Genealogy Chat

This is from the direct.gov website:

Who can register a death:

If the person died in a house or hospital, the death can be registered by:

a relative
someone present at the death
an occupant of the house/official from the hospital
the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors

Deaths that occurred anywhere else can be registered by:

a relative
someone present at the death
the person who found the body
the person in charge of the body
the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors

Most deaths are registered by a relative of the deceased. The registrar would normally only allow one of the other people listed above to do so if there are no relatives available.

Thanks to all of you for your replies, and to Chris for the website - most fascinating!!

Family tree & genealogy is certainly more than just names & dates. It's also about who did what, when & why!

Thanks again,

Marcus

It can be the person who is arranging the funeral. I recently registered the death and arranged the funeral of a resident in the nursing home I manage.

It can be anyone who has the death certificate issued by a doctor,which has to be presented at the register office confirming a death for said person has taken place,,without it you cant register a death,

It can be anyone with authority in a hospital, a social worker if the person does not appear to have relatives- I have the landlord of the house where my step GF was living as the person who registered the death in 1947.

My sister registered my fathers death in 2005 and she was not present at the time of his passing.

The following link gives a summary of who, and under what circumstances, could register a death.

http://home.clara.net/dixons/Certificates/deaths.htm

Chris

I believe it has to be near realative or someone who was present at the death.My sons father died last year and i was not allowed to register his death(we had not been together for a few years)but the friend could as he was present at his house when he had his fatal heart attack.I was told i couldn't as i was not a blood relative and also was not present when he died.
I registered my Grandmother's death and that was allowed,as my mother was unable to face it.
Hope that has answered your question.

Who can legally register a death? Can it be anybody, or does it have to be a family member/next of kin?

My gran has died recently, and my father, who is an only child, is registering her death. This got me thinking as to who can actually do it. (Curiosity has gotten old).

Marcus