What happens to the body after someone dies

In the hours after a death, it can be hard to know who to call or what happens next. The steps depend on where the person died and whether the death was expected. This guide walks through each situation, from confirming the death to the moment the funeral director takes the person into their care.

Key points

• Every death must be confirmed by a doctor, nurse or paramedic. This is called verifying or confirming death.
• Expected death at home: call the GP practice, or 111 out of hours. Sudden or unexpected death: call 999.
• After an expected death, you choose the funeral director, and they can collect the person before the death is registered.
• In hospital, the person goes to the mortuary until they’re collected.
• In England and Wales, a medical examiner reviews every death not investigated by a coroner. This has been law since 9 September 2024.
• If your faith needs a quick burial, tell staff straight away.

Confirming the death

Before anything else, a trained professional must confirm that the person has died. This is different from certifying the cause of death, which a doctor does later on the medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD).

NHS guidance for London explains that a GP usually confirms an expected death at home, but community nurses and ambulance clinicians can also do it. In Scotland, NHS inform says a doctor or nurse will come to the house.

If the death was expected, at home

This is often a death after a long illness, where the GP or palliative care team knew it was coming.

1. Call the GP practice if it’s open. Out of hours, call 111 (NHS 24 in Scotland). In Northern Ireland, nidirect says to call the family doctor, or the on-call doctor out of hours.
2. Wait for a doctor or nurse to come and confirm the death. Out of hours this can take a few hours.
3. Take your time. There’s no need to rush. You can sit with the person, call relatives or ask a friend or faith leader to be with you.
4. Call a funeral director once the death has been confirmed, and they’ll arrange to collect the person. You can choose any funeral director. See funeral directors near me.

The doctor who cared for the person will then prepare the MCCD. You’ll be told when you can register the death.

If the death was sudden or unexpected

Call 999. The call handler will tell you whether to try resuscitation. The ambulance crew will either try to resuscitate the person or confirm that they have died.

• The police attend unexpected deaths to establish what happened. This is routine.
• The death will be reported to the coroner, or to the procurator fiscal in Scotland.
• The person is usually taken to a mortuary on the coroner’s behalf, and a post-mortem may be needed.
• A coroner’s officer will contact you to explain what happens next.

Sometimes the funeral director who collects the person works under a contract with the coroner or police. The CMA’s rules ban funeral directors from soliciting your business while acting for a coroner or the police. You’re free to choose a different funeral director for the funeral.

If the death happens in hospital

Staff will support you and explain the next steps.

• You can usually spend time with the person on the ward. If you arrive later, NHS inform suggests asking ward staff to arrange a visit.
• The person is then moved to the hospital mortuary, where they stay until your chosen funeral director, or whoever you choose, collects them.
• The bereavement office deals with paperwork, returns belongings (nidirect says staff will keep them safe and give a receipt) and tells you what happens next.
• A doctor may ask for a hospital post-mortem to learn more about the illness. This needs consent, and you can say no. A coroner’s post-mortem doesn’t need consent.

Once you’ve chosen a funeral director, tell the bereavement office. The funeral director arranges the collection and release paperwork.

If the death happens in a care home or hospice

Staff know what to do and will arrange for the death to be confirmed. After an expected death, the family can then ask their chosen funeral director to collect the person.

You don’t have to use a funeral director suggested by the care home or hospice. The CMA’s Funerals Market Investigation Order bans funeral directors from arrangements with hospitals, hospices and care homes that encourage them to refer families. You’re free to choose anyone.

Checking the cause of death

In England and Wales, the medical examiner’s office will usually contact you to explain the cause of death and hear any concerns. This is voluntary. GOV.UK says it can take a few days before you’re told you can register, and the funeral can usually only take place once the death is registered, unless a coroner is involved. See medical examiners, coroners and post-mortems.

When can the funeral director collect?

A funeral director’s attended funeral price includes collecting the person, normally from within 15 miles of their premises, and caring for them until the funeral. Compare their Standardised Price List, which every funeral director must publish. See how to choose a funeral director.

If your faith needs a quick burial

For Muslim and Jewish families, and some others, burial is expected as soon as possible after death.

• Tell staff early: the ward, GP or medical examiner’s office. Doing this before the death, if it’s expected, helps most.
• Urgent release: national medical examiner guidance says hospitals don’t legally have to wait for the MCCD before releasing a body, and encourages medical examiners to help with urgent release, including out of hours.
• Registration: many register offices offer out-of-hours arrangements for religious reasons. In Scotland, ask about advance registration.
• Coroner cases: NHS guidance notes that the coroner’s process still applies even when a faith requires a quick funeral. Explain your needs to the coroner’s officer.

See Muslim funerals, Jewish funerals and our other faith guides.

Seeing the person and bringing them home

You can usually see the person at the hospital or at the funeral director’s chapel of rest. NHS inform notes that some families bring the person home if the funeral will take place within a few days. See visiting the chapel of rest.

Organ and body donation

If the person died in hospital and organ donation is possible, staff will check the NHS Organ Donor Register and talk to the family. Donating a body to medical science needs to have been arranged before death. See donating your body to science.

Next steps

• Work through the first week: what to do when someone dies
• How to register a death, and use our death registration deadline tool
• Choose who will care for the person: funeral directors near me
• Understand who makes decisions: next of kin rights