If death occurs at home

• Contact a funeral director
• Arrange to collect the doctor’s medical certificate of death (usually from the surgery)
• Take the certificate to the Registrar’s Office (together with the deceased’s medical card and birth certificate, if available) for the area in which the death took place. Alternatively you can register by declaration at any convenient Registrar’s Office, but certificates will not be available as these will have to be posted to you a few days later.
• The Registrar will normally issue a green coloured certificate for you to give to your funeral director who will look after the necessary arrangements for the funeral. The Registrar will also issue a white notification certificate for the DSS. They will also enquire as to the number of certified copies you require for dealing with the finances of the deceased (a fee is payable for each copy).

If the death occurs in hospital

• Contact a funeral director to inform them their services are required
• Collect the certificate from the hospital, then refer to the fourth point above

Note for cremation

Your funeral director will usually liaise directly the with surgery regarding the additional certificate required.