What to do after someone dies

If your relative or friend dies at home, you may be alone with them. You may not be certain that they have died, and you may be unsure of what to do next.

You can take your time, as you may find it difficult to think clearly at first. You may have some written information from the GP, district nurse, or palliative care team about what to do. Follow that if you can. If you are on your own, you may want to call a family member or friend to be with you.

You will need to tell the person’s GP or district nurse what has happened. They will come as soon as they can to confirm the death. If the person dies when the GP surgery is shut, you should call the out-of-hours doctor.

If the death is expected, the person’s GP will confirm the death and write a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD). The GP will also give you a form called a Notice to informant, which tells you how to register the death.

If a district nurse or out-of-hours doctor comes, they will confirm the death. But only a GP who has seen the person alive in the last 14 days (or 28 days in Northern Ireland) can complete the MCCD.

If the GP has not seen the person in this time, you will need to get the MCCD and Notice to informant form from your GP surgery. This may take a few days. You can call the GP surgery to find out when the forms will be ready for you to collect.

When a nurse or doctor has confirmed the death, you can contact the funeral director (undertaker). You do not need to do this straight away if you would like to spend some time with your relative or friend. Funeral directors are available 24 hours a day. They will explain what you need to do.

When you have the MCCD, you need to take it to the local registrars’ office to register the death.

It can be a shock to see the MCCD, as this may be the first time you see the details in writing. Some people describe feeling as if they are being told all over again that their relative or friend has died. You may want to have someone with you when you read it.

If you have questions about what is written on the MCCD, you may be able to ask your GP at the time. Or you could arrange to speak to them later.

From 2018, in some areas, a medical examiner will need to see and agree with the MCCD before the GP gives it to you. Your doctor can tell you more about this.

If your relative or friend dies unexpectedly, you may be totally unprepared. You may find it difficult to believe what has happened. The ward staff or GP will talk to you about what has happened and try to answer any questions you have.

If the death was not expected, or if the person dies at home and had not been seen by their GP in the last 14 days (in England, Scotland, and Wales) or 28 days (in Northern Ireland), the death will be referred to:

• the coroner (a doctor or lawyer who investigates unexpected deaths) in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland
• the procurator fiscal in Scotland.

This is a standard procedure.

Most deaths that are reported to the coroner or procurator fiscal are natural. Sometimes, the cause of death is not clear. The coroner will decide if an examination of the body (post mortem) is needed to find the cause of death. If a death is referred to the coroner or procurator fiscal, the funeral may sometimes be delayed.

You can find more information about what to do after a death at:

• gov.uk in England and Wales
• gov.scot in Scotland
• nidirect.gov.uk in Northern Ireland.

The Bereavement Advice Centre also has information on what to do when someone dies.

The doctor will usually give you information about how to register your relative or friend’s death when they give you the medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD).

The person who can register the death varies in different parts of the UK. You can find more detailed information about this at gov.uk/register-a-death.

You will register the death with the Registrar of Births, Marriages, and Deaths. This has to be done within 5 days (in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) or 8 days (in Scotland), unless it has been referred to the coroner or procurator fiscal.

Some registrars’ offices have an appointment system, so call and check before you go.

You can get the telephone number for the registrars’ office:

• on the envelope the MCCD is in
• in the phone book
• online
• by calling the Bereavement Advice Centre on 0800 634 9494.

Things to take with you include:

• the MCCD – you must take this with you
• your relative or friend’s birth certificate, and their marriage certificate if they had one
• details of any state benefits they were getting
• their NHS medical card, if they had one
• the National Insurance number of the person who has died, and of their surviving husband, wife, or civil partner, if they have one.

The registrar will enter the details of the death in the register and give you a certificate for burial or cremation. You need to give this to the funeral director. If you need a certificate of registration of death for social security purposes, the registrar will give you one.

Before you go to the registrars’ office, it is helpful to think about how many copies of the death certificate you might need. These are original, certified copies and not photocopies. You can buy certified copies for a small charge at the time of registration.

You can also buy certified copies at a later time, but they may cost more.

You usually need one certified copy for each life insurance policy (or similar) that you need to claim. You may need copies for other official agencies and organisations. They will usually return the copy of the death certificate once they have seen it.

You can get more information about registering the death from:

• gov.uk in England and Wales
• gov.scot in Scotland
• nidirect.gov.uk in Northern Ireland.

When someone dies, there are a lot of official agencies and organisations that need to be told. These include:

• employers
• the tax office
• banks and building societies
• insurance companies
• gas, electricity, or phone companies
• the local council.

Many of these organisations will need a certified death certificate and other information, such as full names, addresses, and account numbers.

Contacting all these organisations can take a lot of time, and you may not feel emotionally ready to do this. You do not have to contact everyone at once. You can also ask a relative or friend to help you. Many organisations and companies have staff who are trained to deal with calls from relatives and friends when someone dies. You can ask to speak to the bereavement team if they have one.

Some people find it helpful to write a list of all the organisations they need to contact and gradually work through it over a few weeks. Others prefer to contact them all at once.

It is important to tell insurance companies straight away, as insurance policies become invalid as soon as someone dies.

The Bereavement Advice Centre has a useful checklist of the organisations you need to contact.

Tell Us Once is a service available in some local authorities in England, Scotland, and Wales. It allows you to report a death to most government organisations at the same time. The local registrar will tell you if the Tell Us Once service is available in your area and how to use it. They will give you a unique reference number to access the service.

If your husband, wife, or civil partner has died, you may be entitled to a Bereavement Payment or Bereavement Allowance. You may also be entitled to extra pension payments from their pension or National Insurance contributions.

• If you live in England, Scotland, or Wales, you can find out more at gov.uk/browse/benefits/bereavement.
• If you live in Northern Ireland, contact your local Social Security Agency benefits office by visiting communities-ni.gov.uk.

You can also contact the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week 8am - 8pm.

Funerals and memorial services allow relatives and friends to get together to remember the person who has died. They can be a celebration of the person’s life as well as a chance to say goodbye to them.

We have more information about planning a funeral.