Register a death

Our team can help guide you through the process of registering a death. 

The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death will be electronically scanned directly to us from the Medical Examiners office once they have spoken to the next of kin. The Coroner’s Office will also scan their paperwork directly to us. If you are advised that there needs to be an inquest, the coroner will register on your behalf.  

Once we have received the paperwork we will make every effort to call you to book you in to our next available appointment. Alternatively our system will allow you to book an appointment online here.

A polite reminder that death must be registered within 5 days of the medical examiner/doctor issuing the cause of death certificate. 

From 9^th November 2026 Informants will be given the option to register the death over the telephone as well as in person within our central offices. More information can be found on the GOV.UK web page about registering a death.

If you are unable to attend your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible by calling 0118 937 3533 or emailing register.office@reading.gov.uk so that we can offer the appointment slot to another customer. 

If you are unable to book an appointment, this could be that we have not yet received the correct paperwork. You will need to contact the Medical Examiner:  Bereavement Office and Medical Examiner Service – Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. 

If the death has been referred to the coronial service and you are experiencing delays you may need to contact the coroners office. More information about the Berkshire Coroners and how to contact them can be found on our Berkshire Coroners’ Office page. 

There is a statutory fee for each death certificate ordered, please see our register office fees and charges page for the current fees. The registrar is unable to accept cash, personal cheques or Apple Pay. Please ensure you bring your payment card with you. 

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.  Your appointment will last approximately 40 minutes. 

Tell Us Once Service

At your appointment you will also be given the opportunity to register for the Tell Us Once service. This free 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.

Urgent burials

If you need to arrange an urgent burial we provide an on-call registration service between the hours of 9am and 11am 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 Centre 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.