Registering A Death

Registering a death can be an emotional event, yet every death in Scotland has to be registered in Scotland; however, this can be done in any district office – i.e. a death that occurred in Aberdeen may be recorded at a registry office in Glasgow.  A death can be registered by: the next of kin; the nearest surviving relative, NSR; the executor of the deceased estate; a social worker; or other official person.  As you are making a legal declaration, you must ensure that the information given is correct.  All deaths in Scotland must be registered within 8 days from the time of death.

The person registering the death will take the death certificate (Form 11) provided by the doctor, and present this to the registry office.  The registrar will then issue you with an appropriate registration documents free of charge.

Please note – when attending the registrar, the death may be chosen to be reviewed. This is a random selection which would involve the medical history of the deceased being reviewed to ensure procedures and documentation has been completed in a correct and appropriate manner. If chosen the Form 14 will not be issued until a review has been completed – there are two levels of review.

Level 1. – 10% of deaths will be investigated and will take an estimated day to complete.

Level 2. – 2% of deaths will be investigated in greater detail and will take an estimated 3 days to complete.

This process will not affect us bringing a loved one into our care, however a time and date for the funeral will NOT be able to be confirmed until the death has been registered, and any investigation ( if chosen ) has been completed and Form 14 issued. We will keep you informed at all the various stages of registering and give you appropriate guidance and support in all circumstances.

There may be a requirement for you to obtain additional copies of the death certificate, such as: to close bank accounts; make claims on insurance policies; or to have joint mortgages or bank accounts placed in the surviving person’s sole name.  These copies can be purchased for approximately £10.00 as you are only provided with the abbreviated extract entry of death.  Most institutions will usually return the copy to you once they have recorded the death on their systems, however the timescales for this vary so you do not necessarily need an additional copy for each institution that you contact.