Register a death

The death of a loved one can be a complicated time. At the register office, we can help ensure that the death is registered with dignity, and help point you to other services which could be of use.

• • Important changes
  • General information and making an appointment
  • Out of hours service
  • Medical Examiner's Office
  • Tell Us Once
  • LifeLedger
  • Coping with a death
  • Other information

Important information from 9 September

From Monday 9 September 2024, the way deaths are registered is changing. Please be aware of the following changes. 

From this date:

• All deaths must have extra scrutiny from the Medical Examiner’s Office (MEO).
• Registrars cannot register a death until the medical cause of death certificate (MCCD) has been signed by the MEO, after being signed by a doctor who attended the patient in their last illness.
• Families will need to liaise with the MEO directly. The Register Office can no longer chase GP surgeries, coroners or hospitals.
• Referrals to the coroner must now be done by the MEO or the attending practitioner who issued the MCCD.
• If referred to the coroner, then the coroner is expected to issue the burial or cremation forms
• All deaths that occurred on or before 8 September with an MCCD signed before this date, will not be subject to the new requirements. 

Changes to our Out of Hours Service

The Medical Examiners Office (MEO) will have its own out-of-hours opening hours. It will be open 8 to 11am on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays.

From 9 September 2024, the council's emergency burial certificate service will run from 9.30am to 12.30pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays. This change is due to new laws. We cannot issue an emergency burial certificate without the MEO's signature. If the urgent burial has been referred to the coroner for investigation, it is expected in legislation that the coroner issues this burial form.

More detailed information may be found via the NHS and gov.uk.

General Information

It is a legal requirement that all deaths should be registered as soon as possible but preferably within 5 days (unless the death has been reported to the coroner). 

The coroner will not give us next of kin contact information and this may leave the death unregistered. If a death has been referred to the coroner, please let us know by email as soon as you can. We can then contact you to register once we are legally able to.

Before making a booking, please be aware of the following.

• In order to register, you must meet certain criteria and hold certain documentation. Please ensure you read all the government guidance. We can only register deaths that occurred in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
• Please ensure the medical examiner's office has signed and sent through the relevant documentation. The GP surgery or hospital can advise you on this.
• The green form will be issued to you in person during the appointment for you to give directly to the funeral director. We will not be sending these electronically.
• You will be asked to fill a form with vital information for the registration. Please take your time and ensure that all spellings are correct. Correcting a registration costs £99 and takes at least 6 months.
• It is free to register a death but certificates are charged at a national rate and payments will be taken at the time of booking below. 
• Any additional certificate requests at time of registration or after registration must use our copy certificates process..
• The ‘Tell Us Once’ service information will be sent separately via email at a later date

Do not use the following link if the death has already been registered and you need certificates. Instead, visit our page on ordering copy certificates. 

Make an appointment to register a death

Out of Hours Service (for Urgent burials)

Tower Hamlets offers a service for those belonging to various faith groups who may need to bury on the same day.

The urgent burial certificate service is available between 9.30am to 12.30pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays.

If you require the weekend urgent burial service, please call 07946 390 834.

Please do not call this number if the Medical Cause of Death Certificate has not been issued by the medical examiner's office and received by us directly from them, as we will not be able to issue the burial notice without this.

If the urgent burial has been referred to the coroner for investigation, it is expected in legislation that the coroner issues this burial form- please liaise with the coroner's office.

Please be aware that you will still need to book an appointment to register the death even if an emergency burial certificate is issued.

Book an appointment to register a death

Medical Examiner's Office

All deaths must  be certified by a medical examiner or one of their officers. More detailed information may be found via the NHS and gov.uk.

Tower Hamlets falls under Barts Health NHS Trust. Contact details can be found via the NHS website and below.

Email:
bartshealth.bhtmedicalexaminerservice@nhs.net - hospital deaths
bartshealth.bhtmecommunity@nhs.net – community deaths

Contact number: 020 3465 6470 

Tell Us Once

Tell Us Once is a free service offered by the government.

When someone has died, there are lots of things that need to be done at an obviously very difficult time for you and your family.

Tell Us Once is voluntary to use and very helpful. It enables you to report a death only once, telling central and local government services securely and confidentially without you having to inform them individually.

Over 20 services can be notified and these include:

• Local council - to update services such as Council Housing, Housing Benefit, Council Tax, Blue Badge and remove the person from the Electoral Register.
• HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) - to deal with personal tax and to update regarding Child Benefit and Tax Credits claims (contact HMRC separately for business taxes, like VAT).
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - to update benefits information for example: State Pension, Universal Credit.
• Passport Office - to cancel a British passport.
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) - to cancel a driving licence and to remove registered keeper details, possibly for up to five vehicles.
• Public Sector or Armed Forces Pension Schemes - to update pension records.

Please ask about using this service when you register. For more information, please visit the Tell Us Once website.

LifeLedger

LifeLedger is a free-to-use service offered by the private sector which functions in a similar way to the government’s Tell Us Once service.

You can sign up and place details of your loved one once and it will notify over 700 private companies of their passing including banks, insurance companies, utility companies and more. Please visit the LifeLedger website to find more information.

Coping with death

People cope with death, loss and bereavement in a variety of ways. If you would like to speak with someone, you can call Cruse for free.

• Tel: 0808 808 1677 (freephone Monday and Friday, 9.30am to 5pm and Tuesday to Thursday, 9.30am to 8pm, excludes bank holidays)
• Visit the Cruse website

Other Information

We are an appointment only service so please check read the information on opening hours and access.