In any event a doctor will come to your house to formally confirm the death. If the deceased did not have a GP then you should contact the out of hours doctor service or the ambulance service and as a last resort, the police. Where the cause of death is obvious and expected, the person’s usual GP should be able to issue a medical certificate of cause of death.
The death certificate will be issued and placed in a sealed envelope addressed to the Registrar of births, deaths, and marriages free of charge. You will then receive a formal notice which confirms that the doctor has signed the death certificate and gives details about registering a death. If you or the deceased decides the body will be cremated the doctor must also complete a form called the cremation certificate.
