Register a death
How to register
You can register a death with us by booking an appointment online. You'll then need to come into a register office and register the death in person.
To complete the registration, we require a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). The doctor now needs to send the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death to the Medical Examiner to be reviewed. Once reviewed, the Medical Examiner will send this to us and you can then book an appointment.
There is a legal requirement that the appointment should be within 5 days of the MCCD being received by the Registrars.
You will be contacted by the Medical Examiner to discuss the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death over the next few days. If you do not hear from them, please call the Medical Examiner’s Office on 01296 831919.
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Who can register
You can register a death if you're:
- a relative - for example the husband, wife or civil partner, brother or sister
- a partner – (a person who has been living with the deceased as partners in an enduring relationship)
- a person who was present at the death
- the occupier of the premises where the death occurred (if they knew about it)
- the person arranging the funeral - this does not include the funeral director
- a personal representative – a person appointed by and acting on behalf of the deceased’s family such as a solicitor
We can only register deaths that occurred in Buckinghamshire. See who to contact if the death occurred outside of Buckinghamshire.
Registering a stillbirth
See our information about what to do if you need to register a stillbirth.
When to register
You must register a death within 5 days of the registrars receiving the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death from the Medical Examiner or Coroner.
This is a legal requirement.
If the death occurred outside of Buckinghamshire
If the death occurred outside of Buckinghamshire, you should register the death at a register office in the area where the death occurred.
If the death occurred at:
- Milton Keynes Hospital, contact Milton Keynes Register Office
- Wexham Park Hospital, contact Slough Register Office
- John Radcliffe Hospital, contact Oxfordshire Registration Office
You can also find your local register office online.
Make a declaration
If you're unable to visit the register office in the area where the death occurred, you can register a death at a Buckinghamshire register office by making a 'declaration’.
If you make a declaration:
- the death will not be registered at the office you attend
- we'll not hold any records or be able to provide any copies of certificates
We'll send the details to the relevant register office. You'll need to contact them for copies of certificates, they'll send them by post which can take up to 10 days and may delay the funeral arrangements.
If you do decide to register a death in this way, call us on 01296 383 005. This is so that we can obtain any necessary paperwork, such as a medical certificate or information issued by the coroner.
If the coroner is involved
If the doctor has referred the death to the coroner service, we'll need written authorisation from them that no further investigations are necessary before we can register the death.
If the coroner has been involved when you request a death registration appointment, indicate this on the booking form.