We are here for you, whenever you need us. A member of our staff is on the end of the telephone 24 hours a day to answer any questions you may have and to guide you through the first steps when someone passes away. Brief initial guidance is given below, but please feel free to contact us for more personalised advice and support.
If The Death Is Expected
(The person has been treated by a Doctor/Community Nurse in their last illness)
At their Home
- Call the GP/Nursing care provider to inform them of the death
- They will visit and confirm that the person has died
- We will bring the person into our care (24/7 service)
- We will contact you on the next normal working day to offer advice
In a Hospice or a Nursing Home
- The person in charge will contact you – if this has been requested by you
- You may want to visit the home and spend time with your loved-one
- We will then gently bring your loved-one into our care (24/7 service)
- We will contact you on the next normal working day to offer advice
In Hospital
- The person in charge will contact you – if this has been requested by you
- You may be offered a chance to visit the ward and spend a short time with your loved-one
- The hospital staff will care for the loved-one until you officially instruct us
- When given clearance to do so we will bring the loved-one into our care
If the death is expected, and occurs at home, you will need to contact the family doctor or nursing care provider that has been visiting regularly and they will officially confirm the death. (Very occasionally, they may not attend and will tell you to call us and we will confirm that death has occurred).
Once the death has been officially confirmed, simply contact us when you are ready and we will despatch our private ambulance to gently bring the loved-one into our care.
We do not need any advance warning about a death; we usually respond to calls within an hour. We will advise you of a likely timescale when you call.
Please note: If you want to spend some time with the loved-one there is no rush to call us. Take as long as you wish. There may be family who live a distance away that wish to immediately pay their respects before you call us.
If the death occurs in a hospice or care home; the duty manager will confirm the death and inform you. You may want to visit the home and spend time with the loved-one. They will then contact us to gently bring the loved-one into our care.
The Doctor will normally e-mail a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death directly to the local Registrar and the Registrar will contact you to arrange an appointment to officially register the death.
If the death occurs in a hospital; the duty ward manager will confirm the death and inform you. You may be given the immediate opportunity to visit and spend a little time with the loved-one – subject to pressures regarding delaying admissions to hospital.
The hospital will care for the loved-one until you have formally entered into a contract with us and any necessary documentation is completed. We can then gently bring the loved-one into our care.
The hospital Doctor will normally e-mail a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death directly to the local Registrar and the Registrar will contact you to arrange an appointment to officially register the death.
If The Death Is Unexpected
(The person has died suddenly and unexpectedly and is not receiving medical care)
- Call 999 for an ambulance; Paramedics are able to confirm the death
- Police may attend the location. The Coroners’ Officer will contact you and advise you of the next course of action*
- If the person has not been under medical care and has died suddenly and unexpectedly, the death is likely to be reported to The Coroner
- The Coroners’ Officer will speak to the GP to discern medical history
*Contact us at any time to ask advice and go through preliminary details. We are able to discuss current likely timescales and other aspects of the funeral.
If a death is sudden, accidental or unexplained, you should dial 999 in the first instance to report the death. If the person is obviously dead, do not interfere with anything at the scene.
The police may attend the place of death and establish the known facts relating to the circumstances. When the police are satisfied, they will call us to remove the deceased from the place of death to the local public mortuary.
The death may be referred to the Coroners’ Office. If so, a Coroners’ officer will establish from the deceased’s doctor if they can certify the cause of death (this may happen if the doctor saw the person within the previous 14 days).
If not, a post mortem examination (autopsy) may be required to determine the exact cause of death. This may answer any questions you may have about what exactly caused the death. It can be a comfort to listen to an expert give an account of how and why the death occurred.
If the Coroner finds that death was natural (by natural causes) The Coroner will send a document to The Registrar, enabling you to make an appointment to formally register the death.
If the Coroner finds that death was unnatural (for example; if a third party was involved) then an Inquest will be opened to establish the circumstances, and the matter may be referred to the Police or Health and Safety Executive. The Coroner will issue an ‘Interim Death Certificate’ to enable you to begin informing any persons or agencies that require official proof that the death has occurred.
When the Inquest has concluded, The Coroner will send a form to the Registrar to enable you to request normal statutory ‘Death Certificates’ to enable you to administer the estate of the person who has died.
Registering A Death
(We are pleased to offer guidance – but we cannot register a death on your behalf).
