Register a death

Book a death registration

Death registration is available by appointment.

Your appointment will take place at:

Islington Town Hall
Upper Street
London
N1 2UD

Do not attend Islington Town Hall without an appointment, as we will not be able to see you.

Book appointment

If you need to register a death for an urgent burial within the next 24 hours, email registrars@islington.gov.uk and we will contact you. We will ask you for proof of a burial booking within 24 hours. 

Deaths in Islington or the City of London

If the death took place in the London Borough of Islington or the City of London, it has to be registered by the Islington Register Office. City of London is the area known as the Square Mile only. Check a map to make sure. You can book appointments from Monday to Friday between 9am and 4pm.

You are legally required to register a death within 5 days of the date the register office receives the medical certificate from the medical examiner.

If there is an investigation into the death, with the coroner involved, the death may be registered outside of the 5 days. If the investigation leads to an inquest then the registration will take place after the inquest. The coroner will contact you when you can collect death certificates from the register office.

Deaths outside of Islington and City of London

If the death took place outside London Borough of Islington or the City of London, we can complete a declaration for the register office that covers that area.

It may be easier and quicker to contact the register office where the death occurred and register by phone.

If you choose to make an appointment for a declaration of death, you will not be issued with a death certificate or burial or cremation certificate straight away. This is because it needs to be posted to the correct office for the registration to be completed. That office will post the relevant documents to you after the registration has been completed.

Book a death declaration appointment

Who can register a death

Qualified informants can register a death. A qualified informant can be:

• a relative of the deceased, including a wife, husband or civil partner
• a partner who was in a long-term relationship with the deceased before they passed
• a person who was present at the death
• the person who is giving instructions to the funeral director to bury or cremate the body
• a matron or manager of an institution responsible for the client and who knew the circumstances of the death (for deaths within a hospital or public institution)
• a person who found the body (for deaths that occurred outside a hospital or public institution)
• a personal representative appointed by the family

If the informant does not speak or understand English, they need to bring someone with them to the appointment who can translate for them.

Fees

Each copy of the death certificate costs £12.50.

You can apply for copies online when booking the appointment or at the office when you attend the appointment.

You can only pay with a physical credit or debit card. We cannot accept a digital card on a phone or by ApplePay and similar methods. We cannot take American Express, a bank transfer, cash or cheques.

What we will need

We will need:

• a medical certificate of cause of death, issued by the medical examiner - the medical examiner’s office emails this to us
• Coroners post mortem form, issued by the coroner - the coroner's office emails this to us 

If available, have the following ready in relation to the deceased:

• passports or birth certificates
• marriage or civil partnership certificates

Information we will need

Details of the deceased including:

• date and place of death
• first name, middle names (if they had them) and surname
• any other names the deceased was otherwise or previously known by
• maiden name (if they had one)
• date and place of birth
• occupation and whether retired or not
• address

Details of the spouse or civil partner of deceased including:

• first name, middle names (if they have or had them), and surname
• if deceased or not
• occupation
• if retired or not
• date of birth

Documents we will issue

• Green certificate for burial or cremation - separate procedures apply where the death has been referred to the coroner.
• Form for the Department of Work and Pensions
• Unique number to access the Tell Us Once service. Visit this page for more information or watch a British Sign Language video about this service.
• Death certificate.

Same day burials

We have an on-call service available on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays between 9:30am and 12:30pm.

This service is for the registration of death and issue of a burial certificate for a funeral that will take place within 24 hours. We will register the death and issue the burial certificate if:

• you can show confirmation that the burial will take place within 24 hours
• we have received a correctly completed medical certificate of cause of death from the medical examiner
• the death does not have to be referred to the coroner
• you are qualified to register the death

There is no basis in law for the mortuary or persons holding the body to see the green certificate for burial or cremation to release the body. The certificate is not for this purpose and we will not issue it unless all the criteria have been met.

To use this out-of-hours service, call 020 7527 2000 and ask for a registrar.