Registering A Death
How and where do I register a death?
You can obtain the address of the local registrar from the bottom of this page.
The opening hours of registration offices varies between local authorities and some operate an appointments system. You should therefore check with the relevant local authority before attending an office.
Who can register the death in Scotland?
The following people can register a death:
- Any relative of the person who has died
- Any person present at the death
- The deceased’s Executor or other legal representative, or
- The occupier of the property where the person died, or if there is no such person,
Anyone else who knows the information to be registered.
A simple interview with the Registrar to register the death is carried out at the Register Office.
At the Registrar’s Office:
You should take with you:
- The Medical Certificate issued by the doctor showing the cause of death.
- The deceased’s National Health Service Medical Card.
- The deceased’s birth and marriage certificate.
- Any document concerning a pension or allowance received from the government.
- The deceased national insurance number.
Should these documents not be available, don’t worry the registrar can still proceed to register the death.
The registrar will issue you, free of charge:
- A certificate of registration of death (form 14) which should be handed to the Funeral Director prior to the burial or cremation taking place.
- A Social Security registration or notification of death certificate for use in obtaining or adjusting Social Security benefits. An abbreviated extract (i.e. excluding cause of death and parentage details) of the death entry.
- You can obtain a full extract of the death entry for an additional fee.