What to do when someone dies

1 Bereavement guide

Our online bereavement guide includes:

what to do when someone dies - where to go, who to contact, what action needs to be taken
how to get help dealing with your emotions - the many organisations that can assist people to cope with grief
the work of the Coroner - including inquests
the scattering and interring of ashes
roadside memorials and tributes
leaving money to charity.

Find information and resources on bereavement and grief:

Some of the keys areas are on these pages, but the guide includes much more detailed information and advice.

2 What to do if the death occurs at home

1. Contact the family doctor

In most cases the doctor will issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD), together with a formal notice stating he or she has signed the certificate. You can then book an appointment to register the death.

There are some cases when the doctor cannot issue the certificate, for example, if:

the deceased was not seen by a doctor during their last illness or within the 14 days before they died
the cause of death is uncertain
the death was sudden, violent or caused by an accident
the death was caused by an industrial disease.

Under these circumstances the doctor may report the death to the Coroner and a post-mortem may need to be arranged. In certain circumstances an inquest may also need to be held.

In the case of an expected death, it is likely that the body can be collected by your appointed funeral director.

If the matter has to be referred to the Coroner it will be the Coroner’s body removal contractor who will collect the body and take it to the body storage facility.

2. Contact the police

If the death is violent, accidental or there are suspicious circumstances you must contact the police. In these cases the matter will automatically be referred to the Coroner.

3 What to do if the death occurs in hospital

The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) will be issued by the hospital doctor, unless the Coroner needs to be informed.

Once you have the certificate, you can book an appointment to register the death.

The hospital will keep the body in the mortuary until arrangements can be made for it to be taken away by the funeral director or the Coroner.

4 Arranging a funeral

A funeral can be a burial or cremation. You can make arrangements as soon as you feel able to, either yourself or with the help of a funeral director.

If the death has been reported to the Coroner, this may affect the date when the funeral can be held.

Check whether the deceased's will contains instructions for the funeral. Also check whether the deceased had made funeral arrangements and paid for them in advance.

If you are the next of kin, and there are no specific instructions about who is expected to do so, it is up to you to make the funeral arrangements.

Taking into account the deceased’s wishes, you will need to decide:

which funeral director to use (if any)
whether the deceased is to be buried or cremated
where the body will rest until the day of the funeral
whether there will be a funeral service
whether you want flowers for the funeral or donations to a named charity
who will conduct the service
where the funeral service will take place.

5 Tell Us Once

Find out about the Tell Us Once service

6 Who you need to contact checklist

When someone dies there are many organisations you may need to contact to tell them about the death.

A useful checklist is available on page 10 of the bereavement guide.

Organisations may require a death certificate to administer closing accounts, cancelling policies and so on. Certificates are available after you have registered the death.

Find out more

For more information, see GOV.UK's What to do when someone dies.