You should register the death within five days* at the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the district in which the death occurred. To find your local Registrar’s office, please click here to visit our ‘Useful Contacts’.
*In some circumstances, you may not be able to achieve this.
The Registrar will require either:
- The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (emailed by a doctor)
- A certificate issued by The Coroner emailed directly to the Registrar
You must provide the following information:
The Deceased’s:
- Full Name
- Date and place of death
- Home address
- Date and place of birth
- Maiden name, if applicable
- Former occupation, where relevant
- If married or a civil partner –
- Date of birth of surviving spouse/partner
- Name and address of Informant (the person registering the death)
- Informant’s qualification for registering (eg: Executor/next of kin)
The following persons may act as Informant, when registering:
- A relative/Civil Partner of the deceased present at the death
- A relative/Civil Partner of the deceased in attendance during the last illness
- A relative/Civil Partner of the deceased residing or being in the district where the death occurred
- A person present at the death
- The person causing the disposal of the deceased (eg. Person responsible for payment of funeral expenses)
The Registrar will usually issue:
- A (Green) Certificate for Burial or Cremation (free of charge) – this allows the funeral to proceed and should be given to us
- Certified Copies of the Death Certificate – which are purchased from the Registrar for the general administration of the estate (currently £11.00 per copy (as at January 2024)
- A Certificate of Registration, or Notification of Death (free of charge) – for you to send to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with any pension or allowance books
‘Tell us Once’
This excellent online service makes things so much easier and will save you numerous calls and letters to various UK government agencies.
How does it work?
Within a week of making the registration, go online and input the reference number given to you (or call 0800 085 7308)*
*You will need to gather documents and information regarding the person that has died before you start.
You will need to answer questions relating to organisations that the deceased had contact with.
Tell Us Once then notifies those departments who will amend their records.
What you will need
Information you will need when you go online or call:
- Tell Us Once reference number
- Death certificate information
- Deceased’s National Insurance Number
- Deceased’s surviving spouse or civil partners’ National Insurance Number or date of birth
- Next of kin’s name, Address and telephone number
- Information about any benefits and services the deceased may have been receiving (e.g. state pension, income support, housing benefit, library card etc)
- Name and address of the person dealing with the deceased’s estate (if different to the next of kin)
- Driving Licence (if held) or Driver Number if the licence not available
- Passport (if held) or passport number if passport not available
Participating organisations
Local Councils:
(If the deceased lived in Telford & Wrekin, Shropshire, or in a participating council area)
- Housing Benefit Office
- Council Tax Payments and Benefits Office
- Council Housing
- Libraries
- Blue Badge
- Adult Social Car
- Children’s Services
- Collection of payments for Council Services e.g. assisted bin collection
Identity and Passport Service:
- Passport Cancellation
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency:
- Driving Licence Cancellation
Department for Work and Pensions:
- Pension, Disability and Carers Services
- Jobcentre Plus
- Overseas Health Team
Ministry of Defence, Service Personnel and Veterans Agency:
- War Pensions Scheme
HM Revenue and Customs:
- Personal Taxation
Registering by Declaration
Where a death from natural causes occurs in England and Wales and the principal Informant lives a distance from the Registration district in which the death must be registered, it is permissible for the registration to take place ‘By Declaration’ at a convenient registry office within England and Wales.
Before using this procedure, the Informant should contact the Registry office nearest to where the death occurred (‘Registrar A’) for guidance and clearance.
The informant then makes an appointment with the convenient Registry office (‘Registrar B’) and attends with the necessary information and the ‘Medical Certificate of Cause of Death’ issued by the doctor. As this certificate is normally located at the place of death it must either be forwarded to the Informant or it can be handed to the Registrar A who can fax it to Registrar B (in the interests of security a fax can only be accepted if sent from Registrar A to Registrar B).
If the Coroner is involved, the form that replaces the doctor’s Medical Certificate must be faxed instead from Registrar A.
Once the above certification or fax has been received by Registrar B and the declaration has been made by the Informant, the document(s) will be sent by first class post to Registrar A who will register the death and dispatch, by return first class post, the Green Certificate (if applicable): the DWP form, and the Certified Copies of an Entry of Death, if paid for.
Whilst the procedure may be more convenient for the Informant, it may result in an additional delay before the funeral takes place.
You may consider that a return journey to Registrar A may be well-worthwhile to avoid unnecessary hold-up.
