Register a death

Deaths must be registered in person by appointment at a registration office.

To be able to register we must have received a medical certificate of cause of death, or the Coroner’s approval if they are involved.

You should only book to register if you have been told that a medical certificate has been sent to the registration service, or the Coroner has advised you to register.

The registration should be completed within five days from the date of the death. If the medical certificate, or Coroner’s approval, takes more than 5 days to be sent to us you should register as soon as possible.

We ask that you nominate a funeral director before the appointment.

Please read the information on this page before booking your appointment.

How do I book an appointment?

You should only book to register if you have been told that a medical certificate of cause of death has been sent to us, or the Coroner has advised you to register.

If a Medical Examiner’s Office is involved do not book an appointment to register a death until they have told you to do so.

To book a death registration appointment you can either book online or call us on 0344 800 8020.

What do I need for the appointment?

To complete the appointment, you will need to provide the registrar with the following information:

Date and place of death
Full name of the person who has died, and any previous or maiden names where appropriate
Date and place of birth of the person who has died
Occupation (prior to retirement if applicable) and usual address of the person who has died
If the person who has died was married or in a civil partnership, details of the deceased's most recent spouse or legal civil partner including:
- Their full name
- Their date of birth
- Their most recent occupation and whether they're retired

If the deceased was receiving any pension, other than a state pension, please tell the registration officer.

Download full details of what you'll need to provide.

Having the correct information to hand will help ensure that the official record of the death is accurate and true. If you need to apply for a correction to a completed register entry you may need to pay a fee depending on the type of error. To minimise the risk of errors it can help if you have available documents which show the deceased’s name, date of birth and usual address.

Examples of the most useful documents (if they can easily be found) are passport, driving licence, birth certificate, deed poll, marriage/civil partnership certificates, a council tax bill, recent utility bill etc. Please note that finding/having these for the appointment is not mandatory.

We will process a range of information in order to complete this registration. View our information and privacy notice.

Cancelling an appointment

If you need to cancel an appointment, contact us as soon as possible.

What paperwork will I receive at the appointment?

At the appointment you can purchase as many death certificates as needed, at a cost of £11 each - payable at the time of registration (debit or credit card only) or you can order certificates online later.

We will email the Green Form (Certificate for Burial or Cremation) to your appointed funeral director and in some cases the place of burial or cremation. In some circumstances this form will be issued direct from the Coroner. Please note, if the place of burial or cremation is not known at the time of the registration, we must retain this form until notified of where this will be.

We will give you a leaflet explaining how to use the GOV.UK Tell Us Once service, which lets you tell various local and central government organisations of the death in one go.

All the above will be clearly explained to you during the registration.

Where can I register a death?

If the death occurred in Norfolk you should attend one of our registration offices to register the death. View the list of Norfolk registration offices.

If you live outside of Norfolk and travelling to us would be difficult you can book an appointment to make a declaration at any registration office in England or Wales. They will take from you all the information for the registration and send this to us. We will then produce all death certificates and email paperwork to the funeral director; there may be a delay in receiving these. Please contact your local register office to arrange this. Find your local register office on GOV.UK.

If the death occurred outside of Norfolk and travelling to the register office where the death occurred would be difficult for you, you may make a ‘declaration of the death’ at one of our offices if you, the informant, lives in Norfolk. This will be sent to the district where the death occurred. The receiving district will produce all death certificates and paperwork for the funeral director; there may be a delay in receiving these. Please contact us to book an appointment with us to register by declaration. We will need to discuss your individual circumstances and available paperwork prior to you attending an appointment.

Find the correct register office on GOV.UK.

Who can register a death?

There are several people who can legally register a death including:

A relative
A person present at the death
A senior member of the establishment (such as a nursing home) in which the death occurred
The occupier of the residence where the death occurred
The person arranging the funeral (not the funeral director - however, your chosen funeral director may contact us on your behalf to make an appointment for you to register)

Other people may be able to register in specific circumstances. In this case contact us on 0344 800 8020.

Note that in registration there is a difference between a legal ‘civil partner’ and a ‘partner’. A ‘civil partner’ is someone with whom you have been through a legal ceremony of formation.

There is no provision for a partner who is not married to or in a civil partnership with the deceased to be recorded as the deceased’s partner on the death registration. However, a non-legal partner can register the death if they were 'present at the death', are 'causing the body to be buried/cremated' or occupied the residence where the death occurred.

How do I make a correction to a death certificate?

To make a change or a correction to a death registration and certificate contact us and you will be directed to a full-time office.

You may need to pay a fee, depending on the type of error that needs correcting.

Deaths that occur abroad

For deaths that occur abroad visit GOV.UK for more information.

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