Register a death

Booking a death registration

Death registration is available by appointment.

Your appointment will take place at:

Islington Town Hall
Upper Street
London
N1 2UD

Please do not attend Islington Town Hall without an appointment, as we will be unable to see you.

Book appointment

If you need to register a death urgently for an urgent burial within the next 24 hours, please email registrars@islington.gov.uk and a registrar will contact you. You will be asked for evidence of a burial booking within 24 hours.

If you are not able to attend Islington Register Office to register the death because you live far away, then you may go to any register office in England or Wales to register by 'death declaration'.

The registrar will record the relevant information and act as an intermediary, sending the details to Islington by post. It will take up to 10 working days for us to receive your declaration, register the death and post out the paperwork to you.

Please contact your local register office to arrange an appointment for a death declaration. 
Alternatively, you can appoint a representative to register the death on the family’s behalf. The representative must be able to provide the legally required information about the deceased.

Deaths in Islington or the City of London

If the death took place in the London Borough of Islington or the City of London, it has to be registered at Islington Register Office. ‘The City of London’ refers to the area in London known as the Square Mile, and not London as an entire city, please view a map to check. Appointments are available Monday to Friday between 9am and 4pm.

You are legally required to register a death within five days of the date the register office receives the medical certificate from the medical examiner. The death must be registered at the register office in the borough where the death took place.

If there is an investigation into the death, with the Coroner involved, the death may be registered outside of the five days. If the investigation leads to an inquest then the registration will take place once the inquest has been held. The Coroner will contact the family to let them know when they are able to obtain death certificates from the register office.

Deaths outside of Islington and City of London

If the deceased passed away outside London Borough of Islington or the City of London, we can complete a declaration for the register office which covers the area in which the deceased passed away.

You will not be issued with a death certificate or burial or cremation certificate at the declaration because it needs to be posted to the appropriate office for the registration to be completed. The relevant documents will be posted to you by that office after the registration has been completed. 

Book a death declaration appointment

Who can register a death

Qualified informants can register a death. A qualified informant can be:

• a relative of the deceased, including a wife/husband or civil partner
• a partner in an enduring relationship with the deceased
• a person who was present at the death
• the person who is giving instructions to the funeral director to bury or cremate the body
• a matron or manager of an institution, responsible for the client and who knew the circumstances of the death (for deaths within a hospital or public institution)
• a person who found the body (for deaths that occurred outside a hospital or public institution)
• a personal representative appointed by the family

If the informant does not speak or understand English, they need to bring someone with them to the appointment who can translate for them.

Fees

Each copy of the death certificate will cost £12.50, and can be applied for online when booking the appointment, or at the office when you attend the appointment. Please note that payments can only be made by using a physical credit or debit card, and not by contactless payment or ApplePay etc. We are also unable to accept American Express, bank transfer, cash or cheques.

What we will need

• Medical certificate of cause of death - issued by the medical examiner. This will be emailed to the register office by the medical examiner’s office.
• Coroners post mortem form - issued from the coroner. This will be emailed to us by the coroner's office. 

If available, please have the following to refer to in relation to the deceased:

• passports or birth certificates
• marriage or civil partnership certificates (if applicable)

Information we will need

Details of the deceased:

• Date and place of death
• First name, middle names (if applicable), and surname
• Any other names the deceased was otherwise or previously known by
• Maiden name (if applicable)
• Date and place of birth
• Occupation and whether retired or not
• Address

Details of the spouse/civil partner of deceased:

• First name, middle names (if applicable), and surname
• If deceased or not
• Occupation
• If retired or not
• Date of birth

Documents we will issue

• Green certificate for burial or cremation - separate procedures apply where the death has been referred to the Coroner.
• Form for the Department of Work and Pensions
• Unique number to access the Tell Us Once service. Please visit this page for more information on this service or watch a British Sign Language video about this service.
• Death certificate 

Same day burials

We have an on-call service available on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays between 9.30am and 12.30pm.

This service is for the registration of death and issue of a burial certificate for a funeral that is to take place within 24 hours. The on-call registrar will register the death and issue the burial certificate if:

• you can provide confirmation that the burial is to take place within 24 hours
• we have received a correctly completed medical certificate of cause of death from the medical examiner
• the death does not have to be referred to the coroner
• you are qualified to register the death

There is no basis in law for the mortuary or persons holding the body to require sight of the green Certificate for Burial or Cremation in order to release the body. The certificate is not intended for this purpose and will not be issued unless the criteria above are met.

To use this out-of-hours service, please call our contact centre on 020 7527 2000 and they will connect you to a registrar.