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How to register a death

To make an appointment to register a death you will need to have had confirmation from the medical examiner or coroner that the relevant paperwork has been completed. 

They will have notified you that they have forwarded it electronically to the register office at somersetregistrations@somerset.gov.uk.

If you have not heard from the medical examiner or coroner, please contact them in the first instance.

When you have received confirmation from the medical examiner or coroner, please call us on 01823 282 251 to book an appointment.

Registering a death

When someone dies, the death must be registered within five days of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death being received.

You can register a death by booking a face to face appointment at our register offices in either Weston-super-Mare or Clevedon. Appointments to register a death are normally allocated 45 minutes.

If the death took place outside of North Somerset

If you're registering a death from outside North Somerset or Somerset, it should be registered at a register office in the district where the death occurred. If you cannot get there, you can register the death ‘by declaration’ at any register office in England and Wales. This means that the details you give to the registrar will be sent to the correct district to be registered.

You can then apply directly to the registering office for certificates.

What you’ll need

To register a death, the Registration Service will need the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death which will be forwarded directly to us from the medical examiner. They should let you know when the paperwork has been completed.

If a death has been reported to the coroner, we’ll need documents from them before we can register the death.

At the appointment we will ask you

  • date and place of death
  • full name, date and place of birth, last occupation, marital status and usual address of the deceased person
  • whether the deceased person received any pension or benefits

If the deceased person was married or widowed we’ll need to know the full name and last occupation of their spouse. We’ll also need to know the date of birth of their surviving spouse.

Once the registration is complete we’ll produce the form for the burial or cremation, unless the coroner has already issued one. This will be forwarded directly to the cemetery or crematorium and can also be sent to your funeral director if you would like. 

You can buy as many copies of the death certificate as you need. The cost of a death certificate is £12.50.

Please note that if you request a correction to the death registration, it will be subject to a non-refundable fee. We cannot guarantee the request will be authorised. 

The fee payable will be £83, but may increase to £99 if the correction needs to be authorised by the General Register Office. 

It’s therefore very important that the document is carefully checked before you register. 

Who should register a death

Most deaths are registered by a relative of the deceased.

If the death occurred in a house, hospital or care home and there are no relatives available, we would normally allow one of the following people to register the death:

  • someone who was present at the death
  • the occupier or manager of the premises where the person died
  • an official from the hospital where the person died
  • the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors
Registration service

To register a death please call or email us.

Tell Us Once

After you have registered a death, you can use the Tell Us Once service to inform several government agencies all at once.

Disclaimer

The information provided about births, deaths and marriage is for guidance only and is not a full expression of the law.