Deaths

Registering a death

When someone has died

When a death occurs it is a difficult time for everyone. As well as coping with bereavement, you are also faced with informing a large number of council and government departments. This can be very distressing and time consuming as you will often have to tell different departments the same information.

• Bereavement Service

  Enfield Registration Service is working with other Government departments to offer you a bereavement service which we hope will make things easier for you. This new service means you tell us who you wish to notify and we will advise these departments on your behalf.

  The registrar will be able to tell you if this service is available to you.

  Here is a list of the departments we may be able to notify on your behalf:

  • Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
  • The Pension Service
  • Disability and Carers Service
  • Jobcentre Plus
  • HM Revenue and Customs
  • Child benefit
  • Tax Credits
  • Identity and passport service (IPS)
  • Housing benefit
  • Council Tax benefit
  • Libraries
  • Blue Badges
  • Adult services
  • Children's services
  • Electoral services
  • DVLA
  • Overseas Health Team
  • Armed Forces
  • HM Tax Office

  There are two ways you can use this service -

  In person - after you have registered the death, the registrar can do this for you immediately. If you want to tell the passport service or DVLA, you will need to bring the deceased person's passport and driving licence number with you - but don't worry if you don't have these as we can still tell all the other council and government departments for you.

  By telephone - after you have registered the death, you will be given a special reference number if you wish to use the telephone service. This service is run by the Department for Work and Pensions.

• What do I do after a death?

  In an emergency situation, please telephone 999 and ask the operator for the ambulance and police services; or you can telephone the deceased's own General Practitioner (GP).

  The deceased may be taken to hospital. The doctor at the hospital will advise you what to do. They will give you a medical certificate or may refer to the Coroner.

  If you have contacted the GP, they may decide that they need to see the deceased to enable them to give you a medical certificate. Normally the doctor can issue this certificate if there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and the doctor has seen them during their last illness.

• How do I contact the Coroner?

  You don't usually need to contact the Coroner as the GP or hospital will do this for you.

  However, the telephone number is 020 8447 7680

  Unfortunately, the Coroner does not usually undertake post mortems at the weekend. This means that you may not be able to contact the Coroner until Monday morning.

• What happens if the Coroner is contacted?

  The Coroner will decide what to do. He may need to carry out a post mortem or there may need to be an inquest. The death can be registered by a relative once the Coroner has issued his certificate. This is usually sent directly to the register office for you.

• I have a medical certificate, what do I do next?

  You should now make arrangements to register the death.

• How do I register a death?

  If someone dies within the London Borough of Enfield, the death must be registered with us within 5days unless a coroner is involved.

  You will need to book an appointment to register a death.

  Please telephone 020 8379 8501 to book a timeslot. Please arrive 5mins before your allocated time.

  If you arrive after your allocated timeslot, you will be asked to re-book for another time.

  There will be a maximum number of appointments available each day. It takes approximately 40minutes to register a death. 

• What do I do if a death happens at a weekend?

   You cannot register a death on a Saturday or Sunday.

  You will need to obtain the Medical Certificate from the doctor or hospital and telephone 020 8379 8501 Monday morning to make an appointment to register the death.

• I need to bury my relative on a Sunday
  (or bank holiday) for religious reasons. What do I do?

  Regretably, we do not offer an out of hours service at present, although this is under review. You will need to obtain the Medical Certificate from the doctor or hospital and telephone 020 8379 8501 on Monday morning to make an appointment to register the death.   

• Can I still register if the death did not happen in
  Enfield?

  If you wish to register with us, but the death did not occur within the London Borough of Enfield, you can make a Declaration. There is no fee for making a Declaration.

  The registrar will forward the Declaration to the correct register office for you. However, we cannot give you permission for the funeral, or any other certificates.

  Upon receipt of the Declaration, the receiving office will issue the required documents and certificates to you by post. Please bring a chequebook or postal orders to pay for your certificates, as cash cannot be sent with your Declaration for security reasons.

  This method of registration can make things easier for you if you live in Enfield and your loved one died a long distance away - but bear in mind that the whole process takes some extra time to complete.

• Who can register a death?

  •  A relative of the deceased;

  If there are no relatives who can register:

  • An adult who was present at the death; or
  • The person responsible for arranging the funeral ( but not the undertaker)

• What information do I need to register a death?

  You will need to give us the following details:

  • A valid medical cause of death certificate issued by the doctor or Coroner.
  • Date and place of death;
  • Full name of the person who has died;
  • Maiden surname of a woman if she has been married;
  • Date and place of birth of the person who has died;
  • Their occupation;
  • If married - the full name and occupation of their husband or wife. This is required even if they are also deceased;
  • If in a Civil Partnership - the full name and occupation of the other Civil Partner. This is required even if they are also deceased.
  • The address of the person who has died;
  • Whether the person had a pension or other benefits from the Government;
  • Date of birth of spouse if married;
  • Date of birth of Civil Partner if in a Civil Partnership; and
  • National Health Service Number (if available).

• Is there a fee for this service?

  There is no charge for registering a death. You will be given a certificate to give to your undertaker and for the Department of Social Security. You may buy as many death certificates as you need. They cost £3.50 each on the day you register. After this certificates cost £9 each. We accept payment by cash or with a credit or debit card.