Key announcements

Due to maintenance, some of our online forms and systems will be unavailable from 6:00am on Saturday 30 March to 7:00am on Monday 1 April. We are sorry for any inconvenience. To find out more about the section 114 notice, visit our section 114 page

Registering a death at short notice

Out of Hours Saturday and Bank Holiday Service

This service is for arranging burials at short notice for deaths that occurred in the Birmingham City Council area only. If the death occurred elsewhere, you must contact the Register Office for that council area.

This service is only available on a Saturday or Bank Holiday.

Once a hospital or GP has completed the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD), they will scan it directly to the Register Office.

The MCCD will not be issued if the cause of death has been referred to the Coroner for investigation.

What you need to do

Fill in the pre-registration of death form to tell us who has died and who the nominated relative is so we are able to contact you.

The nominated relative can then phone the Out of Hours Service on 07850 142609 (available Saturdays 10am to 3pm and bank holidays 10am to 12:30pm) to confirm that all documents have been received, and to make an appointment.

What happens next

We will check that all documents have been received and are correct. We will then ask you to attend the Register Office so we can scan the 'green form' (permission for burial) directly to the funeral director of your choice.

If an MCCD has not been received by the Register Office, the ‘green form’ cannot be issued to the Funeral Director.

Graves available for short notice burials

Sutton New Hall Cemetery operates a burial service every day except for Christmas Day. Burial times vary throughout the year. New earth and concrete liners are available.

A minimum of three hours’ notice is required.

Quinton Cemetery operates a burial service Monday to Friday. Burial times vary throughout the year. New Earth graves are available.

A minimum of 4 hours notice is required.

Due to the need for burials to take place at very short notice, it is not possible to reserve graves within the current Muslim burial areas at Quinton and Sutton New Hall Cemeteries.

After the burial has taken place

You will need to arrange another appointment with us to register the death and buy death certificates (£11 each) for financial and legal purposes.


Page last updated: 26 February 2024

rating button