Death certificates: how many you need and how to get them

A death certificate is the official proof of a death. You will need it to close bank accounts, claim pensions and insurance, and apply for probate. This guide explains which document is which, what certificates cost in each part of the UK, and how many copies to get.

Key points

• A death certificate is a certified copy of the entry in the death register. You can buy copies when you register the death or order them later.
• England and Wales: £12.50 per copy, at registration or ordered later as standard from the General Register Office (GRO).
• Scotland: a free abbreviated extract at registration. Full extracts cost £10 each at registration or within a month, and more after that.
• Northern Ireland: £8 per copy at registration. Later, it’s £15 for the first copy and £8 for each extra copy ordered at the same time.
• Many organisations will return your certificate, so ask before buying lots of extra copies.

Which document is which?

Several documents are produced after a death, and they are easy to confuse:

What death certificates cost

Registering a death is free everywhere in the UK. You only pay for certificates. Fees change from time to time, so check with the register office when you book.

How many copies do you need?

There’s no set number, because it depends on how many organisations the person dealt with. Make a quick list of organisations that may ask for one:

• each bank or building society
• pension providers (workplace and private)
• life insurance and other insurance companies
• investment and share registrars
• the Probate Registry (England and Wales), sheriff court (Scotland) or Probate Office (Northern Ireland) in some cases
• mortgage lender, landlord or housing association
• utility companies (many accept the details without a certificate)

Ways to need fewer copies:

• Ask whether they’ll return it. Many organisations take a copy and post the original back, so one certificate can do several jobs over time.
• Use Tell Us Once in England, Scotland or Wales. It notifies government departments without you sending certificates. See our Tell Us Once guide.
• Order more later if needed. In England and Wales a copy ordered later costs the same £12.50, plus a small search fee if you don’t have the GRO index reference number. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, extra copies cost more after registration, so it can make sense to buy a few more at the time.

Ordering copies later

• England and Wales: order online from the General Register Office (you’ll need to register on its website and pay by card), by phone on 0300 123 1837, by post, or from the local register office where the death was registered.
• Scotland: order from the local registrar where the death was registered, or from National Records of Scotland. mygov.scot explains the options.
• Northern Ireland: order online from the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) through nidirect, or from the district registration office.

If a coroner or procurator fiscal is involved

England and Wales. If there’s an inquest, the death can’t be registered until it’s over. In the meantime, ask the coroner for an interim death certificate. It is accepted for probate and Tell Us Once, and many banks and insurers accept it too. After the inquest, you get the final death certificate from the registrar.

Scotland and Northern Ireland. The death is registered once the procurator fiscal or coroner has finished their enquiries, and you can then buy certificates as normal.

See medical examiners, coroners and post-mortems for more.

If the person died abroad

You’ll get a local death certificate from the country where the person died. It is accepted in the UK, although you may need a certified translation if it’s not in English. You can also apply to register the death with the UK authorities and order a consular death registration certificate, but you don’t have to. Consular registrations only reach the GRO from November of the following year. Before then, the FCDO Overseas Registration Unit can supply copies at a higher cost. See repatriation.

Checking the certificate

At the registration appointment, check every detail carefully before you sign: names, spellings, dates, places and occupation. Mistakes are much simpler to correct at this stage. Banks and pension schemes may reject documents if names don’t match their records.

Next steps

• How to register a death
• Tell Us Once
• Do I need probate?
• Keep track with our when someone dies checklist
• Back to what to do when someone dies