Registering a death
When a family member or someone close to you dies, we know it is
a very stressful time. Hopefully, this information will help by
telling you some of the things you need to do.
We offer a 'Tell us Once' service. We can help you inform all
relevant council services and government departments of your recent
bereavement when you register the death. The service is free
and the time you save, giving the same information to
different organisations, will be invaluable at such a
distressing time.
Registering the death
When someone dies you need to register his or her death with the
registrar in the area where the death took place within five days.
Please contact the register office to make an appointment to see a
registrar. Your local hospital or doctor may assist you with this
task.
You will need to take the medical cause of death certificate
with you. You will get this from the doctor or the bereavement
officer at the hospital . If there has been a post mortem, the
coroner will issue the document you require to register the death,
the doctor or hospital may assist in these circumstances.
Information you need to bring with you
You will need to know or bring with you the following
information to be able to register the death.
- The date and place of death
- The full name of the person who has died (this should be the
name they used at the time of their death)
- Any other names they may have been known as. For example, they
may have changed their name by deed poll.
- Their date and place of birth (town and county if
possible)
- What their job was and whether they were retired
- Their usual address
If the person who died was a married person or in a civil
partnership or widowed, you will also need to know:
- What her surname was before she was first married
- The full name and occupation of the wife, husband or civil
partner.
You will need to give your full name and address. You will also
be asked to give your relationship to the person who died, for
example, son, daughter, widow, widower, niece, nephew, surviving
civil partner, or you maybe the person making the funeral
arrangements.
Extra information you will be asked
You will also be asked to answer some extra questions. This
information is used for government statistics and is kept
confidential.
You will be asked the following questions.
- Was the person who died married on in a civil partnership?
- Is their husband or wife or civil partner still alive? If they
are, what is their date of birth?
- How long did they stay in hospital or other establishment, for
example a hospice?
- Was the person under 75? If they were, what industry did they
work in?
- Did they get a pension paid from government funds? This
includes the civil service, teachers, armed forces and war widows.
This does not include the state pension or pension credits. You
will be asked this so that the registrar can let the relevant
department know the person has died.
- Have you found a medical card showing the person’s NHS
number?
Once you have registered the death
Once you have completed the registration, the registrar will
give you:
- A green form to give to the funeral director; and
- A white form (called a BD8) that you can send off with any
benefit or pension details to the Department for Work and Pensions
.
You will also be able to buy death certificates for £3.50 each.
You will need these certificates when you are sorting out the
finances of the person who has died. For example, banks and
insurance companies will probably need a copy of the death
certificate to allow access to accounts and funds.
The Registrar can also give you advice and contact details of
the other organisations that may need to be informed.
What you will need to do next
Organising the funeral
- Check to see if the person who died had a pre-paid funeral
plan.
- Contact a funeral director to arrange the funeral. They should
give you the costs in writing.
- If the person who had died doesn’t have the money in their
estate (this is their property and possessions) to cover the cost
of the funeral, the person who organises it will have to pay. If
you need advice regarding funeral costs the registrar will be able
to give you details of a council department who maybe able to
assist.
Letting organisations know
When you sort out the affairs of someone who has died, you need
to deal with a lot of organisations. Different people have
different circumstances and the people you need to contact will
vary. We’ve listed some of the main areas you need to think about
below.
Pensions
- Contact the Department for Work and
Pensions to get any pension payments stopped.
- Talk to the person’s employer. They may be able to tell you if
the person’s pension can be passed on to another member of the
family.
- Tell any personal pension providers they used.
Health Services
- Tell the person’s doctor.
- Return any equipment you borrowed from a hospital or Social
Services.
- Cancel any Social Services they used, such as meals on wheels,
transport or help at home.
- Tell your local hospital, dentist and other health services
they used.
Money
These organisations may need to see a copy of the death
certificate.
Houses and household bills
- Ask the Post Office to
redirect any mail.
- Depending on the person’s circumstances, you my need to speak
to a housing department, mortgage company or private landlord.
- Tell the utility companies that provide services like gas,
electricity and water.
- Cancel any deliveries of heating oil.
- Tell the company that provides the household insurance.
- Tell the companies that provide the home phone line and, if
they had a contract, the mobile phone company.
Transport and travel
- Tell the car insurance company. Please note that anyone who is
a named driver on the person’s car insurance will no longer be
insured to drive the vehicle. This is because the person who took
out the insurance policy isn’t alive to give their permission for
someone else to drive the car.
- You should send their driving licence back to the DVLA.
- You will need to cancel any travel passes they had.
- If they had a passport you will need to return it to the
Passport agency.
Personal items
- You should return any library books and cancel their
membership.
- Send back any membership cards to clubs or associations. Don’t
forget to claim any refund that’s due.
Sorting out their estate
When a person dies somebody has to sort out his or her estate.
Their estate includes their money, property and the possessions
they have left. The person sorting out their estate collects in all
the money pays any debts and shares out the estate to those people
entitled to it.
To sort out someone’s estate, you need to apply for probate. The
Probate Office will give you a ‘Grant of probate’ if the person
left a will, or will ‘Grant Letters of Administration’ if there
isn’t a will. Your local Probate Registry will send you the forms
you need with notes and guidance on what you have to do. A useful
Helpline telephone number is 0846 3020900.
You can pay a solicitor to sort out the estate for you. You may
already have a solicitor your family uses. If not, you will need to
choose one. Ask friends if they can recommend one and, when you
contact them, ask about their charges.
Helping you to cancel council services
The law says that the registrar who is registering the death
must tell certain departments that this person has died. These
departments include the Council Tax department and the Electoral
Registrar.
Other council departments will also need to be told of the
death. The Registrar can give further advice on this.