Death - Registering
- Introduction & Contact Telephone Numbers
- What you will need
- What happens when you register a death
- Other Certificates and fees
- Details required
- Who can register a death
- Where to register a death
- Registering a death by declaration
- How long will it take to register a death
- Copy Certificates
Introduction & Contact Telephone Numbers
We realise registering the death of someone close to you is never easy and it can sometimes appear to be difficult and complicated. We hope therefore that the following guidelines and related links will help make that process easier.
If you have any questions about registering a death you can ring one of the following numbers
For deaths that have occurred in Blaenau Gwent please ring 01495 722769 or 01495 722305
For deaths that have occurred outside Blaenau Gwent i.e. at Nevill Hall, or The Royal Gwent, or somewhere else in England or Wales, please ring the appropriate office to make an appointment to register the death.
For Nevill Hall Hospital or any death in Monmouthshire (not Blaenau Gwent) 01873 735435
For Royal Gwent Hospital or any death in Newport 01633 414777
For deaths that occurred in Pontypool or Cwmbran 01495 742132
For any Cardiff Death or Cardiff Hospital including Velindre 02920 871680
or 02920 871684
For general advice on registering a death you can view information on the General Register Office link on the Identity and Passport Service website:
www.ips.gov.uk/cps/rde/xchg/ips_live/hs.xsl/index.htm or ring 0151 471 4805
For most deaths you will need a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, issued by the persons usual doctor or a hospital doctor.
When a post mortem has been held, the Coroner will issue paperwork to the appropriate Registrar and you may not have anything issued to you by a doctor.
If you need to register a death and you do not have a Medical Certificate issued by a doctor, please ring for advice on 01495 722769 or 01495 722305
What happens when you register a death
The registrar will need to record some specific information about the person who has died in order for the registration to be made. This information will be recorded on a computer. Once it has been checked a register page will be printed. When you are happy the details are correct you will be asked to sign the register page to register the death. The register page then becomes the legal record of the person’s death.
When the death has been registered the registrar will issue two certificates.
One certificate - usually a green form - is the certificate that is given to the Funeral Director to allow the funeral to take place. If a post mortem has taken place you may not be given this form. A form may have been given to the Funeral Director by the Coroner.
The other certificate - a white form called a BD8 - is given to the person registering the death and should be given to the Department of Work and Pensions even if the person who has died was not receiving any benefits.
There is no charge for registering a death in England and Wales but there is a fee for a certificate.
Some people think they will be given a free death certificate. However there are no free death certificates issued other than one issued specifically for the Funeral Director and one issued specifically for the Department of Work and Pensions. These certificates cannot be used for anything else.
If you think you may need a certificate for the bank or building society, for the mortgage or deeds on a house, to close a pension account, or for any other reason, you will need to buy a certificate from the registrar. Certificates cost £3.50 each and you can have as many as you think you may need. Generally people find 2 or 3 certificates are sufficient for their needs.
If you do not pay for certificates when you register the death you will only be given the certificates for the Funeral Director and for the Department of Works and Pensions. You may then apply to the registrar and pay for certificates at a later date. Generally if you apply within 6 weeks of the death the fee will still be £3.50 per certificate. If you apply later than 6 weeks after the death you may have to apply to the Superintendent registrar for a certificate and the fee will be more, probably between £7 and £15 depending upon where you apply and how you apply.
The registrar will ask for the following details:
a) The date the person died
b) The place the person died
c) The full name the person was known by and any other names they may have used
d) The maiden name if the person who has died was married, widowed or a Civil Partner or Surviving Civil Partner
e) Date and place of birth of the person who has died
f) Usual occupation or last occupation if the person who has died has retired
g) If the person who has died was married, in a legal civil partnership, a widow or a surviving civil partner, then the full name of the spouse/civil partner and their occupation details will be required
h) The usual address of the person who has died
The registrar will also ask for some confidential statistical information and some voluntary statistical information about the industry or work the person who has died was employed to do, and the date of birth of the person’s surviving spouse/civil partner.
