4. Register Death and Legal Certification
☐ Register within 5 days (England and Wales) or 8 days (Scotland).
☐ Attend Register Office where death occurred. Death needs to be registered in the county where the person died, not where they lived. Book an appointment with the Register Office in the district where the person died.
☐ Bring Medical Certificate (MCCD) or Coroner’s certificate. Cause of Death (MCCD).
☐ Need following information:
- Full name (maiden name or any previous names if applicable).
- ID for the deceased (passport, NHS card, utility bill).
- Your ID as the informant.
- Deceased’s NHS number if available.
- Place and date of birth.
- Place and date of death.
- Last address.
- Occupation.
- Full name, date of birth and occupation of their spouse.
- Email address of the funeral service to which the burial certificate should be sent.
☐ The registrar will give you two documents:
A Certificate for Burial. Green certificate or form. It gives permission for the body to be buried, and you should give this to the funeral director.
☐ A Certificate for Registration of Death (form BD8). You may need to fill this in and return it if the person was getting a State Pension or benefits (the form will come with a pre-paid envelope, so you know where to send it).
☐ Use Tell Us Once. Registrar will give you a unique reference number so you can use the service yourself online or by phone.
Many services can be notified and these include:
- Local council – to update services such as Council Housing, Housing Benefit, Council Tax, Blue Badge and remove the person from the Electoral Register.
- HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – to deal with personal tax and to update regarding Child Benefit and Tax Credits claims.
- Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) – to update benefits information for example: State Pension, Pension Credit, Universal Credit.
- Passport Office – to cancel a British passport.
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) – to cancel a driving licence and to remove registered keeper details.
- Inform the DVLA immediately. If you have the V5C, complete section 2 (new style) or section 6 (old style) and send it to the Sensitive Casework Team.
- Transfer Ownership/Keep the Vehicle: To keep the car, send the V5C to the DVLA with a letter explaining you are the new keeper. The DVLA will update the record.
☐ Use Death Notification Service. Allows the reporting of a death to several major financial service providers. https://www.deathnotificationservice.co.uk/
☐ Can use free online services to trace lost bank and building society accounts and lost National Savings and Investments (NS&I) products. https://www.mylostaccount.org.uk/
☐ Activate the Mail Suppression Service. https://www.mpsonline.org.uk/