Register a death

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. The doctor must send this to us before you can book an appointment.

If we haven’t received this, we will ask you to check with the relevant medical practitioner.

You can register a death if you're:

• a relative - for example the husband, wife or civil partner, brother or sister
• 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

See our information about what to do if you need to register a stillbirth.

You must register a death within 5 days of when it occurred.

This is a legal requirement.

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.

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 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.