A death must be registered within five days unless the registrar says this period may be extended. A death must be registered by relative or someone present at the death.
If you register in the district where the death occurred can buy the certificate when you register for £4. If you register at another office the registrar will send your details and payment to the appropriate register office. That office will then post the death certificate to you. This may cause a delay in organising the funeral.
The registrar will give you:
- a certificate for burial or cremation (known as the green form) – this allows the funeral to take place. Sometimes a coroner will issue an alternative certificate allowing the burial or cremation to take place
- a certificate of registration of death (Form BD8/344) is for social security purposes
- a death certificate, there is a fee for this and you can buy additional death certificates if required
In Stoke-on-Trent you can register a death at the register office in Hanley or at the Royal Stoke University Hospital with a registrar based in the PALS office in the main building. You will need to make an appointment to register a death.
If a coroner has been involved it may be necessary to wait for the coroner to issue documents to the registrar before an appointment can be made.
If a post mortem has taken place, you will need to call us on the number below to see if we have received the necessary paperwork before you can attend the appointment to register the death.
If we haven't received the paperwork, we may need to reschedule your appointment until we have received it.
If we haven't received the paperwork, we may need to reschedule your appointment until we have received it.