Death Registration Appointment
By law you must register a death within five days (including weekends) in the registration district, unless the Coroner is investigating.
The death cannot be registered until the doctor or hospital provides a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) or, if the coroner is involved, the relevant paperwork has been provided to us.
From 9th September 2024 all deaths must be referred to the Medical Examiner before the death registration can commence. The Medical Examiner has been instructed to email the MCCD directly to the Registration Service, they will not be issued to a family member or their representative.
Please note: we cannot complete the registration without having access to this document.
Documents to confirm names and addresses for the relative registering the death, as well as the deceased, can be presented during the appointment if they are readily available but are not essential.
Deaths occurring at the Northampton General Hospital should be registered with us. However if the death occurred at home, please check the location is within West Northamptonshire as some addresses with a NN postcode are not included within this registration district.
If the death occurred in West Northamptonshire, but you can't attend an appointment here, you can give the details to any registrar in England and Wales, this is called registration by declaration. After the appointment the details will be sent to us and we will register the death. You can then apply for a copy certificate.
The Registration Service operates pre-booked appointments only, we do not offer walk-in appointments at any of our offices.
To ensure compliance with Data Protection and Health & Safety legislation you are not permitted to take food and/or drink into the Registrar's office.
You will have the opportunity to purchase death certificates when booking your appointment, please have your payment card available before you proceed. We are unable to take payments for certificate during your appointment at this time.
Please ensure you arrive in good time for your appointment (we recommend 10 minutes before the appointment is due to commence) If you don’t attend the office within 10 minutes of the appointment start time the registrar will not be able to complete the legal process and you'll need to book another appointment with the service, additional fees may also be incurred.
The Registration Service is unable to refund any pre-paid fees if:
- you're unavailable for the appointment and do not contact us in advance
- you don’t attend the office within 10 minutes of the appointment start time
- you cannot provide all the required information or documentation
If we're unable to complete the registration process, for any of the reasons detailed above, you will be required to book another appointment and additional fees will be incurred.
For more information about registering a death please visit our website
Once your appointment has been made you will be given a reference number; please retain this as it will be required if you need to contact us to amend or cancel your appointment.
Data Security - West Northamptonshire County Council Registration Service is committed to ensuring your information is protected. We only collect your data where we have a legal obligation; as a public task or with your express consent. Please read our Privacy Notice
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