Register a death that happened in Manchester
You can register a death if you are:
- a relative of the deceased;
or, if there are no relatives,
- the person arranging the funeral; or
- someone who was present at the death; or
- the occupier, matron or owner of a nursing home or the hospital administrator of the premises where the death occurred
You will need to register the death in person, at our city centre office, but you will need to make an appointment first. Information on how to book your appointment can be found at the bottom of this page.
What you need to bring to your appointment
When you attend your appointment, you must have a medical certificate of cause of death issued by the doctor or hospital. You'll also need to know their full name as well as the place and date of death.
It would also be helpful if you could tell the registrar:
- any names previously used, eg maiden name
- the person’s date and place of birth
- their last address
- their occupation
- the full name, date of birth and occupation of a surviving or late spouse or civil partner
- whether they were getting a State Pension or any other benefits
You should also take supporting documents that show your name and address (eg passport, driving licence, utility bill) and the deceased's name and address, but you can still register a death without them. The registrar will use these documents to improve the quality of the information recorded in the registration.
You will be asked to sign, to confirm that the information recorded is correct. Please ensure that you check the entry carefully, before signing, as once you have signed, any mistakes can only be corrected if you pay a significant fee. (As of 1 November 2017)
Buying death certificates
There is no 'original' certificate. If you need certified copies of the register entry, to deal with the estate of the deceased, you can buy them from the registrar for £4.00 each, at the time of registration.
If you don't buy enough certificates at the time you register, you can still buy further copies at a later date but these will cost more.
Booking your appointment.
You can't book an appointment online in certain circumstances. Phone us instead if:
- the death is being investigated by the coroner
- you are registering the death of somebody under the age of 18
- you need to bury the deceased within 24 hours of death
Otherwise...