When a coroner is involved 

Anyone who is unhappy about the cause of a death can inform a coroner about it, but in most cases a death will be reported to a coroner by a doctor or the police.

A coroner is a doctor or lawyer appointed by a local authority to investigate certain deaths. They’re completely independent of the authority.

A death must always be reported to a coroner in the following situations:

• the person’s doctor had not seen them in the 28 days before they died or immediately afterwards

• a doctor had not looked after, seen or treated the person during their last illness (in other words, death was sudden)

• the cause of death is unknown or uncertain

• the death was violent or unnatural (for example, suicide, accident or drug overdose)

• the death was in any way suspicious

• the death took place during surgery or recovery from an anaesthetic

• the death took place in prison or police custody

• the death was caused by an industrial disease.

In some cases, the coroner will need to order a post-mortem, in which case the body will be taken to hospital for this to be carried out. You do not have the right to object to a post-mortem ordered by the coroner, but should tell the coroner if you have religious or other strong objections, can ask for MRI post-mortem. In cases where a death is reported to a coroner because the person had not seen a doctor in the previous 28 days the coroner will consult with the person’s GP and will usually not need to order a post-mortem.

For more information about post-mortems and your rights to know what happens with organs and tissue, go to the Human Tissue Authority website at www.hta.gov.uk.

A death reported to a coroner cannot be registered until the coroner’s investigations are complete and a certificate has been issued allowing registration to take place. This means that the funeral will usually also be delayed. 

You must take with you the medical certificate of cause of death (unless the coroner has issued their document directly to the registrar) to the Register. 

If possible, you should also take the following documents. They are not absolutely essential but provide much of the additional information you need for the registration, but do not delay registering just because you cannot find this paperwork.

• NHS card (also called the medical card)

• Birth certificate

• Driving licence

• Council tax bill

• Marriage or civil partnership certificate (if applicable)

• If possible, please take the National Insurance number of the deceased and the number of a surviving spouse.

• Passport

• Proof of address (e.g. utility bill)

When you see the registrar, they will require the following information about the deceased:

• Date and place of the death

• The address of the person

• Their full names (including the maiden name of a married woman). Any former married names or other names by which the deceased was known can also be recorded.

• Where and when they were born (the town or county is sufficient if the exact address is not known). Only the country of origin is required for people born outside the United Kingdom. The country is recorded according to its current name if this is different from how it was known at the date of birth.

• Their occupation

• Details of their wife or husband.

• Whether they had any government pension or other benefits.

While it is not essential, you should also take supporting documents that show your name and address (e.g. a utility bill) but you can still register a death without them. 

The Registrar will give you an A4 wallet containing information about useful services as well as various documents. The main ones will be:

• Death Certificates – usually a light green colour. You can request as many of these as you wish, though there will be a charge for each copy. 

• It is important to ask for additional copies of the death certificate if it is possible that the person’s estate will have to go through probate. Even if you do not need probate you will need to have a copy of the death certificate for each asset holder e,g. for each bank or building society where they had accounts, each pension or insurance policy. Without a sufficient number of death certificates, sorting out the estate takes longer and extra certificates are more expensive to purchase at a later stage.

• Certificate for Burial – Commonly referred to as the “Green Form” this allows the Funeral Director to officially go ahead with the funeral arrangements. The funeral cannot happen until this certificate is given to the burial authority. 

• BD8 – Registration of Notification of Death – DWP – You might not need this if you are offered the Tell Us Once service to notify the Government organizations of the death, but please note this service isn’t available in all areas. The Registrar will be able to tell you whether this is available.

Aisha Masjid and Islamic Centre, London Road, Earley, Reading RG6 1AH

E: info@aishaislamiccentre.org.uk    T: 07500 864 155

Mr Arif Kayani who is Reading Jamme Masjid’s representative on the Reading Muslim Burial Group. 

T: 07877 670 765