeral director: the funeral cannot go ahead without it.
- Use Tell Us Once with the reference the registrar gives you, within 28 days, to inform most government departments.
What you need
- The person's full name, any previous names, date and place of birth, last address and occupation.
- Details of their spouse or civil partner, and whether they got a State Pension or other benefits.
- If you have them: their birth certificate, passport, driving licence, marriage certificate, NHS medical card and a Council Tax bill or proof of address.
Common mistakes
- Buying only one death certificate: banks, insurers and others usually each want to see one.
- Expecting Tell Us Once in Northern Ireland: it is not available there, so you contact each organisation yourself.
- Letting the Tell Us Once reference expire: it has to be used within 28 days.