All deaths must be registered in the area where this occurred, although arrangements can be made to register this in another area. The registration process involves a short meeting with the Registrar at the Registry Office, where you should provide the following details:

The full name of the person who has died.
Their full address.
Their date of birth.
Details of where and when the person died.
Their occupation (if any).
If the person who has died is a married woman, you will also need to give her maiden name and her husband’s full name and occupation.

You will also need to take along the certificate of cause of death which the GP or hospital doctor gave you.

The following people can register the death:

A relative of the person who has died.
Any person present at the death.
A person who lives in the house where the person died.
The person arranging the funeral, but not a Funeral Director.
The Registrar will give you two certificates, a green certificate and a white certificate; the green certificate you should give to the Funeral Director as soon as possible; the white certificate you should fill in and send to the Social Security Office for the area in which the person died.

You can buy copies of the ‘entry of death’ (death certificate) from the Registrar. You will need these for official purposes, such as closing bank accounts and pension schemes.