REGISTRY OFFICE

TO DO:

-Visit registry office
-Collate useful documents
-Get death certificates
-Get Certificate of Registration of Death (white form) 

Now, if you haven’t done it already, you need to book a visit to the registry office in the area that the death occurred. Find which local authority/council the area is in and search for their registry office. Most appointments can now be booked online.

You have to go to the registry office not only to register the death but so you can then collect the death certificate and copies of it, plus you’ll get a Certificate of Registration of Death form to notify the Department of Work & Pensions and use the Tell Us Once service.

GOING TO THE REGISTRY OFFICE

When you see the registrar you need documents that prove who you are and the identity of the person you’re registering the death of and that show both of your addresses. Different local authorities may give you different info so check with your registrar/their website but you will need at least: 

  • Cause of death medical certificate (or interim one). Sometimes this will have already been emailed by the doctor to the registrar

  • Identification documents of the person registering the death eg. driving licence, passport, birth certificate

  • Proof of the person registering the death’s address eg. council tax bill, utility bill, driving licence

  • Birth and marriage/civil partnership certificates of the deceased

  • National insurance number of the deceased

  • Passport of the person who’s died

  • Proof of the deceased’s address eg. driving licence, council tax or utility bill

  • Medical card of the deceased/NHS number

*If in doubt then take more documents than you think you’ll need, as better to have too many than too few and have to re-book the appointment*

Unfortunately you have to pay for death certificates and we were advised to get around 6-10 as you need them for various bank/financial things. In the UK death certificates currently cost £12.50 each for a printed one (less for PDFs or digital copies and fortunately more places are taking them now) but you can ask for them back after they’ve been used since most organisations will not accept photocopies.

THE FORMS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

The Green Form - At the same time that you get the death certificate, a ‘green form’ is also issued by the registrar to the undertaker (although sometimes you have to pass it on to them so do check with your funeral director) which allows them to collect the body and keep it at their chapel of rest or funeral home until the burial/cremation. By the way, if a coroner is involved then you usually don’t need a green form so speak to them about them sorting that.

White Forms - You may also hear about two kinds of ‘white forms’. One is called a ‘part D form’, which says if the deceased had any implants such as a pacemaker. The registrar issues this white form to the funeral director alongside the ‘green form’.

The other ‘white form’ is known as the Certificate of Registration of Death - note this is NOT the death certificate and it’s free. The registrar will give you this as you need it for telling the Department for Work & Pension about the death. You can do this directly to the DWP or, more easily via the Tell Us Once website.
The proper name of the form is the catchily-titled ‘Certificate for Department of Work & Pensions benefits BD8 form’. In Scotland it’s the form 3344SI and in Northern Ireland it’s form 36/BD8.

Photo: Will Hulbert Photography