Not everyone can register a death, there is a list of people who can give information to register a death and that list includes the following people
a) Any person related to the person who has died by blood, by marriage or by civil partnership including some step relatives and people related because of a legal adoption
b) If there are no relatives, then the person registering must have been present when the person died, or be the only one making the funeral arrangements. In this case, please ring for advice before attending to register a death.
It may seem harsh but unfortunately a person who has lived with the person who has died as if they were civil partners or husband and wife but who has never entered into a legally recognised relationship with the person who has died, is not able to register the death in that capacity. Unless there is also a legal relationship between them and the person who had died, or they are the only person making the funeral arrangements, someone who is a relative will have to register the death.
Each death must be registered in the district in which it occurred. This means that to register a death in Blaenau Gwent, the death must have occurred in Blaenau Gwent.
If the death occurred elsewhere and you are not sure where you should go to register the death, please do not hesitate to ring Blaenau Gwent Register Office who will be able to tell you where you need to go to register the death. 01495 722305
For details on other offices please see the information given on the Registering a Death, at the top of the page.
Registering a death by declaration
In certain, often unusual, situations a death may be registered by declaration at an office in another district to the one in which the death occurred. This means you do not go to the office that can register the death but to another office who will take details from you and then send them, by post, to the office who can register the death. No certificate to allow the funeral to go ahead, or certificates for any other purpose, can be issued until the office in the district in which the death occurred - the office that can register the death - has received the paperwork and registered the death.
Giving details for a death registration by declaration will often delay the arrangements for a funeral and should only be considered if you or someone else who can register the death cannot attend the correct office. Remember the death will not be registered and the funeral cannot be arranged until all the paperwork has been received and the registration completed by the correct office.
In most cases a registrar and/or the funeral director will strongly suggest you make arrangements to attend the correct office to register the death to avoid complications with the registration or delays to the funeral arrangements.
If you think you may need to register by declaration please ring the office in the district in which the death occurred for advice before making arrangements to attend another office for the declaration. For Blaenau Gwent please ring 01495 722305
How long will it take to register a death
Most death registrations take between 30 and 45 minutes. It may take longer if the registrar has to make enquiries or contact the doctor or coroner during the registration process.
Very occasionally a registrar will not be able to register when you first attend to register the death. This may happen if the registrar has to report the death to the coroner or has to speak to the doctor before registering. Unfortunately, certain causes of death must be reported to the coroner, and occasionally the doctor issuing the certificate may not have completed the certificate in a way that allows the registration to proceed. The registrar cannot legally continue until the coroner says it is ok to do so. This may delay the registration for a day or so but the registrar will let you know how long the process will take in your particular situation.
Please be reassured, most deaths reported to the coroner result in a simple form being issued that allows the registrar to continue. There is usually no post mortem and no long delay to the registration process. Very occasionally the coroner may decide to ask if the family would like a post mortem to determine exactly how the person has died, or to determine if the cause of death was due to industrial disease. This may delay the registration for a day or so but if it is to delay the registration and therefore the funeral arrangements, the coroner may issue a certificate to allow the funeral to go ahead. Only the coroner can tell you what will happen in your particular situation.
If you need copies of certificates for deaths that have occurred in the past, you can ring one of the offices listed above for advice remembering that a death will always be registered in the district in which it occurred and not the district in which the person had their usual address. This means that even if the person lived in Ebbw Vale, for instance, but died in Nevill Hall you will only be able to get a copy of that death certificate from the Abergavenny (Monmouthshire) office.
If you cannot find out where the death was registered so you do not know to which office you should apply, you can ring the General Register Office certificate enquiry line for help and advice or to order a certificate, 0845 603 7788
There is usually a fee of £7 to pay for a death certificate but most offices, including the General Register Office will also charge administration fees for additional services such as using a debit or credit card, ordering over the phone, same day issue of certificate, priority service and searching. To find out exactly how much a certificate will cost, please ring the appropriate office.
