In the unfortunate event that a person has passed away, there are three things that must be done in the first few days;
- A Medical Certificate of Cause of Death(MCCD) must be issued by a GP that has seen the patient whilst alive, this is then sent to the Medical Examiner, along with medical records of the deceased and contact details of the next of kin (NOK). The Medical Examiner will contact the next of kin, to have a chat about what the doctor has put as cause of death and to ask if they have anything they wish to add or inform the M.E about that they think may be relevant. Once the M.E is satisfied, they countersign the MCCD and send on to the Registrar and they will let the NOK know this has been done, as they will now have to ...
- Register the death within 5 days of the Registrar receiving the MCCD.
- You will then receive the necessary documents needed for the funeral arragements to be made/
Register the death
If the death has been reported to the coroner they 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 Register a death - GOV.UK page on 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’s a member of one of the following:
These organisations have codes of practice - they must give you a price list when asked.
Some local councils run their own for example for non-religious burials. The British Humanist Association can also help with non-religious funerals.
Arranging the funeral yourself
You may find some information here Cemetery and Crematorium - Preston City Council and also Arranging a funeral - Citizens Advice
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.