PALS Bereavement Services – Registering the Death

The Registration Process

You must take the medical certificate of cause of death to the registrar of births, deaths and marriages within five working days in order to register the death (unless the coroner is involved). As the death occured in Swindon, the death should be registered in Swindon. You can go to a different office, but the process will take longer.

Please note that we now have a registrar based at the hospital, which will enable you to collect the hospital certificate from the PALS office and then register the death at the hospital without having to go to the register office in Swindon town centre.

In order to register the death you should be a relative of the deceased or the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors if there are no relatives available to do it. You must be able to give the following information:

  • date and place of death
  • name and surname of the deceased
  • maiden surname, if the deceased was a woman who had married
  • date and place of birth
  • occupation
  • name and occupation of spouse, where the deceased was married or widowed
  • name and occupation of civil partner, where the deceased was in a civil partnership or was a surviving civil partner
  • usual address
  • whether the deceased received a pension or allowance from public funds
  • if the deceased was married or in a civil partnership, the date of birth of the surviving spouse or civil partner

Bereavement

 

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It is vital that all the information recorded in the death register is completely correct. The person registering the death should check the information very carefully before signing the entry.  

Death certificates

After signing the register it is possible to buy one or more death certificates, which are often required for a range of administrative purposes such as dealing with the estate of the deceased.

 

Other forms

You will then be given two forms (also known as the 'white' and 'green' forms) that need to be given to the benefits agency and the funeral director.

  • A certificate for social security benefits (white form). Please read the information on this form, fill it in and send it to you local Benefits office so that the Department for Work and Pensions can sort out what happens to any benefits and state pensions.
  • A certificate for burial or cremation (green form). This is for your funeral director and authorises them to make arrangements on your behalf.
 

General Register Office website