If you need to arrange an urgent burial, please contact the Register Office on 01709 823542 (option 2) within working hours.
The person contacting the Register Office must be the closest relative by blood, marriage or civil partnership, the partner of the deceased, a personal representative of the deceased or the person causing the burial or cremation. In cases where none of these informants are available, an occupier of the hospital or nursing home may be able to register the death. You will need to register the death by appointment before a burial certificate is issued.
Outside of normal office hours the Registrar must have received the valid Medical Cause of Death Certificate from the Medical Examiner or Coroner’s form by 11am in Winter and 1pm in Summer in order for a burial certificate to be issued.
The Registrar will contact you directly on contact information provided by the Medical Examiner or Coroner’s office to arrange the issue of the burial certificate and to arrange your appointment to register the death after the funeral.
The burial certificate will be issued electronically to the mortuary, funeral director, and appropriate burial authority to allow the burial to go ahead outside of usual business hours. An appointment will also be made for you to complete the death registration inside normal office hours.
The service is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Summer opening hours
Between 1 April and 30 September each year, the out of hours Registrar is available between the hours of 9am and 1pm on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays excluding Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.
The Registrar must have received the valid Medical Cause of Death Certificate from the Medical Examiner or Coroner’s form by 1pm in order for a burial certificate to be issued.
The Registrar will contact you directly on contact information provided by the Medical Examiner or Coroner’s office to arrange the issue of the burial certificate and to arrange your appointment to register the death after the funeral.
Winter opening hours
Between 1 October to 31 March each year, the out of hours Registrar is available between 9am and 11am on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays excluding Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.
Please note: the Registrar must have received the valid Medical Cause of Death Certificate from the Medical Examiner or Coroner’s form by 11am in order for a burial certificate to be issued.
The Registrar will contact you directly on contact information provided by the Medical Examiner or Coroner’s office to arrange the issue of the burial certificate and to arrange your appointment to register the death after the funeral.
