Registering a death

Once we have received the necessary paperwork from the Medical Examiner, the new legal framework requires a death registration to be made within 5 days. We will be in touch with you to make this happen as soon as we possibly can.

Where can I register a death?

A death can be registered by a face to face appointment in the District in which the death occurred. After November 9th 2026, a death can be registered over the telephone, or via an online teams call. Please note, not all Register Offices have to provide all of these services. Please check with each district before making an appointment.

In Telford & Wrekin, after November 9th 2026, face-to-face death registration appointments will continue to be available. We are also planning to introduce remote telephone death registration appointments from December 2026, allowing customers** to complete a death registration by telephone appointment. This will provide greater flexibility while ensuring the same standards of accuracy and legal compliance are maintained. Early next year we will introduce online teams appointments to complete our package.

Please note, please check when booking through our system that you qualify as an informant before making this type of booking.

From 9 September 2024, please can families make contact with the Medical Examiners or Coroner regarding arrangements for issuing MCCDs (Medical Certificate Cause of Death) - as we will no longer be able to help facilitate this part of the process. You will only here from our team once we have the correct paperwork required by law. We will then make an appointment within 5 days to complete the formal registration process. This process will still be by an ‘in-person’ appointment.

Can I pre-register the death?

You cannot currently ‘pre-register’ a death in Telford & Wrekin. However, you can notify us that somebody has passed-away. Please note: it is not mandatory to do this, nor is it a legal requirement; you will still need to attend the Register Office to register the death at a later stage.

In completing the death notification, you will be letting us know of a death that has occurred in Telford & Wrekin.

Please do not notify us of a death that has happened outside of our district, for example in Wolverhampton, Shropshire or Staffordshire.

Once all of the paperwork has been completed by the hospital, Coroner or medical practitioner, we will be in touch with you to make an appointment to register the death.

Notify us of a death in Telford and Wrekin

Who can register a death?

The people who are legally allowed to register a death has changed. Please seek advice from your Medical Examiner, and they will be able to provide you with further information about who will be the informant if you choose to complete a face-to-face death registration appointment.

If you choose to complete a telephone or video call appointment (after November 9th, 2026), you need to know how the changes in legislation will affect your ‘qualification’ as the informant in a registration.

Legislation for remote registrations from this date, state that for a death at home or in a communal establishment, the informant qualifies as a relative or partner of the deceased only if:

• They were present at the death

•  They were in attendance during the last illness

• They are in the district of Telford & Wrekin, at the time of providing the information for the registration

• They are residing in Telford & Wrekin at the time of providing the information for the registration

Where the informant does not qualify as one of the above, it is likely that the alternative qualification to be used will be ‘causing the body to be buried or cremated’.

There are other possible qualifications that could be used. We will update this page when we know more information. Please do call us if you have further questions regarding this.

How do I register a death?

You are able to register a death or make a declaration of particulars in Telford and Wrekin at our Register Office in Wellington, Monday to Friday. All registrations are by appointment only. You should receive a link either by email or via text message to book your appointment with us. Alternatively, if these options are not applicable please wait for our call.

The registration process can take up to 40 minutes to complete. At the end of the appointment, the Registrar will also issue you with a unique number along with some guidance on how to complete the Tell Us Once service - notifying various Government departments of the death - in one simple online submission. You will be advised by the Registrar to submit details to the Tell Us Once service within 28 days.

We will need the following information in order to process the registration:

•  the date and place of death;

• the forename(s) and surname of the deceased and, if the deceased was a woman who had been married, her maiden name;

• the date and place of birth of the deceased;

• the occupation, and if the deceased was married or widowed or had a civil partner, the full name and occupation of their wife or husband;

• the usual address of the deceased;

• if the deceased was married or in a Civil Partnership, the date of birth of the surviving spouse;

• whether the deceased was in receipt of a pension from public funds; for example, if they or their spouse were employed by a Government department or the armed forces;

Documents to bring with you to your appointment:

• the Medical Certificate Cause of Death is now issued by the Medical Examiner;

• birth and marriage certificates are also useful as a checking aid, if readily available;

• it is important to remember that you are not given a death certificate free of charge; any certified copy certificates issued have to be paid for.

We will provide you with the following documents:

•  a certificate for burial or cremation (green form) - this is for you to take to the Funeral Director so that the funeral can take place (in some cases, this will be issued by the Coroner);

• certified death certificates can be purchased from the Registrar at the time of registration. These may be required to deal with such things as solicitors, banks, building societies, insurance policies and probate requirements.

Please note: Only card payments can be taken by the Registration Service. We are unable to take cash payments.