Important information →
The Registrars team will contact a next of kin to arrange an appointment for them to attend the register office to register the death. There is no requirement for you to contact us.
After a death the Attending Practitioner (AP) will notify the Medical Examiner (ME) of the death and provide the Medical Examiner with a record of the deceased’s medical history and a proposed cause of death. The Medical Examiner will review this information. The Medical Examiner will then contact the family by telephone to discuss the proposed cause of death and the care and treatment received. The Medical Examiner, following liaison with the Attending Practitioner, will then issue the Medical Certificate Cause of Death (MCCD) and send an electronic copy, along with contact details for the next of kin to the Registrars team.
If the death has been reported to the coroner, they will produce all the relevant documentation and send directly to the Registrars team, along with next of kin details. The Registrars team will only contact the next of kin to book an appointment for the death registration, once all the required documentation relating to the death has been received from the Medical Examiner and/or coroner.
Who can register a death?
The death can be registered by:
- A relative – someone who is related by blood or marriage
- Partner of the deceased
- Someone present at the death
- Someone arranging the funeral
- Personal Representative of the deceased – a person appointed by and acting on behalf of the family e.g. a solicitor, family friend, funeral director.
Where can I register a death?
To complete a death registration, you can attend:
- Wigan Life Centre, North Site, The Wiend, Wigan, WN1 1NH
- Leigh Turnpike Centre, Civic Square, Market Street, Leigh, WN7 1EB.
Deaths must be registered in the registration district of where the death occurred within 5 days of the Registrars team receiving all the required documentation from the Medical Examiner.
Information for the appointment
You will need to know the following information regarding the deceased when you attend your appointment:
- Their forenames and surname
- Their date and place of birth
- Their usual address
- Their occupation
- Their maiden surname (if married)
- The name, date of birth and occupation of their surviving widow or widower (if married).
It is important that all details are registered correctly to produce the legal record. There will be a fee incurred if any changes need to be made at a later date. Although it is not a requirement, it would be helpful to bring to the registration appointment, the birth certificate of the deceased to confirm dates and spellings.
If any incorrect information is provided at the registration and recorded on the death certificate, this could delay any funeral arrangements.
Certificates
Death Certificates can be purchased at the appointment. Certificates are £12.50 each and payment is by card only.
Tell Us Once
As part of your appointment you will be offered the Tell Us Once service. This service will notify many different government organisations of the death, making it easier and simpler to sort out the deceased persons affairs.
If you do not wish to use this service, please advise the registrar.
Coroners service
The coroners service which covers Wigan and Leigh are based in Bolton. They deal with inquests and post-mortems.
If you need to contact coroners service, please call 01204 338799.
Inquests
If the death has been reported to the coroner and an inquest is needed, the next of kin will be issued with an interim death certificate from the coroner. This will allow funeral arrangements to be made.
Once you have received the interim death certificate from the coroner you can complete the Tell Us Once service which will notify many different government organisations of the death, making it easier to sort out the deceased persons affairs.
To complete the Tell us Once, please email a copy of the interim death certificate to Registrars@wigan.gov.uk along with a contact name and number, a Registrar will then provide you with your unique reference number for the Tell us Once service.
Once the inquest has been carried out, the coroner will send the Registrars team an electronic copy of the inquest investigation along with the next of kin details. The death will then be registered by the registrar, without the next of kin having to attend the register office. Once the death following an inquest has been registered the registrar will contact the next of kin to advise they can order the final death certificate.