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. Your doctor will email this to Herefordshire Council's Registration Service.

When to register

You should register the death within five days. 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 there at the time of death
• 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)

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 Hereford Town Hall.

You must make an appointment to register a death. To register at Herefordshire Registration Office please see our contact details at the bottom of this page.

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

After you have contacted us to make an appointment we will send you a form to complete before your appointment. To register the death at your appointment, you will still need to 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. Complete the Tell Us Once code request form to receive the code.

Fees

It is free to register a death. A death certificate costs £11 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 £75 or £90, 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

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