Register a death

If the person passed away in Redbridge, the death must be registered here.

A death needs to be registered with the registrar within five days of the date the register office receives the medical certificate from the medical examiner.

If the coroner is involved, the death may be registered outside of the five days.

Important

You must wait for the medical examiner or coroner to tell you that you can book an appointment.

 

Deaths outside of Redbridge

If the death happened outside of Redbridge, contact the Register Office in the borough or county where the person died. Find a register office

 

Who can register a death

The person registering the death should be a relative or partner of the person who has died.

If there are no relatives, the death can be registered by:

• a person who was there at the time of death
• the person who is arranging the burial or cremation
• the personal representative of the deceased for example, a solicitor
• an official from the hospital, care home or building where the death took place

You can bring someone with you to the appointment.

 

What you need to know

During the appointment, you’ll need to give some information to the registrar.

About the person who has died

• date and place of death
• their full name and any other names they were known by
• their maiden name (if married or in a civil partnership)
• date and place of birth
• their occupation
• full name and occupation of their spouse or civil partner
• their home address

About you

• your relationship to person who has died
• your full name
• your home address

You should bring proof of your identity and address.

Supporting documents

It’s helpful to gather as much documentation as possible so you can give us accurate information about the person who has died.

• their birth certificate
• passport
• change of name documents
• bills or bank statements with their address on
• marriage or civil partnership certificates

It’s okay if you do not have everything on this list.

 

Cost of certificates

Registering a death is free. But you need to pay for the death certificates.

Death certificates costs £12.50 each.

You’ll need certificates so that you can deal with the will, money and property of the person who's died.

You can buy as many as you need on the day of your appointment . You can order copy certificates after your appointment.

 

Location of your appointment

You’ll need to attend your appointment in person.

Your appointment will be at Redbridge Town Hall:

128-142 High Road
Ilford
Essex
IG1 1DD

 

Book an appointment

You should register the death within five days.

You’ll need:

• an email address
• details about the persons death, such as their name, date of death and place of death

If you need help you can contact us.

 

Book a death registration appointment

 

Documents you’ll receive

You’ll be given three documents from the registrar:

• Death certificate which will be issued at the time of registration if you have paid for this
• Certificate for burial or cremation (green form). This will normally be passed to your chosen funeral director so that they can arrange the funeral. You'll not get a green from if it's a coroners case or you're taking the body out of England.
• Tell Us Once Reference Number which will let you report a death to most government organisations and local services in one go

See GOV.UK Tell Us Once service

 

Corrections

If you need to make a correction to a death certificate, there will be a cost depending on the information that needs to be corrected.

• £83 if the correction can be done by us
• £99 if the correction needs to be referred to the General Registrar Office

You’ll need to pay extra for a new certificate.

See GOV.UK for information on correcting a death certificate. 

 

Urgent funerals

We can help you get a burial or cremation certificate if you need to arrange a funeral that needs to take place within 24 hours.

You’ll need to complete the urgent funeral form to arrange an emergency certificate for burial or cremation. This is known as the green form.

This service is only available:

• Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm
• Saturday, 9am to 11.30am
• Sunday and Bank Holidays, 9am to 11.30am

We cannot provide this service on Christmas Day.

You must still book an appointment to register the death as soon as possible.

 

Taking a body out of England

If you want to move a body out of England or Wales (including to Scotland) you must get permission from the coroner. You’ll need to get permission even if the death was natural and did not need to be reported to the coroner.

The death must be registered in the normal way. But before attending the Register Office, you or the funeral director must contact the coroner’s office to make them aware that you wish to move the body abroad.

You must return any certificate for burial or cremation that has already been issued to the Register Office.

The coroner will guide you on what needs to be done and documents that will be needed.

They will contact you to let you know when the body can be moved. This will usually be within four working days.

You’ll be given a removal notice to make arrangements for transporting the body. It’s best to speak to a funeral director. Most carriers who allow the transportation of human remains will deal only with a funeral director.

You do not need permission to move cremation ashes. If you want to transport them by air, check with your airline for their rules.

 

Bringing a body back for a burial in the UK

If the person died abroad but the burial will take place in England, you’ll need a Certificate of No Liability. This can only be requested by a funeral director.

The funeral director who will be taking care of your arrangements in this country will need to contact the register office.

The certificate can only be issued by the register office in the borough where the burial is taking place.

The funeral director will need:

• the death certificate
• a translation of the death certificate into English
• Permission for the removal of deceased from the country, for example official documentation from the relevant country's authority such as coroners, embassy, Home Office, policing department
• confirmation from East London Coroners that no further investigation is required and they have not issued a permission form for the burial
• a copy of the deceased person’s passport
• confirmation of where burial is taking place

This service is only available Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm.

Request a Certificate of No Liability

 

If you’re not able to register the death in Redbridge

You can go to any register office in England or Wales. This is known as register by death declaration.

The registrar office will record the information and send it to us. They will not give you a certificate.

We’ll register the death and post out the documents and certificates to you.

Contact your local register office to arrange an appointment for a death declaration.

 

If the death happened outside of the UK

You must register the death with the local authorities in the country where the person died.

See what to do after someone dies abroad on GOV.UK.