There are 3 things you must do in the first few days after someone dies.

1. Get a medical certificate from a GP or hospital doctor. You'll need this to register the death.

2. Register the death within 5 days. You'll then get the documents you need for the funeral.

3. Arrange the funeral - you can use a funeral director or arrange it yourself.

You don't need to deal with the will, money and property straight away.

If the death has been reported to a coroner you can't register the death until the coroner gives permission.

Who can register the death, the documents you’ll need and documents you’ll get depend on the circumstances of the death. Use the register a death tool to find out what you need to do.

A doctor may report the death to a coroner if the:

• cause of death is unknown
• death was violent or unnatural
• death was sudden and unexplained
• person who died was not visited by a medical practitioner during their final illness
• medical certificate isn’t available
• person who died wasn’t seen by the doctor who signed the medical certificate within 14 days before death or after they died
• death occurred during an operation or before the person came out of anaesthetic
• medical certificate suggests the death may have been caused by an industrial disease or industrial poisoning

The coroner may decide that the cause of death is clear. In this case:

1. The doctor signs a medical certificate.

2. You take the medical certificate to the registrar.

3. The coroner issues a certificate to the registrar stating a post-mortem isn't needed.

Post-mortems

The coroner may decide a post-mortem is needed to find out how the person died. This can be done either in a hospital or mortuary.

You can’t object to a coroner’s post-mortem - but if you’ve asked the coroner must tell you (and the person’s GP) when and where the examination will take place.

After the post-mortem

The coroner will release the body for a funeral once they have completed the post-mortem examinations and no further examinations are needed.

If the body is released with no inquest, the coroner will send a form (‘Pink Form - form 100B’) to the registrar stating the cause of death.

The coroner will also send a ‘Certificate of Coroner - form Cremation 6’ if the body is to be cremated.

If the coroner decides to hold an inquest

A coroner must hold an inquest if the cause of death is still unknown, or if the person:

• possibly died a violent or unnatural death
• died in prison or police custody

You can’t register the death until after the inquest. The coroner is responsible for sending the relevant paperwork to the registrar.

The death can’t be registered until after the inquest, but the coroner can give you a certificate to prove the person is dead. When the inquest is over the coroner will tell the registrar what to put in the register.

The funeral can usually only take place after the death has been registered. Most people use a funeral director, though you can arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral directors

You can get more than 1 quote to compare costs. You should choose a funeral director who’s a member of either:

• National Association of Funeral Directors
• Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors

Both organisations have codes of practice and members must give you a price list when asked.

Some local councils run their own funeral services - eg non-religious burials. The British Humanist Association can also help with non-religious funerals.

Arranging the funeral yourself

Contact the Cemeteries and Crematorium Department of your local council to arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral costs

Funeral costs can include:

• funeral director fees
• things the funeral director pays for on your behalf (called ‘disbursements’ or ‘third-party costs’) - eg crematorium or cemetery fees, or a newspaper announcement about the death
• local authority burial or cremation fees

Funeral directors may list all these costs in their quote.

Paying for a funeral

The funeral can be paid for:

• from a financial scheme the person had - eg a pre-paid funeral plan or insurance policy
• by you, or other family members or friends
• with money from the person’s estate (eg savings) - getting access to this is called applying for a ‘grant of representation’(sometimes called ‘applying for probate’)

You can apply for a Funeral Payment if you have difficulty paying for the funeral.

Moving a body out of England or Wales

You need to get permission from a coroner to move a body for a funeral abroad. Apply at least 4 days before you want the body to be moved.

Find a local coroner using the Coroners’ Society of England and Wales website.

Most local councils run a service called Tell Us Once - it lets you report a death to most government organisations in one go.

The registrar will tell you about using Tell Us Once and give you a unique reference number to access the service.

Tell Us Once will notify:

• HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) - to deal with tax and cancel benefits
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - to cancel benefits, eg income support
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) - to cancel a driving licence
• Passport Office - to cancel a passport
• The local council - to cancel housing benefit, council tax benefit, a Blue Badge, inform council housing services and remove the person from the electoral register

Banks and other financial organisations

Contact the person’s bank or mortgage, pension or insurance providers to close or change the details of their accounts.

If you use the Tell Us Once service the following organisations should contact you to deal with tax and benefits.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)

HMRC will normally send you form R27 if the person paid tax on their income. This is used to work out:

• what tax HMRC need to collect or repay
• whether you need to fill in a Self Assessment tax return on the person's behalf, eg when the estate continues to receive income

You can also use HMRC’s bereavement tool to work out which forms to fill in and where to send them.

Inheritance Tax may be due on the person's estate after they die.

HMRC Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment
Telephone: 0300 200 3300
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
Saturday, 8am to 4pm
Find out about call charges

Contact HMRC if they haven't been in touch within 30 days of registering the death.

National Insurance (NI) Contributions Office

Contact the NI contributions office to cancel the person’s NI payments if they were self-employed or paying voluntary NI.

Child Benefit Office

Contact the Child Benefit Office if a child or the parent dies. You need to do this within 8 weeks of the death.

Tax Credit Office

Contact the Tax Credit Office if your partner or a child you’re responsible for dies. You need to do this within 1 month of the death.

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

Contact the bereavement service to cancel the person’s benefits. They’ll also check if you’re eligible for help with funeral costs or other benefits.

DWP Bereavement Service
Telephone: 0845 606 0265
Textphone: 0845 606 0285
Find out about call charges

You must register a death with the local authorities in the country where the person died. In many countries you will also have the option to register the death with the UK authorities.

Find out more about coping with a death abroad.

There are different rules for bringing the person’s remains home, depending on whether you:

• bring the body home for burial or cremation
• have the person cremated abroad and bring their ashes home

These rules apply to England and Wales. There are different processes for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Bringing the body home

To bring the body home you need:

• a certified English translation of the death certificate
• permission to remove the body, issued by a coroner (or equivalent) in the country where the person died

Ask for advice from the British consulate, embassy or high commission in the country where the person died.

Contact a register office

Once the body is home, take the death certificate to the register office in the area where the funeral is taking place.

As the death has already been registered abroad, the registrar will give you a ‘certificate of no liability to register’. Give this to the funeral director so the funeral can go ahead.

When a coroner will be involved

A coroner will usually hold an inquest in England or Wales if the cause of death is unknown or if it was sudden, violent or unnatural.

You need a certificate from the coroner (form ‘Cremation 6’) if the person is to be cremated.

Bringing ashes home

When leaving a country with human ashes you will normally need to show:

• the death certificate
• the certificate of cremation

Each country has its own rules about departing with human ashes and there may be additional requirements. Contact the country’s British consulate, embassy or high commission for advice. You'll need to fill in a standard customs form when you arrive home.

Contact your airline to find out whether you can carry the ashes as hand luggage or as checked-in luggage. They may ask you to put the ashes in a non-metallic container so that they can be x-rayed.

You should not have the person cremated abroad if you want a coroner at home to conduct an inquest into their death.