Helpful Guide

What to do after death

Most people are not sure what to do after a bereavement and there are many arrangements and decisions to be made at what is a very difficult time.
The following information is a guide to some of the things that need to be done:

When someone dies in hospital

A Medical Certificate of Death will be issued which you will need to collect along with any personal belongings.
If the deceased is to be cremated then please notify the hospital staff and they can arrange for any additional documentation. Two doctors will sign the Medical Certificate and there will be a charge for this.
Contact us and we will arrange to visit you and discuss the funeral arrangements and to bring the deceased into our care.

When someone dies at home or in a nursing home
The deceased's GP should be the first contact and if satisfied with the cause of death will issue a Medical Certificate.  Sometimes you will be required to collect the Certificate from the local surgery.
Once the doctor has been informed, please contact us and we can arrange to come to your home or pop into our office to make the funeral arrangements and bring the deceased into our care.

If the cause of death is not clear

When someone dies unexpectedly then the coroner will get involved.

The Coroner is a lawyer or doctor and they are responsible for investigating the death.
Contact us as soon as possible and we will help and advise you on the procedures involved.

Registering a death

A death must be registered with the registrar of births and deaths.

If the death has not been referred to the coroner, you should tell the registrar about it as soon as possible.  The death must be registered within 5 days.

If the death has been referred to the coroner, it can't be registered until the registrar has received the coroner's permission to do so.

You will need to make an appointment with the registrar to register the death.

Crawley Register Office
West Sussex County Council
Southgate Avenue
Crawley
RH10 6HG
Tel 01293 651752
Fax 01293 522868

Office hours Monday to Friday 09:30am to 4:30pm

You will need to take the following documentation with you
The Medical Certificate which shows the cause of death
The person's medical care (if possible)
The person's birth and marriage or civil partnership certificates

You should tell the registrar
The date and place the person died
The person's usual address
The person's first name and surname
The person's date and place of birth
The person's occupation and the name and occupation of their husband, wife or civil partner
If the person was getting a pension or benefit from the Government
The date of birth of their surviving husband, wife or civil partner