Register a death

Register a death in Central Bedfordshire

When you need to register a death

You must register a death within 5 days (including weekends) unless the coroner is investigating the circumstances.

How to register a death

It is a legal requirement to register a death or stillbirth in person with the registrar.

In the first instance, please call 0300 300 8089 and give your details to the operative who will pass them onto a registration officer. Once all the relevant medical paperwork has been received from the doctor, and coroner if applicable, you will either receive a link via email or SMS to be able to book the appointment online, or our Business Support officer will be in contact by phone to book you an appointment to complete the registration.

Please note: Only 2 persons will be admitted to the appointment.

If you live outside Central Bedfordshire

If the death occurred in Central Bedfordshire, but you live elsewhere, you can register the death by making a declaration to any registrar of births and deaths in England or Wales. The details will be forwarded to us and we'll record the death. Once it's registered with us, you can apply to us for the death certificate.

Who can register a death?

A relative must register the death (unless the deceased has no relatives). This means a person related to the deceased by blood, marriage, civil partnership or by legal adoption.

If there are no relatives

You can only register if one of the following applies to you:

  • you were there at the time of death
  • you are an administrator from the hospital (if the person died in hospital) or you live at the place where the person died
  • you are in charge of making funeral arrangements

Purchase of Death Certificates

Once your appointment to register the death has been made, you may pre-order your certificates online via certificates for births, marriages, deaths or civil partnerships. Your pre-ordered certificates will be issued to you at the end of the death registration appointment. If you would prefer to order your certificates after the death has been registered, these can either be collected from our Ampthill office during office opening hours or can be posted to your home address.