Visit GOV.UK for information on what to do after someone dies.
You should usually register a death in the area where the person died.
You must have been specifically advised by the Medical Examiner that the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) has already been sent to the register office.
A funeral can usually only take place after the death is registered.
You can register a death if you're a relative of the person who's died, or:
- were present when it happened
- are responsible for making funeral arrangements
- administer the property where the person died (such as care home manager or hospital officer)
- partner of the deceased
- personal representative of the deceased
A partner of the deceased is defined as follows:
- a person is the partner of a deceased person if the two of them (whether of different sexes or the same sex) were living as partners in an enduring relationship at the time of the deceased person’s death
Someone who qualifies to act as a personal representative of the deceased is defined as follows:
- a person appointed by and acting on behalf of the family, for example a solicitor, family friend, or funeral director
At the appointment you'll be asked to confirm:
- your full name
- address
- relationship to the deceased or why you're able to register
Read more about:
- registering a death in York
- registering a death which occurred outside of York
- coroner investigations
- 'Tell us once' service
- if English is not your first language
- if you wish to take the body abroad
Registering a death in York
In England and Wales the death must usually be registered at the register office in the area where the death occurred.
It's very important that the information registered is accurate because the register entry is a legal record and difficult to correct at a later date.
The appointment will take approximately 40 minutes. We advise arriving 5 minutes before the appointment time.
Book an appointment to register a death
Please ensure that the Doctor or Medical Examiner, has confirmed that this certificate has been forwarded to us prior to requesting to book an appointment. We'll need this to complete the registration and cannot proceed without it.
You can book an appointment to register a death and pay in advance for certificates online. If you order your certificates at the time of booking, you will receive them at the appointment. If you do not order your certificates in advance, you will need to apply for them online after your appointment.
Book an appointment to register a death
You can use our online booking system 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Request a death certificate
If you have made an appointment to register a death and did not pre-order certificates at the time, you can order and pay for your certificates in advance.
The registrar will give you your certificates at the appointment. Please order ‘standard certificates’ then select the ‘Collect’ option when placing your order.
You can order a full certificate or a ‘short certificate’ depending on your needs.
A short death certificate is an official death certificate which can be used as evidence of a death, without providing sensitive information such as cause of death or the sex of the deceased.
If you don’t pre order, you can order them after the appointment and the certificates will be posted out.
Registering a death which occurred outside of York
To register a death which took place outside of York, contact the register office where the person died. You can find the right register office for your area on GOV.UK.
Coroner investigations
If a coroner is investigating a death, you can't register it until they issue the relevant information, so they'll advise you when to make an appointment (within 7 days of the death).
If an inquest is held, you don't need to register the death. The coroner will inform the registrar once the inquest is over.
See details of current and upcoming inquests on the North Yorkshire Council website.
Amending information about a death in the register
We'll record the death in the register and ask you to carefully check and sign it. Once you've signed the register, it could cost up to £100 to make corrections, and in some cases it won't be possible to change the recorded information.
Contact York Register Office if you need to amend any information recorded in the register.
'Tell us once' service
The registrar will provide an additional service called ‘tell us once’ which can be used immediately after the registration of the death. This service will inform other government departments and local council services who need to be told of the death.
Find out more about our 'Tell us once' bereavement service.
If English is not your first language
If English is not your first language and you'd like someone to help you register a death, you can ask a relative or friend to come with you to your appointment.
The Government Language Line service can help you with translation on telephone: 0207 5201430.
If you wish to take the body abroad
If you wish to take the body abroad, you must give written notice to the coroner, who will tell you within 4 days whether further enquiries are needed.
If the death occurred abroad, read information about bringing the body back to England or Wales.
Also see
York Register Office
York Register Office Emergency Contact
Emergency contact is available from 10.00am to 11.00am on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays (not Christmas Day), should you need to contact York Register Office about an emergency funeral for religious reasons.