Registering a death

It's difficult to know what to do when you have suffered a bereavement. On Monday 9 September 2024, the process of handling a Medical Certificate for Cause of Death (MCCD) changed and every death must be reviewed by a Medical Examiner (ME). The ME will review all deaths not referred to the coroner and scrutinise the cause of death. Once the review is complete and the MCCD is approved, it will be sent to the Register Office. You will be notified when the MCCD is forwarded and advised to book an appointment through our online system to register the death. Please ensure that you have the Medical Examiners name as you will be asked to confirm this when making an appointment. Once you have this contact and the MCCD has been received by the Registrars the death should be registered within five days.

An appointment cannot be booked until you have received this notification from the Medical Examiner.

We regret that legislation does not allow the death to be registered remotely, such as online, by e-mail or by telephone.

If you're not able to travel to one of our Shropshire register offices you can contact your local Register Office to enquire about making a declaration of registration.

How do I register a death?

You're able to register a death or make a declaration of particulars in Shropshire at one of our register offices in Shropshire, Monday to Friday. All registrations are by appointment only. When the Medical Examiner notifies you that the MCCD has been sent to the Register Office, you can schedule an appointment. You can call us on 0345 678 9016 or email registrars@shropshire.gov.uk

Who is able to register the death?

The death must be registered by a “qualified informant” who will attend the office to complete the registration.

A qualified informant is:

A relative by blood, marriage or adoption of the person who has died
The partner of the person who has died
A person who is not related but was present at the death
A person who is arranging the funeral
An occupier of a building such as a care or nursing home manager
The personal representative of the deceased i.e. someone appointed by them or their family such as a solicitor

What happens if an emergency death registration needs to take place out of hours?

If you need help out of hours (this includes weekends and bank holidays) with an emergency death registration (for those with particular cultural or religious beliefs), please contact your funeral director.

What information needs to be supplied to the registrar?

The registrar will need to know the following information:

The date and place of death
The deceased’s last (usual) address
The deceased’s full names and surnames (and the maiden surname where appropriate)
The deceased’s date and place of birth (town and county if born in the United Kingdom, and country if born abroad)
The deceased’s occupation
If the deceased was married, widowed or in a civil partnership, the full name and occupation of their spouse or civil partner
The date of birth of a surviving spouse or civil partner
Details of any public sector pension e.g. civil service, teacher or armed forces

When you attend to register the death:

At the appointment, we will:

Complete the registration of death
Ask you how many death certificates you want to buy, these can also be pre purchased at the time you make your appointment

Each death certificate cost £12.50. You can only pay by debit or credit card.

If you need additional copies later, you can use our online certificate ordering system. The cost remains £12.50 per copy, with additional charges for postage.

It is also useful if you have the deceased’s passport, birth certificate and (if applicable) marriage certificate to hand to bring with you but these documents are not essential provided you are able to give the Registrar the correct information.

Registering a death at short notice – Monday to Friday

We cannot offer you an appointment until we have received the paperwork from the Medical Examiner or Coroner. Once we are notified that you have an urgent need to Register the Death we will contact you to discuss your requirements.

Documents provided by the registrar at your appointment

You can purchase a certified copy of the death entry (death certificate) at the appointment which are £12.50 each. Please note we only accept card payments.

The Certificate for Burial or Cremation (Form 9), this is known as the 'Green Form' and gives permission for the body to be buried or for an application for cremation to be made will be transmitted electronically to the undertakers.

However, in certain circumstances the Coroner may make one the following available in place of the above:

An Order for Burial (Form 101)
A Certificate for Cremation (Form E)

You will be given a reference number enabling you to use the Tell Us Once service – a free and highly recommended service which will inform the main government agencies of the deceased’s death, all in one go. For more information visit the Tell Us Once page.

The Coroner

When a death occurs in the following circumstances, it will be referred to the Coroner:

The death is sudden and unexpected,
The cause of death is industrially-related,
The cause of death is unknown,
There are suspicious circumstances surrounding the death,
When a doctor has explained that they are unable to issue a medical certificate of cause of death.

Deaths reported to the Coroner

The Coroner will investigate the circumstances of the death and do one of the following:

Issue a certificate, allowing the death to be registered
Arrange a post-mortem, and when it is complete, issue a cause of death certificate that allows the death to be registered
Arrange a post-mortem and hold an inquest; the Coroner will then arrange for the death to be registered after the inquest has taken place