Deaths

If the death was expected, following an illness for which the deceased was being cared for by a doctor, that doctor should be contacted. If the doctor can confirm the cause of death, they will complete a medical certificate of cause of death, and advise the next of kin when this is available for collection.

The medical certificate of cause of death must be taken with you to your appointment at the Register Office.

If the death was unexpected or sudden, or the deceased had not been seen by a doctor recently prior to the death, the death will be reported to the coroner, who will decide whether a medical certificate can be accepted from a doctor, or may order a post mortem to establish the cause of death. The coroner’s office would keep in contact with the deceased’s next of kin, and advise them when paperwork is released, and which Register Office it was sent to. The coroner’s report sent to the Registrar is used in place of a medical certificate of cause of death from a doctor.

A death should be registered within 5 days in the Registration District in which it occurred. If this is not possible, the Registrar of Births and Deaths must be contacted for advice.

You can register a death that took place anywhere in the areas covered by Leicestershire County Council by going to any of its Register Offices. (You will need to contact the office first to arrange an appointment.)

If this is not possible or convenient to go to a registration office in the area where the death took place then details may be given to any Registrar of Births and Deaths in England or Wales who will forward these to the correct Registration District. However, as all documents are posted to you from the receiving office, this may delay your other arrangements.

Who can register a death?

The people who can register a death fall into two slightly different categories depending on whether the death occurred in a house or hospital etc, or elsewhere:

Deaths in a house or hospital etc: -

a relative of the deceased
someone present at the death
the occupier of the house or hospital if he or she knew of the death
another person living at the house if he or she knew of the death
the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors

Deaths elsewhere -

a relative of the deceased
someone present at the death
someone who found the deceased
a person in charge of the deceased
the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors

The majority of deaths are registered by a relative of the deceased, for registration purposes a relative is defined to be the nearest relative of the deceased. A relative would be a member of the same family, or related by marriage or civil partnership.

Coroner Involvement

Some circumstances require the registrar to report a death to the coroner before the death can be registered. Examples include:

where the person was not seen by the doctor issuing the medical certificate after he or she had died, or during the 14 days before the death
where the cause of death appears to be unknown
where the cause of death is believed to be unnatural or suspicious
where the death happened during an operation or before recovery from an anaesthetic, or after a recent injury
where the death is due to industrial disease or industrial poisoning

The coroner must then decide whether there should be further investigation into the death – and the registrar cannot register the death until the coroner notifies him/her of their decision. The notification must be received in writing from the coroner before the Registrar can proceed.

View the Coroners Service pages for further information.

If you require further information or would like to book an appointment to register a death then please call one of our Register Offices.