Register a death

You need to register a death within 5 calendar days from the date the register office receives the doctor’s paperwork, unless a coroner is investigating the circumstances surrounding it. In this case, paperwork will come from the coroner rather than the doctor which can take longer, and so the 5 calendar day rule will not apply.

Find out what happens when a coroner is involved

Book an appointment to register a death

All deaths must be registered in person at one of our offices.

Please book an appointment to register the death by using our appointment booking system. If you are unable to make a booking online, please call us on 01225 477234 between 9am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.

Who can register a death

You can register a death if you are a relative of the person who died. If there are no relatives, the following people can register instead:

• Personal representative (appointed by the family)
• Partner, if they were living as partners in an enduring relationship at the time of the deceased person’s death
• Person present at death
• The occupier (a manager for deaths within a hospital or other public institution who was responsible for the deceased and are aware of the circumstances of the death)
• A person who found the body (for deaths that occurred outside a hospital or public institution)
• The person who is giving instruction to the funeral director to bury or cremate the body

When you register the death

WarningIInformation is provided to the best of your knowledge, but if a mistake is made in the death register, it could delay funeral arrangements. There's also a charge to correct the information

What we ask you when you register

We will ask you for the following information when you register. 

• Date of death
• Place of death
  • Name of the hospital or care home, name or number of the house, name of the street and village, town and so on. If the death occurred in an ambulance or other vehicle, you need to provide information about the location of the vehicle when the death occurred, and the intended destination.
• Name and surname
  • Name of the deceased person, known by at the time of their death, and also any other name they were previously known by.
• Gender
• Maiden surname of woman who has married (surname before first marriage, if the deceased is a married woman)
• Date of birth (if the exact date is unknown, please provide approximate dates)
• Place of birth (town and county, London Borough or country of birth - state which country, if born outside of the UK)
• Occupation of the deceased (provide as much information as possible relating to the most recent occupation, and also if they were retired)
  • Name and surname of husband, wife, widow, widower, surviving civil partner and their occupation (if deceased, state whether they were retired before they passed away).
• Usual address (include the name or number of the house, name of the street and village or town). If the death occurred in a hospital, state the deceased’s usual address.

Confidential and voluntary statistics

We also ask for the following information which will not be added to the death register, but we are required to gather it for statistical purposes.

• If the deceased was single (never married or in a civil partnership), married or in a civil partnership, widowed, or divorced or civil partnership dissolved
• Any surviving spouses' full date of birth (or partial date of birth)

These are confidential statistics

Confidential statistics are required under the Population (Statistics) Acts and will only be used for the preparation and supply of statistical information by the Registrar General.

• If the deceased died in a communal establishment (hospital or care home), had they been there for over six months?
• What was the industry the deceased worked within (for example, construction/media/financial services)?
• Was the deceased employed or self-employed?
• Did the deceased manage any staff or have any employees (if self-employed)?
• What was the industry the deceased’s spouse worked within?
• Was the deceased’s spouse employed or self-employed?
• Did the deceased’s spouse manage any staff or have any employees (if self-employed)?

These are voluntary statistics

Voluntary statistics are collected for the production of statistics, and this information may be used in identifiable form for statistical analysis by the Registrar General, and approved researchers outside of ONS.

Additionally, we will ask when the funeral will be, whether it will be a burial or cremation, and for the contact details of the Funeral Director.

There is no fee for registering a death, and registration should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Documents you will need (if possible)

• The deceased's birth certificate (if available)
• Deed poll or change of name certificate (if applicable)
• Recent utility bill showing the address of the deceased
• The deceased's marriage or civil partnership certificate
• Proof of identity and address for you, the person registering the death (for example, a driving licence)

Documents we will give you

After you register the death, we will give you the following necessary certificates and reference number:

• Death certificates - you may need certified copies for other purposes (for example, dealing with the will, probate, bank accounts, insurance) - you can order as many copies as you need on the day and also order additional copies at a later date
• A Tell Us Once reference number - if the deceased was an adult with a National Insurance Number, we will give you a unique reference number for the Tell Us Once scheme (a national scheme enabling you to inform a number of national and government organisations that someone has died in one transaction)
• Form 9 (green form) which you will need to give the funeral directors who are arranging the funeral.

Death certificates cost £12.50 each.

Registering a death by declaration

All deaths must be registered in the district in which they occurred.

If you live in Bath and North East Somerset but the deceased person you wish to register died in another district you can register by declaration.

The death certificates and form for the funeral director will be issued by the registration district where the death occurred so there will be a delay in you receiving the death certificates as they are posted out. It may be quicker for you to attend an appointment in the registration district where the death occurred.

This is where you give the registrar in Bath and North East Somerset the details of the death and this information is sent directly to the district in which the death occurred for entry into their register. If you would like to book to register a death by declaration or to find out more please call us on 01225 477234 between 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday.

If the person died outside of Bath and North East Somerset

Register the death in the district where the death occurred at the local register office

If they died in Scotland, Northern Ireland, or abroad find out how to register the death by selecting the relevant option on the GOV.UK website.

Organise a burial out of hours

If you need to arrange a burial quickly, call our out of hours team on 01225 47 74 77

You must have been notified by the doctor that the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death has been sent to the registrar.

If the death has been reported to the coroner, you won’t be able to register the death until the coroner has completed their investigation.