In short
What to do when someone dies in the UK, for England and Wales: get the medical certificate, register within five days, use Tell Us Once, arrange the funeral, find the will, tell banks, then probate if the assets need a grant. Only the first three have hard deadlines. The government’s overview is gov.uk/when-someone-dies.
This page is the bereavement checklist, not how to make a will and not the full probate hub. If you are reading this after a death, you do not need to buy a will today. If you are reading it before, that is the point.
Scotland: eight days to register, different forms. Northern Ireland is different again. We are not grief counsellors — use the organisations at the bottom. Checked 22 August 2026.
What to do when someone dies at a glance?
Medical certificate, register within 5 days, Tell Us Once, funeral, find the will, secure the house, tell banks, then probate if needed. Death certificates cost £12.50 each. Joint assets often skip probate. An unmarried partner inherits nothing without a will. There is no prize for rushing the grant.
5 days
To register a death in England and Wales. Eight days in Scotland. Coroner cases wait.
£12.50
Per death certificate copy. Order several. Banks want originals.
Tell Us Once
One reference for DWP, HMRC, Passport Office, DVLA and the council. Not banks.
No rush
Probate has no five-day clock. Value the estate, then apply. £526 court fee over £5,000.
What do you do immediately after someone dies?
If the death was expected at home, call the GP or NHS 111 out of hours so a doctor can confirm it and issue the medical certificate. If it was sudden, unexpected or an accident, call 999. You do not need to move the person or clean. Do not call a funeral director before you know whether the coroner is involved.
In hospital or a care home, staff arrange the certificate. Ask which register office they have sent it to. Take the person’s glasses, jewellery and the house keys home — small things go missing in the first night.
If you are the one who will act, start a notebook: who you called, when, what they said. Executors who write things down fight fewer later arguments.
How do you get a medical certificate of cause of death?
A doctor must certify the death and issue the medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD). For an expected death at home, call the GP surgery; in hospital or a care home, staff arrange it. The certificate is now sent electronically to the local register office, but ask for the register office details anyway. If the death was sudden, unexplained or accidental, the coroner takes over — you cannot register until they complete their part, but an interim certificate is usually available so admin can begin.
The MCCD is not a death certificate. The registrar issues death certificates after registration. You cannot skip one and hope the bank accepts the other.
How do you register a death within 5 days?
Book an appointment with the register office for the district where the person died. A relative, someone present at the death, or the person arranging the funeral can register. Bring the medical certificate (if you have it), the person's birth certificate, marriage certificate and NHS card if available, and your own ID. Death certificates cost £12.50 each — order several, as banks, pension providers and insurers often want originals.
Full detail: how to register a death. You cannot register online. Some offices offer a declaration in a different district, which delays the certificates. Register in the right district if you can travel.
The five-day clock is England and Wales. Scotland is eight. If the coroner has the case, the clock waits — you have not “missed it”.
What if the coroner is involved?
The coroner investigates deaths that are sudden, unexplained, violent or in state detention. You cannot register until they release the paperwork. An interim certificate is usually enough to start the funeral and some bank notifications. Do not treat a coroner’s involvement as a finding of fault — it is a process.
The funeral waits for the body to be released. A funeral director used to coroner cases will tell you the realistic date. Do not pay for a date you cannot keep.
Should you use Tell Us Once after a death?
Yes, if the registrar offers it. At the end of the registration appointment you get a unique reference for Tell Us Once — DWP, HMRC, the Passport Office, DVLA and the local council in one go. It stops state pension and benefits and cancels the passport and driving licence. It does not contact banks, private pensions or utilities.
Use it the same week if you can. A state pension that keeps paying is a debt the estate later repays. The reference expires; do not lose the slip.
When can you arrange the funeral?
Check the will and any letter of wishes first — many people record burial or cremation preferences, and executors technically control the funeral arrangements. Funeral directors can be booked before registration; the funeral itself waits for the paperwork. If money is tight, ask about direct cremation and check whether the estate, a prepaid funeral plan, or the DWP Funeral Expenses Payment can cover costs.
Do not empty the house to “get ready for the wake” until you know who inherits. Sentimental items taken early are how families fall out. Photograph rooms if you must move things for insurance.
How do you find the will and secure the estate?
Search the home, files and email for a will; ask their solicitor, bank or will-writing service; check the National Will Register. The will names the executor — the person with authority to act. Meanwhile, lock up the property, redirect post, and make sure buildings and contents insurance stays in force (tell the insurer the property is empty if it is).
Only the wet-ink original is the will. A PDF on a laptop is not. If they used SwiftWill, the family still needs that signed paper. Storage mistakes to avoid: where to store a will.
If there is no will, stop guessing. Intestacy rules name who inherits. An unmarried partner takes nothing. See my partner died without a will.
Who else must you tell after a death?
Notify banks and building societies (they freeze sole accounts on notification), pension providers, insurers, subscription services, utilities and the electoral roll. Joint accounts usually pass straight to the surviving holder. More detail in what happens to bank accounts after a death.
Tell Us Once does not do this list. Each bank has its own deceased-customer team. Debts of the estate are paid from the estate, not from relatives’ pockets in the usual unsecured case — what happens to debt when you die.
How do you work out whether probate is needed?
Not every estate needs probate — jointly owned assets pass automatically and small balances are often released on the death certificate alone. Use our probate checker for a quick answer, then the full probate guide and executor checklist for the process.
The court fee is £526 for estates over £5,000 (from 13 July 2026). There is no five-day deadline on the application. Get the funeral done, get the certificates, then value. Child pages: do I need probate, probate costs, how long probate takes.
The verdict: what actually has to happen this week?
This week: medical certificate, register, Tell Us Once, lock the house, find the will. This month: funeral, banks, pensions. Later: probate if the assets need a grant. Skip this page if you needed Scotland’s rules, or if you needed counselling rather than a checklist — use the organisations below.