Registering a Death

How to register a death in West Berkshire

A death is required by law to be registered within five days unless the Coroner is involved.

If the death occurred in West Berkshire we will register the death and issue the necessary forms.
If the death occurred somewhere else, we can take the details from you and post them to the relevant district, who will then issue the necessary forms. Please note this can result in a delay with the funeral documentation.

Who can register a death?

The legal order of preference is:

1. a relative or civil partner of the deceased
2. someone present at the death
3. a senior member of staff at the nursing/residential home or a senior member of staff from the hospital where the death occurred
4. the person making the arrangements with funeral directors
5. the person who found the body
6. the person in charge of the body

What does it cost to register a death?

There is no charge to register a death.
You can purchase death certificates. Please see our  current fees [68kb] for more details.

Booking an appointment to register a death

Please call to arrange a time for an appointment. An appointment takes about 45 minutes.

Appointment locations

Whilst most appointments take place at the Register Office in Newbury, we also have appointments available at Hungerford Library on a Wednesday afternoon.
Please book in advance by contacting the Superintendent Registrar.

Information you'll need to bring about the deceased person

• the date and place of death
• their full name and any other names they were known by, including their maiden name, if appropriate
• their date and place of birth
• their last occupation
• if married/widowed or in a formal civil partnership, the full name, date of birth and occupation of their spouse or civil partner
• their usual address
• details of any public service pension the deceased was receiving, eg civil service, teacher or armed forces

Information we'll need about you

• your relationship to the deceased, eg widow, widower, son, daughter, surviving civil partner
• if you were not related, how you are qualified to give the information eg present at the death, arranging the funeral
• your full name
• your usual address

Tell Us Once

Once you've registered the death, we can inform other government and local authority departments on your behalf using the free "Tell us Once" system provided by the government.
We'll let you know which departments have been notified. If you'd like us to do this for you, please refer to the Gov.uk website for details of additional documents you will need to bring to your appointment.