In the unfortunate event that a person has passed away, there are a few things that must be done in the first few days;

• Notify your Surgery of the death
• Medical certificate would then need to be issued by either by your GP, hospital doctor or coroner
• Register the death ideally within five days. You will then receive the necessary documents for the funeral.
• Make the necessary funeral arrangements.

Register the death

If the death has been reported to the coroner, the coroner must give permission before registering the death.

You can register the death if you are a relative, a witness to the death, a hospital administrator or the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors.

You can use the ‘gov.uk website that will guide you through the process.

Arrange the funeral

The funeral can usually only take place after the death is registered. Most people use a funeral director, though you can arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral directors

Choose a funeral director who is a member of one of the following:

• National Association of Funeral Directors
• Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors

These organisations have codes of practice – they must give you a price list when asked.

Some local councils run their own British Humanist Association can also help with non-religious funerals.

Arranging the funeral yourself

Contact the Cemeteries and Crematorium Department of your local council to arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral costs

Funeral costs can include:

• Funeral director fees
• Things the funeral director pays for on your behalf (called ‘disbursements’ or ‘third-party costs’), for example, crematorium or cemetery fees, or a newspaper announcement about the death
• Local authority burial or cremation fees

Funeral directors may list all these costs in their quotes.

For more information, please visit our Bereavement section in our Wellbeing Centre.