Birth, death and marriage registration

All deaths in Medway, including those at Medway Maritime Hospital, need to be registered at the Medway Register Office.

The registration of deaths abroad are dealt with by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but when bodies are brought into the area from outside of England and Wales, paperwork is required from the registrar or coroner before the funeral can take place.

Registrations are made by appointment to avoid unnecessary waiting. Appointments can be made for times between 9.30am and 3.30pm, Monday to Friday. The telephone number is given at the foot of this page.

When attending, it is helpful if the deceased person's birth certificate and medical card can be provided, but these are not essential.

At the time of registration, the registrar will issue a green form needed by the funeral director (a certificate for burial and cremation) and a form BD8 for the Department for Work and Pensions which notifies them of the death in respect of state retirement pension and all Social Security benefits. There is no charge for these forms. Neither the funeral director nor the Department for Work and Pensions will normally need a copy of the death certificate. However, if the coroner has held a post mortem and there will be a cremation, the registrar will not issue the form for the funeral director as the necessary form will be issued by the coroner.

Also, if it is intended to take the body out of England and Wales then the registrar will not issue the form for the funeral directors but the coroner will deal with that matter instead.

A fee is payable for all certificates. These are certified copies and are what many people and organisations refer to as originals.

If it is not possible to attend at the Medway Register Office, the registration may be made by visiting any registrar’s office in England and Wales to make a declaration. This is a statement that the local registrar will send to the Medway Register Office where the registration will then be made. In this case, the death certificate(s), the form for the funeral director and the form BD8 for the Department for Work and Pensions will be sent by post. This will be done as soon as possible but time should be allowed for the post in both directions. Similarly, registrars at Medway are able to take declarations for deaths which take place outside the Medway area.

A death can be registered by one of the following (in order of preference):

• a relative of the deceased;
• a person present at the death;
• the occupier of the house if he or she knew of the death - this can include an appropriate person on behalf of the hospital or residential home, etc. if the death occurred there;
• an inmate of the house if he or she knew of the death;
• the person making the decisions about the funeral arrangements.

The fact that someone is an executor to a will does not automatically qualify them to be able to register a death. They would need to qualify in one of the other ways described above.

Where the death occurred other than in a house or public institution (including a hospital, hospice, residential home, etc.) there may also be others who are qualified to register and a registrar will discuss this if appropriate.

Customer feedback

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