Our online forms and systems

Some of our forms and systems will be offline between 7:00pm on Monday 18 March and 7:00am on Tuesday 19 March. Forms or payments submitted or made by phone after 8:30pm may not be received. We are sorry for any inconvenience.

Register the death

You should register a death with us if it happens in the Birmingham City Council area. If it has happened in a different council area, you should contact that council. Find your council.

Pre-registration of death form

The pre-registration of death form is the initial contact with us to tell us someone has died. Filling this in helps you give us the information we will need to complete the registration of death in an easy way. We will confirm the details you provide at the appointment to register the death.

The form should be completed by one of these people:

  • a relative by blood, marriage or adoption of the person who died
  • a person who is not related but was present at the death
  • a person who is arranging the funeral
  • a care home manager

Appointment to register the death in person

When a doctor issues a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death they share it with us, along with contact details for next of kin or the person reporting the death. If you have not completed the pre-registration of death form we will contact you using the details they provide.

When we have the MCCD, and your pre-registration form if you completed it, we will send you a link by email or text to book an appointment at the Birmingham Register Office.

Check your junk or spam folders as the email link may go into these folders. If you do not have an email address or a mobile phone, we will call you on the contact number that we have been given.

When you receive your email or text to book an appointment, you can do this on our appointment booking system.

We are currently very busy, but we will contact you as soon as possible. You must not arrange a date for the funeral until you have an appointment to register the death.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing and would like support during the appointment, email us at roregistrations@birmingham.gov.uk.

At the appointment we will:

  • complete the registration of death
  • ask you how many death certificates you want to buy

Death certificates cost £11 each. You can only pay by debit or credit card. It is a good idea to buy several copies of the death certificate. You can buy more copies in the future if you find you need them. They will cost £11 each and you will have to pay for postage.

After registration is complete

We will send your funeral director a Certificate for Burial or Cremation (green form). This tells them that the funeral can happen. If you have chosen not to have a funeral director, you can hold the funeral yourself at this point.

When the coroner is involved

Coroners are officers who investigate deaths that are referred to them. When a death is unexpected or the cause of death is unclear it will be referred to the coroner.

The death cannot be registered until the coroner has established a cause of death. Complete this enquiry form for coroner referral so that we can contact you to discuss what happens next.

If the Coroner decides to open an Inquest they may issue an interim certificate, this will allow you to use the Tell Us Once service, see below.

If the process is taking a long time, you may want to hold a memorial service before the body is released.

There is further information on what happens when a death is reported to a coroner on GOV.UK.

Registering a death at short notice – Monday to Friday

You should complete the pre-registration of death form.

We will contact you to offer you the first available appointment to register the death. This is usually the same day or the next working day.

When you attend the appointment, you will get the relevant funeral paperwork.

On Saturdays and bank holidays you should contact our out-of-hours bereavement team

Tell Us Once service

Tell Us Once is a government service that lets you tell various government departments that someone has died. It means you do not have to contact all the departments one at a time.

At your appointment to register the death, we will give you a reference to use this service.

Use the Tell Us Once service


Page last updated: 17 January 2024

rating button