www.gov.uk/after-a-death/register-the-death
There are three things you must do in the first few days after someone dies.
- Get a medical certificate from a GP or hospital doctor. You need this to register the death.
- Register the death within 5 days (8 days in Scotland) You’ll then get the documents (Green form) you need for the funeral.
- Arrange the funeral – you can use a funeral director or arrange it yourself.
You can usually use the Tell Us Once service to report a death to most government organisations in one go.
If the death’s been reported to a coroner you can’t register the death until the coroner gives permission.
Otherwise use the register a death tool at https://www.gov.uk/register-a-death to find out if you can register the death yourself and to see what you need to do.
Certificate for Burial or Cremation – commonly
Known as the ‘green form’ This certificate is free of charge and needs to be given to the funeral director as soon as possible, it gives permission for the person who has died to be buried or cremated. If the coroner has been involved they will issue this directly to the funeral director.
