An oft-overlooked step in how to plan a funeral is registering the death with the proper authorities. By law, this must be done before a funeral can take place.

While it is not necessary to register before starting to make provisional funeral arrangements, they should not be treated as confirmed until the death has been registered.

In most cases, the doctor who treated the deceased immediately before their death issues a Medical Cause of Death Certificate. This certificate is collected from the Bereavement Officer if death occurred in a hospital, or if the death occurred in a nursing home or private home, from the normal doctor’s surgery.

Our local funeral directors advise not going to the Register office without an appointment; otherwise, you can expect to wait for a long time – or not be seen at all. You will not be given an appointment until you know when the Medical Cause of Death Certificate will be available to you.

Once you have an appointment, registering the death entails an interview that should take no more than half an hour and consists of acquiring the following information: