Register a death

From 9 September 2024 the medical examiner system will become statutory and all deaths will either be referred to the medical examiner or a coroner to provide independent scrutiny before the death can be registered.

The medical examiner service is based at the Royal Berkshire Hospital and more information about who they are and how to contact them may be found at Bereavement Office and Medical Examiner Service – Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

More information about the Berkshire Coroners and how to contact them can be found on our Berkshire Coroners’ Office page.

The medical examiner or coroner will contact the next of kin to discuss the cause of death and then they will send the relevant paperwork to the Registration Service, after which an appointment to register can be made. Please note that we are unable to make an appointment for you unless we have received the certification paperwork. If you have not been advised that the paperwork has been sent to the Register Office, then please contact the medical examiner or coroner in the first instance.

 If you are advised that there needs to be an inquest, the coroner will register on your behalf.

You need to register the death within five days of the paperwork being sent to the Register Office.

If the death occurred outside the borough of Reading, you should register it at the local Register Office. You can find details of these at find a register office – GOV.UK. You can still choose to register by declaration in Reading, but you will not be able to obtain the funeral paperwork or copies of certificates. These will be issued by the local Register Office on receipt of the declaration after your appointment in Reading.

Register a death webpage on GOV.UK gives more information on how to register a death and what information the registrar will ask you for during your appointment.  At your appointment you will also be given the opportunity to register for the Tell Us Once service. This DWP service notifies a range of central and local government services that someone has passed away and you can read more about this on our Tell Us Once page. The appointment usually takes 30-40 minutes. There is a statutory fee for each certificate ordered, please see our register office fees and charges page for the current fees. Please note we only accept payment by credit/debit card. The registrar is unable to accept cash or personal cheques.

Urgent burials

If you need to arrange an urgent burial we provide an on-call registration service between the hours of 9am and 12 noon at weekends and on most Public Holidays. It does not operate on Mother’s Day, Easter Sunday, Father’s Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Please ring 0118 937 3737 between these times for further advice. Please do not call any other number as this will delay your registration. Please be advised that our team are not in the civic offices during on call hours and can only see you once an appointment has been made. Should the service be unavailable you will be able to register on the next working day.