Register a death

Registering a death

All death registrations are face-to-face appointments at the Register Office. The number of persons allowed to attend the appointment is two customers (plus an interpreter, if applicable). This means the Informant plus one (for support). For larger families you will need to decide who is attending with the informant before arriving at the offices.

All deaths must be registered within five days (unless the coroner is involved).

All medical certificates of cause of death (MCCD) will be electronically scanned directly to us from the GP surgery or Hospital. You should not receive the original paperwork in any case. The GP Surgery, Hospital or Coroners’ office will advise you when they have scanned the MCCD, or post-mortem paperwork, to us so that you can book an appointment online to attend our offices at 6a Bugle Street, Southampton, SO14 2AJ.

You can contact the office regarding death enquiries on deathregistrations@southampton.gov.uk

Who can register a death?

You can register the death if you are:

A relative
Someone who was present at the death
An administrator at the hospital
The person making the arrangements with the funeral directors

Register a death in Southampton

Deaths are required by law to be registered within five days (including Weekends and Bank Holidays) in the district where they occur, unless the death has been referred to the coroner. This therefore, may not be the district where the person lived.

If the death you wish to register occurred at one of the following locations you should register the death with Southampton Register Office:

Southampton General Hospital
Royal South Hants Hospital
Spire Southampton Hospital
A death occurred at a home address within the Southampton City Council boundary. This is essentially postcode areas SO14–SO19. However, there are some exceptions, so please check with the local authority of the area where you should register the death

All appointments to register a death are face to face at the register office. The number of persons allowed to attend the appointment is two customers (plus an interpreter, if applicable). This means the Informant plus one (for support). For larger families you will need to decide who is attending with the informant before arriving at the offices.

Please remember to ensure the hospital or GP surgery has electronically sent us the medical certificate or the Coroner has confirmed they have sent us the documentation before you book your appointment to register the death.

Should you book an appointment and we do not have the relevant paperwork, we will have to cancel your appointment (this may be with minimal notification) and you will not be able to book another appointment until we advise you by email that we have all the paperwork required.

Register a death in Hampshire

If the death occurred at one of the locations listed below you will need to register the death in the Hampshire registration district:

Countess Mountbatten House, West End
Hythe
Totton
Eastleigh
Royal County Hospital, Winchester

A death registration appointment lasts approximately 30 minutes.

If you are not able to register the death in the town it occurred you can make a declaration of the facts at any Register Office in England or Wales. Using this process may delay the funeral arrangements. There is no charge for registering a death by declaration at another office.

What documents you will need to register a death

If available, it is useful to take the deceased person's:

Birth certificate
Proof of current address
Driving licence
Marriage or civil partnership certificate
NHS medical card
Passport
It will also help if you can take supporting documents that show your name and address

What the registrar will need to know to

You will need to be able to tell the registrar details of the deceased's:

Full name at the time of death
Names previously used, for example, maiden name
Date and place of birth
Last address
Occupation
Full name, date of birth and occupation of any surviving or late spouse or civil partner
State pension or any pension from Government funds such as Civil Service pension, if applicable

During the registration we will also set up the Tell Us Once service for you, which reports a death to most government organisations in one go.

Documents that are issued

After the Registration is complete, the following documents will be issued to you:

Any Death Certificates that you need to purchase that you require for notifying such businesses as banks, solicitors, and insurance companies at the appointment. The current statutory fee is £11.00 per certificate. Payment can be made by debit/credit card only. If you need additional certificates, you can order them online after the registration
Tell Us Once reference number that deals with any central government or local government departments, e.g. passport, council tax, name on electoral roll. For further information please see What to do after someone dies: Tell Us Once
The Certificate for Burial or Cremation (the green form) will be scanned electronically, directly to the Funeral Directors and the place of burial or cremation. This green form will not be given to you directly. In some cases, the Coroner may have already issued the necessary certificate before the registration

Customer survey

After attending your appointment please fill in our customer survey. We are always interested in your feedback and ideas and appreciate your comments.

Complete your feedback survey

Further information

Further information on registering a death and wills, probate and inheritance is available on the GOV.UK website. Register with the Deceased Preference Service to stop any mail.

Other services of interest

Southampton Crematorium, burial grounds, book of remembrance and memorials
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Macmillan support at Central Library