Register a death

Sometimes a death will be referred to the Coroner's Office, but usually only if:

• The cause of death is unknown
• The cause of death is unnatural; or
• The deceased was in state detention, for example police custody, at the time of their death.

The police, hospital bereavement services, individual GPs and hospice doctors will refer a death to the Coroner when necessary. They will provide the Coroner with information about the death, the identity of the deceased and their next of kin (if known).

A member of the Coroner's staff will contact the deceased's next of kin in the days following the referral to:

• Update them as to the Coroner's enquiries
• Discuss any concerns they may have in relation to the cause of death; and
• Offer guidance through the Coronial process

In certain cases a doctor may be able to issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death and, following the Coroner making initial enquiries, no further investigations will be required and the relevant paperwork will be issued to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages in the area where the deceased died and the death can be registered.

However, if a doctor cannot say what the likely cause of death was or did not treat the deceased during their last illness, the Coroner will decide as to what investigations, such as a post mortem examination or Coroner's Inquest, are needed and the next of kin will be updated.

For more information please visit: www.gov.uk

The person who registers the death is formally known as the 'the informant'. Only relatives or certain other individuals are qualified by law to register a death. This will also depend on where the death occurred.

Most deaths are registered by a family member or one of the following people:

• a relative of the deceased, present at the death;
• a relative of the deceased, in attendance during the last illness;
• a relative of the deceased, residing or being in the sub-district where the death occurred; in the case of an out of district declaration, the relative is deemed to be in the sub-district where the death took place at the time of giving the information for the declaration;
• a partner of the deceased, 
• a partner of the deceased, present at the death
• a person present at the death;
• the occupier of the house if he/she knew that the death had happened;
• any inmate of the house if he/she knew that the death had happened;or
• the person causing the burial or cremation of the body
• representative of deceased, family friend or solicitor 

Documents

The Registrar will receive the following documents electronically from the Medical Examiner:

• Medical certificate of the cause of death (signed by a doctor) verified by the Medical Examiner

If available, can you please bring to your appointment identification belonging to the person who has died, for example:

• Birth certificate
• Marriage or civil partnership certificate
• NHS medical card
• Utility bill

You should also bring along documents which will prove your identity as well such as:

• Passport
• Driving licence
• Utility bill 
• Bank statement

If you cannot provide any of the documents above, please still attend your appointment.

Information

You will need to tell the registrar:

• The person's full name at time of death
• Any names previously used, including maiden surname
• The person's date and place of birth (town and county if born in the UK and country if born abroad)
• Their last address
• Their occupation
• The full name, date of birth and occupation of a surviving spouse or civil partner
• If they were getting a state pension or any other state benefit

Please check carefully before signing the register to ensure the information recorded in the death register is correct. If any mistakes are made, you will need to apply to the General Register Office (GRO) for any amendments. The amendments, if allowed by the GRO, will be added onto the record as a note in the margin - the original records will not be altered. The GRO charges a fee of £99 for consideration of corrections. 

If English is not your first language and help is needed, a relative or friend may act as an interpreter - please let us know if this is the case so that we allow extra time for the appointment.

After a death has been registered, the registrar will issue:

• A certificate for burial or cremation (green form), giving permission for the body to be buried or to apply for the body to be cremated will be sent by the registrar to the relevant burial or cremation authority also a white form identifying medically implanted devices if applicable.  In cases when the Coroner is involved the Coroner will issue the paperwork directly to the Funeral Director.
• Certified copies of the death registration (death certificate) - please note there is a fee of £12.50 per copy of certificate
• A Tell Us Once registration form, quoting a unique reference number to use if you would like to use the Tell Us Once service New TUO BSL Video Link

The video below shows how to use the 'Tell Us Once' service.

You can buy copies of certificates for births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships which took place in St.Helens.

Apply

St Helens Register Office is not liable for any certificates lost or delayed in the post, please contact Royal Mail.

Telephone: 01744 676789

Email: registryoffice@sthelens.gov.uk

You do not need to to make an appointment to register a death yourself, the register office will ring the next of kin as supplied by the Medical Examiner.

GP surgeries will send any paperwork relating to the death, by email to the Medical Examiner's Office and this will include the details of the next of kin.

You will be contacted by our Registrars team to arrange your appointment once the medical certificate of cause of death has been verified by the Medical Examiner and received by the Register Office, you then have 5 days to register the death.

Appointment times are between the hours of 9.00am and 4.00pm, Monday to Friday.

For more information about dealing with a death - please visit our 'What to do when someone dies' section

Please use Life Ledger a free to use service to close, freeze or transfer all your loved one's accounts from one place.

Please use for help and advice Funeral Experts they deliver comprehensive, free and unbiased support for both funeral planning and bereavement, offering personalised support to find suitable funeral directors whilst providing compassionate practical and emotional support, all through one accessible service.

From 22nd April 2025

Tell Us Once (TUO) Registrars can complete the enrichment of the 'Tell Us Once' process only when registering a death at St Helens Register Office.

What you need at your appointment to complete the Tell Us Once

The Tell Us Once reference number.

You'll also need the following details of the person who died:

• surname
• date they died
• name, address and contact details of the person or company dealing with their estate (property, belongings and money), known as their 'executor' or 'administrator'
• if there's a surviving spouse or civil partner, the name, address, telephone number and the National Insurance number or date of birth of the spouse or civil partner
• if there's no surviving spouse or civil partner or their spouse or civil partner is not able to deal with their affairs, the name and address of their next of kin
• if they died in a hospital, nursing home, care home or hospice, the name and address of that institution - you'll also be asked if the stay was for 28 days or more

You may also need:

• if they had a passport, their passport number and town of birth
• if they had a driving licence, their driving licence number
• if they owned any vehicles, the vehicle registration numbers
• if they were paying Council Tax or getting services from their local council, such as Housing Benefit payments, the name of their local council and which services they were getting
• if they had a Blue Badge, their Blue Badge number if you know it
• if they were getting any benefits, tax credits or State Pension, information about which ones they were getting
• if they were getting money from an Armed Forces Pension or Compensation Scheme, details of that scheme
• if they were getting money or paying into public sector pension schemes, details of those schemes

You'll also need their National Insurance number if they were getting money or paying into any of the following pension schemes:

• NHS Pensions for NHS staff in England and Wales
• Scottish Public Pension Agency schemes for NHS staff, teachers, police and firefighters in Scotland
• Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme
• Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS)

Organisations Tell Us Once will contact

Tell Us Once will notify:

• HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) - to deal with personal tax and to cancel benefits and credits, for example Child Benefit and tax credits
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - to cancel benefits and entitlements, for example Universal Credit or State Pension
• Passport Office - to cancel a British passport
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) - to cancel a licence, remove the person as the keeper of up to 5 vehicles and end the vehicle tax
• the local council - to cancel Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction (sometimes called Council Tax Support), a Blue Badge, inform council housing services and remove the person from the electoral register
• Veterans UK - to cancel or update Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments
• Social Security Scotland - to cancel benefits and entitlements from the Scottish Government, for example Scottish Child Payment

HMRC and DWP will contact you about the tax, benefits and entitlements of the person who died.

Tell Us Once will also contact some public sector pension schemes so that they cancel future pension payments. They'll notify:

• Armed Forces Pension Scheme
• NHS Pensions for NHS staff in England and Wales
• Scottish Public Pension Agency schemes for NHS staff, teachers, police and firefighters in Scotland
• Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme
• Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS)