What to do after someone dies

There are 3 things you must do in the first few days after someone dies.

1. Get a medical certificate from a GP or hospital doctor. You’ll need this to register the death.

2. Register the death within 5 days (8 days in Scotland). You’ll then get the documents you need for the funeral.

3. Arrange the funeral - you can use a funeral director or arrange it yourself.

You may be able to use the Tell Us Once service to report a death to most government organisations in one go.

You don’t need to deal with the will, money and property straight away.

If the death has been reported to a coroner (Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) you can’t register the death until the coroner gives permission.