When someone dies

If you suffer a bereavement and need to register a death, please don't go to a hospital, hospice or GP practice to collect the medical certificate stating the cause of death. The medical certificate will be emailed to Herefordshire Council's Registration Service. 

Once the medical certificate has been checked, we will contact you to arrange an appointment.

When to register

You should register the death within five days of the medical certificate being received by the Registration Service. This is a legal requirement.

The only exception is where a referral has been made to the Coroner. A Coroner's Officer will advise you when you are able to make an appointment.

Who can register

A relative should register the death.

If a relative cannot register the death, you can do it if you:

• Were present at the time of death
• Were the partner of the deceased but not married or in a civil partnership
• Are an administrator from the hospital (if the person died in hospital)
• Are in charge of making funeral arrangements (this is the person signing the paperwork for the funeral director, not the funeral director)
• Are a personal representative of the deceased, for example, an executor

For full guidance, see register a death on GOV.UK. This will tell you how to register the death, based on the circumstances, and what information you will need to provide to the registrar.

Where to register

You should register the death at the local register office for the area where the person died. For deaths in Herefordshire the register office is at 8 St Owen Street in Hereford, next to Hereford Town Hall.

You will require an appointment to register a death and the Registration Service will contact you when the paperwork is ready.

If the death occurred outside of Herefordshire you will need to contact the register office where the death occurred or register the death by declaration. You can check which council covers the area where the death occurred on GOV.UK.

Information you need to register a death

It is helpful for us if you are able to complete an online form ahead of your appointment – this will also help the person attending the appointment to know the questions the registrar will ask them.

Complete the online Register office booking form - Select option: Provide information in support of a death registration.

To register the death at your appointment, it is helpful if you can bring either the deceased's passport, driving licence, bank statement, Council Tax bill or similar. 

You will also need to provide the following information about the deceased:

• Date of death
• Place of death
• Full name and surname and maiden surname, if applicable
• Date and place of birth
• Occupation
• Address
• Full name of spouse, if applicable
• Spouse's occupation
• Spouse's date of birth (optional)

The registrar will issue the necessary paperwork for you to pass on to your funeral director.

Tell Us Once service

The registrar will also advise you of a service called Tell Us Once – a process which will enable you to notify all government departments at once without having to provide a death certificate.

You will need a code for the Tell Us Once service. If you attend an appointment, you will be given a code for the Tell Us Once service at the appointment.

If a Coroner’s inquest or investigation is taking place and you have been advised to contact us to receive the code, or your code has expired and you need a replacement one, please complete the Tell Us Once code request form to receive the code. 

Fees

It is free to register a death. A death certificate costs £12.50 and can be purchased when you register the death.

Deaths outside of Herefordshire

If the death occurred in England or Wales, but outside Herefordshire and you can't get to the nearest register office to register the death, you can usually book an appointment at our register office. We'll take all the details of the death and pass them onto the right office. This is called 'making a declaration'. Check below to see where you can register.

If the death occurred outside Herefordshire

• If the death occurred outside Herefordshire and you live outside Herefordshire then you will need to contact the register office in the district where you live

If you live in Herefordshire but the death occurred outside Herefordshire you have two options:

Either

• Attend Hereford Register Office and give the details for the registration. We will then forward these details to the district where the death occurred. There will be a delay in you receiving the death certificate as this will be sent by post

or

• Attend the relevant register office in person and receive your certificate immediately. If you choose this option you will need to contact the relevant register office directly. We cannot make this appointment for you.

Find alternative register offices on GOV.UK

Correcting a mistake on a death certificate

At the appointment to register the death the registrar will give you the registration page to check. It's very important that you make sure all the details are correct to the best of your knowledge. Check you have spelt everything correctly.

You are signing to say that the information is correct and true.

Once signed, the responsibility for the entry being correct lies with the person who registered.

If you notice a mistake after your appointment, we might not be able to correct it. If we can correct it, you'll be charged a fee of £83 or £99, depending on what needs to be changed. These fees are set by central government and are subject to change.

If you need to make a correction please email us at registrars@herefordshire.gov.uk or complete our online Register office booking form and select Make an enquiry regarding a correction.

For further guidance on the correction process see correct a death registration on GOV.UK.