How do I register a death?
The first thing you’ll need to do is get a medical certificate. If the death was expected the GP will issue a medical certificate stating the cause of death. If the death was unexpected, the GP may need to report the death to the coroner; the coroner will give you the documents you need, or they’ll send them direct to the registrar.
You’ll need to register the death within 5 days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, unless the coroner is investigating the cause of death. You’ll need to phone the register office in the area where the person died, they’ll then post the death certificate to you.
You can find your local register office at www.gov.uk/register-offices
Registering a death in Scotland is done through electronic communication and you can find details of the process at www.nrscotland.gov.uk/registration/registering-a-death
When you report a death to your register office, if it is offered, you may be able to use the Tell Us Once service.
If this service is offered to you, we strongly recommend that you use it as you won’t need to contact us to tell us about the death; we’ll receive a notification from Tell Us Once and we will contact the person who registered the death to settle any benefits that may be payable.
If someone dies abroad, you must register the death with the local authorities in that country.
You can also register it with the UK authorities if you want the death recorded in the UK. However, you do not need to do this if the body is brought home for burial or cremation, as the General Register Office (GRO) will record it.
For more details about the overseas process, visit www.gov.uk/after-a-death/death-abroad
If you’re reporting the death of someone who was employed by the:
Environment Agency
Natural Resources Wales
Shared Serviced Connected Limited (SSCL)
Their Human Resources department will help with leading you through what you need to do; however, reading through this guide will help you prepare for what will happen when we settle any benefits that are payable by the EAPF.
If you’re reporting the death of a pensioner or a person with benefits in the EAPF and you’ve used the ‘Tell Us Once’ service then you don’t need to take any further action as we’ll write to the person who registered the death telling them what information we need.
If you’ve appointed a solicitor or you want someone else to handle the settlement, you’ll need to send an email or letter to Capita informing them who you’d like them to correspond with.
If you haven’t used the ‘Tell Us Once’ service then you’ll need to send a copy of the death certificate to Capita. This can be done by taking a colour image of the certificate using any handheld device, such as, a smartphone, digital camera or similar device. You can then send the image by email to info@eapf.org.uk
If you’re unable to send Capita an image, then please send the original certificate to Capita at the address at the end of this guide.
Once we’re told about the death, we’ll look at what benefits might be payable and we’ll write to you to ask for more information and documents so we can confirm eligibility and make any necessary payment.
For example, we may ask for an image or copy of the Will, if there’s a death grant payable or your marriage certificate if you don’t use the same surname as your spouse or civil partner.
