Register a death

Before you can book an appointment to register a death the registration service must have received a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD).

For deaths which occur in Lincolnshire the following will apply:

• a doctor will complete the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) and send this to the medical examiner for Lincolnshire
• the medical examiner will review the paperwork of the causes of death
• the medical examiner will talk to the family about the cause of death and answer any questions they may have
• once this is complete the medical examiner will send the paperwork to the registration service.
• the next of kin will be contacted by telephone or text message to make an appointment, once you have been contacted you must register a death within five days

If you have not been contacted by us after eight days from the date of death, please contact us and we will investigate this for you.

If the death has been referred to the coroner the process may take a little longer, once complete the coroner will speak to the family and issue paperwork to the registration service. The next of kin will be informed when they can make an appointment to register the death.

Where can I register the death

Deaths should be registered at a local register office in the area where the death occurred. If the death occurred in Lincolnshire you can book an appointment online.

If you are not able to register the death in the area where it occurred, you can register by making a declaration at a register office elsewhere in England or Wales. This process will take longer and you will not receive the death certificate or additional documents at the appointment

• if the death occurred in Lincolnshire but you are unable to attend an appointment here, you will need to contact your local registration office to request to register by declaration. Please do this once we have notified you the paperwork is ready. We will send the paperwork to your local office ready for your appointment.
• if the death occurred outside of Lincolnshire and you are unable to attend an appointment where the death occurred, you can attend an appointment locally to register by declaration. You will need to let the register office where the death occurred know that you would like to register in Lincolnshire. They will let you know once the paperwork is ready and will send this to us. Please contact us if you would like to register by declaration and we will support you to do this as we will need to ensure the paperwork is in place for you to attend an appointment.

Who can register a death

The following people are legally allowed to register a death:

• a relative or partner (this is preferred)
• a person present at the death
• a manager of the establishment where the death occurred (for example - care home, hospital)
• a person appointed by and acting on behalf of the deceased person’s family (for example - solicitor)
• the person arranging the funeral (not the funeral director)