Death Registration

A death must be registered within eight days. It can be registered in any registrar’s office in Scotland.

A death can be registered by:

• any relative of the deceased;
• any person present at the death;
• the deceased's executor or other legal representative;
• the occupier (at the time of death) of the premises where the death took place; or
• if there is no person as above, anyone having a knowledge of the particulars to be registered.

In preparation for Registration, the Registration Team will require the following information regarding:

• Date and place of birth
• GP name and surgery name
• Most recent or main occupation of deceased (if applicable)
• Deceased spouse(s) - full names and occupation
• Date of marriage (if applicable) and where marriage took place (Scotland or another country)
• Parent’s full names, occupations and dates of death (if applicable)

Documents issued by the registrar at the time of death registration

• Abbreviated certificate of death, this is free of charge
• Full certificates of death can be provided on payment of the statutory fee. They may be required for business and financial purposes
• Tell Us Once information including the Unique reference number
• Certificate of registration of death (Form 14), the registration team will email a copy to your chosen Funeral Director

What if the death occurs abroad?

You should register the death according to local regulations in the country concerned and obtain a certificate of death. You may also be able to register a death with the British Consul in that country for a fee. However, there is no obligation to do so. Once a record of the death has been sent to Scotland, you will be able to request a copy from National Records of Scotland.

Tell Us Once Service

Tell Us Once is a service that lets you report a death to most government organisations in one go. We will provide the unique reference number for this following the registration of the death for you to use the service yourself online or by phone.