Register a death

Who can register a death?

You can register a death if you are:

• a relative (eg husband, wife or legal civil partner, brother or sister)
• the partner of the deceased
• a person who was present at the person's death
• the occupier of the premises where the death occurred
• the person arranging the funeral
• personal representative of the deceased (such as a solicitor or funeral director).

Where to register a death

You have to register the death at the register office in the borough where the death took place.

There is no charge to register a death.

If you wish to purchase death certificates, these cost £12.50 each. 

Please note: Hillingdon's Register Office operates on an appointment-only system.
 

Required information and documents

At the appointment, you will be asked for your name and address. 

The registrar will need the following information about the person who has died: 

• the date of their death and where the death occurred 
• their full name, including any names previously used
• their date of birth
• where they were born
• their occupation
• the full name and occupation of any surviving spouse or civil partner.

It would also be useful to have the deceased person's:

• birth certificate or passport
• NHS medical card 
• marriage/civil partnership certificate or divorce document
• information or allowance received.

Medical Cause of Death Certificate

There will be no requirement for relatives to collect the Medical Cause of Death Certificate (MCCD) from the hospital, care home or GP.

The MCCD will be forwarded to the medical examiner by the attending practitioner, and the medical examiner will contact the next of kin, to advise when an appointment can be made with the register office. 

Important: Please do not book your appointment until the medical examiner has contacted you. 

The green certificate for burial or cremation (if it is required) will be given to you along with any certificates you might purchase. 

Please note: If the attending practitioner is unsure about the cause of death, or the death was caused by an injury or accident, they may not issue a medical certificate detailing the cause of death. In these cases, a coroner will carry out a post mortem. You will be unable to register the death until this has taken place and the coroner's office has contacted you, to say the paperwork has been finalised and forwarded to the register office. 

Making an appointment to register a death

Important: Before booking your appointment, please ensure you have been contacted by the medical examiner or the coroner's office to confirm that the required paperwork has been received by the register office.

Book an appointment to register a death (opens new window)

You can reschedule or cancel your appointment online. (You will need to enter the reference code from your email to amend your appointment.)

Tell Us Once 

When a person dies, you also need to notify a number of different government departments and local services with a lot of similar information. The Tell Us Once service makes this process much easier.

Use the Tell Us Once service