From Friday 25 March 2022 the easements in the Coronavirus Act 2020 come to an end and deaths will legally only be able to be registered in a face to face appointment at the registration office.
Please do not attend our offices if you, or anyone with you has tested positive for Covid or any other infectious disease.
There will still be no requirement to collect the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death from the hospital, care home or GP. A scan of the signed certificate will be sent to the registrar directly at registrars@bromley.gov.uk
You will be contacted by the Register Office once the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death has been received and reviewed. We will make an appointment for you at the Bromley Register Office. Only one person who is a qualified informant (listed below) can register a death, we allow a maximum of one extra person to attend the appointment for support.
The green certificate for burial or cremation will be transmitted electronically to the Funeral Director, crematorium or cemetery office immediately after the registration
Deaths in Bromley
You are legally required to register a death within five calendar days. The death must be registered at the register office in the borough where the death took place.
If there is an investigation into the death, with the Coroner involved, the death may be registered outside of the five days. If the investigation leads to an inquest then the registration will take place once the inquest has been held. The Coroner will contact the family to let them know when they are able to obtain death certificates from the register office.
Who can register a death
Qualified informants can register a death. A qualified informant can be:
- A relative
- A person who was present at the death
- The occupier of the premises where the death occurred. The informant must either be the Senior Resident Officer or Matron of the establishment where the death occurred
- The person arranging the funeral (not the funeral director, see below). A person arranging the funeral should only register a death if there are no relatives available
- If the informant does not speak or understand English, they need to have someone present who can translate for them.
Fees
£11 per certificate (statutory fee) payment by card only
Certificates can also be purchased online following the registration.
What we will need
- Medical certificate of cause of death - issued by the certifying Doctor.
- Coroners post mortem form - issued from the Coroner.
If available, please have the following to refer to in relation to the deceased:
- Passports or birth certificates
- Marriage or civil partnership certificates (if applicable)
Details of the deceased:
- Date and place of death
- First name, middle names (if applicable), and surname
- Any other names the deceased was otherwise or previously known by
- Maiden name (if applicable)
- Date and place of birth
- Occupation and whether retired or not
- Address
Details of the spouse/civil partner of deceased:
- First name, middle names (if applicable), and surname
- If deceased or not
- Occupation
- If retired or not
- Date of birth
Documents we will issue
- Green certificate for burial or cremation sent electronically to the funeral director - separate procedures apply where the death has been referred to the Coroner.
- Unique number to access the Tell Us Once service
- Death certificate when paid for during the registration or ordered online after the registration
Out of hours emergency burial certificate service
An on-call service is available on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays (except Christmas Day) between 9am and 11am. This service is for the issue of burial certificates required for a funeral that is to take place within 24 hours.
The on-call registrar may be able to issue the burial certificate if:
- You can provide confirmation that the burial is to take place within 24 hours
- A correctly completed medical certificate of cause of death from the doctor has been emailed to the registrars email address by the Medical Examiner, following scrutiny
- The death does not have to be referred to the coroner
- You are qualified to register the death
To contact the Duty Registrar, please call the council’s out of hours emergency line: 0300 303 8671