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Elderly parents
Original poster

Death certificates

28 replies

Silverfoxxx · 04/01/2025 14:12

Hi,

My Dad sadly passed away last night in a palliative nursing home.

As it's the weekend not much can be done until Monday, so feeling in limbo.

I've been told that I will have to contact his GP on Monday to ensure they have contacted the registry office about his death & from the website looks like I cannot book the appointment to register his death until I have checked- is this necessary? Can't the registry office just let me know they have received it?

Also how many death certificates do I need to purchase at £12.50 each?

Apologies, making lists of what I need to do, whilst holding back the tears.

Thank you

OP posts:
P00hsticks · 04/01/2025 18:46

I'm very sorry for your loss.
In my experience you can usually manage with just two or three death certificates unless you really have a lot of different companies to deal with urgently. The government departments will all get informed via the Tell Us Once service and I found that some banks were happy to just be told the reference number of the certificate and/or see a scan of it.

If you have to send a copy of by post they will always return it straight way so that you can send it off to the next person who wants it....

You can always go back and get further copies later, but I'd save your money at this point...

beetr00 · 04/01/2025 14:52

I'm so sorry for your loss @Silverfoxxx It's such an awful and emotional time.

Firstly, the most important thing you need to do is to register his death
Find your registrar here; https://www.gov.uk/register-offices

The registrars are so very helpful, they will talk you through everything.
Using the "Tell Us Once" service they will automatically inform all the relevant government departments as @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g mentioned

https://www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once.

This site gives you a comprehensive step by step to get you through.

Thinking of you and your family @Silverfoxxx 🌹

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 04/01/2025 14:24

So very sorry. Flowers Several hard copies to be on the safe side, if you have a lot of people to contact. When my Dad died, the registrar asked if we wanted to use the Tell Us Once service. It was very useful. Automatically passes on the news to the council tax department, HMRC, DSS, NHS, and probably several other organisations. Also the database can be accessed by some banks and insurance companies so they wouldn't need to see the death certificate.

I would ring the surgery to be on the safe side. You can't arrange the funeral until the death is registered. And then there's all the admin. Always ask to be put through to the bereavement team if possible, in each company. They are specially trained and were very helpful in our case across a range of companies.