What to do when someone dies in the UK

The very first step is for the death to be formally verified by a medical professional. If the person died in hospital or a care home, staff there will arrange this. If they died at home, call their GP or NHS 111 (or 999 if the death was sudden or unexpected).

Once the death is verified, you can contact a funeral director. They can collect the person and hold them while you take time to register the death and plan the funeral, there is no rush to make funeral decisions in the first day or two.

If the death was sudden, unexpected, or unexplained, it may be referred to the coroner (or to the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland). This can delay registration by a few days and is common, it doesn't mean anything is "wrong".

At the same time, try to:

• •Tell close family
• •Secure the home, valuables, any pets and dependants
• •Locate the will, passport, bank cards, recent letters and insurance documents if you can

To see how the first day fits with everything after it, open the death admin timeline, it lays out what happens in what order for England, Wales and Scotland.

In England and Wales the death must be registered within 5 days of the medical examiner's office telling you the certificate has gone to the registrar. The clock does not start on the day of the death. In Scotland it is 8 days from the death, and in Northern Ireland 5 days from the death. If a coroner or procurator fiscal is involved, you register once they release the death. Use our register office finder to find the right council.

Since September 2024, most deaths in England and Wales are first reviewed by an NHS medical examiner. In many areas the register office will contact you to arrange the appointment once paperwork is ready, you may not need to book yourself.

At the appointment, take what you know:

• •Full name and any previous names
• •Date and place of birth
• •Last address and occupation
• •Marital or civil partnership status
• •NHS number, if you have it

You'll be given:

• •The death certificate, order several certified copies (most providers want originals)
• •The paperwork for burial or cremation
• •A reference for the Tell Us Once service

The admin timeline shows what usually follows registration, week by week.

The fastest way to handle government bodies is the free Tell Us Once service, which notifies HMRC, DWP, DVLA, the Passport Office and the local council in one go.

Tell Us Once doesn't cover private companies. You'll still need to contact banks, mortgage providers, utility companies, insurers, employers and any private pensions, but you don't have to do it one at a time. Many UK banks accept a single submission via the Death Notification Service, and our provider directory has the official bereavement contact for hundreds of UK companies.

The goal in this first month is to:

• •Stop ongoing payments that shouldn't continue
• •Prevent fraud and identity theft
• •Keep essential cover running (home insurance, utilities)
• •Avoid cancelling direct debits early, most providers transfer or pause them as part of bereavement

Most estates that include property or significant assets need a grant. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland this is called probate (or Letters of Administration if there's no will). In Scotland it's called Confirmation.

Our probate checker walks through whether a grant is likely to be needed in your situation.

You'll typically need to:

• •Value the estate (assets minus debts)
• •Complete an inheritance tax form (even if no tax is due, most estates are below the £325,000 threshold)
• •Apply for the grant
• •Collect assets, pay debts and tax, then distribute the remainder to beneficiaries

Most estates take 6–12 months from start to finish. More complex ones, overseas assets, businesses, disputed wills, take longer.

For an expected death, call the GP or NHS 111. They will arrange for a doctor to verify the death. For an unexpected or sudden death, call 999. The person cannot be moved until a doctor has verified the death, even by a funeral director.

If the death is referred to the coroner, the funeral director can usually still collect the person once the coroner gives permission.

Hospital staff will handle medical certification and contact the bereavement office, who guide you through what's next. They will tell you when the medical examiner has reviewed the case and when you can register the death.

You can choose your own funeral director at any point, the hospital can hold the person until you're ready.

Care home staff will contact a GP or the on-call doctor to verify the death and inform the bereavement office. They'll usually contact the family's chosen funeral director on your behalf if you ask them to.

You'll also need to arrange collection of personal belongings and settle the final care-home invoice, usually paid from the estate later.

A coroner's referral is common and doesn't mean anything is wrong, it just means the death needs a brief review (sudden, unexpected, or no recent medical contact). In Scotland the equivalent is the Procurator Fiscal.

Registration is paused until the coroner releases the paperwork, which usually takes a few days. The funeral director can still collect the person once permission is given.

The process in Scotland is similar but differs in two important ways:

• •You have 8 days from the death to register (England and Wales count 5 days from the medical examiner's call), and you can register at any Scottish register office, not just where the death occurred.
• •There's no probate. The Scottish equivalent is Confirmation, granted by the Sheriff Court. Spouses and children may also have automatic Legal Rights to a share of the estate, even if the will says otherwise.

See our Scotland admin timeline for the full picture.