Death Certificates

martindow

A family member has recently died and we now need to register the death.  Can anyone do this, as the widow and close members of the family don't feel able to visit the registry office?

When I registered a death about 15 years ago you could get duplicate copies of the certificate relatively cheaply from the registry office - if you got some later they were more expensive.  Is this still the case?  On line I can only see reference to paying £11 per copy.

shiraz99

Only close relatives or certain others, for example a person who was present at their death, the occupier of the house or owner of the premises, if it was in a hospital, for example,  then they can do it.

Are you sure they will have to visit the registry office, a lot are done over the phone at the moment. You'll be given the chance to get copies at the time but you can order more later, some councils will charge more for this, others, like mine charged the same either way.

scoot65

Yes, they're £11 per certificate now. (used to be £4 in my area). I read a few months ago that an original death certificate can be taken to a solicitor and they can make a 'certified copy' which I read was about £5.

RAS

You need to contact the local registrar, as some may have different rules. It should be done within 5 days. I suspect documents are still being sent to the registrar by hospital etc.

At minimum, they will need to book an appointment but may be limited to one or two informants and required to wear masks and social distance.

kipsterno1

The best place to check is the website for the local authority area where the death will be registered. They should have up to date information of their current procedure for reporting. There should also be guidance on who can provide the information. Unfortunately all certificates are now £11 each but I found that I did not need many as most of the organisations I had to inform are now accepting an electronic copy uploaded to their records.

gettingtheresometime

I only got one copy of my husband's death certificate and have had no issues by doing so. Most organisations now let you up load a copy so by removing the need for buying multiple copies imo

JGB1955

I bought 4 death certificates when my father died.  I could probably have done with only 2.  I just kept a spreadsheet detailing who I had sent them to, and when they were returned.

martindow

Thank you everyone for your kind and helpful replies.  The Hackney web site is very informative and we have an appointment booked for tomorrow - they reverted to requiring in person sessions a couple of weeks ago.  Duplicate certificates on the day of registration are £4 each as opposed to the normal price of £10.

Thanks again for all of the help and the suggestion of going to the local authority web site was a useful one.

kipsterno1

martindow said:
Duplicate certificates on the day of registration are £4 each as opposed to the normal price of £10.

Are you sure about the cost? It is a national standard cost for certificates and this is what is on Hackney's website, 

By continuing to book a death registration online, you will be required to make payment for certificates by a credit or debit card (excluding American Express). The certificates will be issued to you once the registration has taken place.

No certificates are issued free of charge. Each certificate is charged at the statutory fee of £11 each.

martindow

kipsterno1 said:

martindow said:
Duplicate certificates on the day of registration are £4 each as opposed to the normal price of £10.

Are you sure about the cost? It is a national standard cost for certificates and this is what is on Hackney's website, 

By continuing to book a death registration online, you will be required to make payment for certificates by a credit or debit card (excluding American Express). The certificates will be issued to you once the registration has taken place.

No certificates are issued free of charge. Each certificate is charged at the statutory fee of £11 each.

Thanks kispter - you're right.  I'm not sure where I saw the £4 figure, but it is definitely now £11 as you say.

Brie

I suspect a solicitor will charge more than £5 to certify.  I needed some more complicated things certified and as I recall the final bill was over £100 but that included completing a identification document.

Some banks will certify for free - particularly if it's needed for themselves.  Post office charge has gone up to £12.75 - bit of a jump as it was only £7 about 4 years back.  But that is for up to 3 copies or 3 items.

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/identity/document-certification

And I just got my employer to certify copies of both my and my husband's passports.  Free obviously.