Deaths

This section contains information to help you make the necessary administrative arrangements following a death. If you want to have a body exhumed or move a body abroad, please contact the coroner.

Registering a death and telling government agencies

• register a death

We can also tell all the relevant government agencies and local services for you through Tell us once.

Registering a stillbirth

• register a stillbirth

Emergency death out of hours service (weekend)

This service is specifically for either:

• a burial taking place on the same day when the death has not been referred to the coroner

or:

• where the deceased is being taken out of England or Wales and the death has not been referred to the coroner

Burials taking place on the same day

• the issue of a burial certificate will be provided where a burial is due to take place on the same day in England and Wales and the death has not been referred to the coroner
• checks will be made with third party organisations to confirm if the burial is due to take place on the same day
• please note that a formal death registration is undertaken by appointment only during normal working hours Monday to Friday

Where the deceased is being taken out of England or Wales

• a formal death registration will take place.
• please note that the informant / family members of the deceased will need to contact the coroner for authorisation for the deceased to be taken out of England and Wales

To access the service please call 020 8356 3355 and follow the instructions to contact the registrar on call, during the times below:

• Bank holiday Friday 9am – 5pm
• Saturday 9am – 5pm
• Sunday 9am – 5pm
• Bank holiday Monday 9am – 12 noon

Please note the registrar is on call and not based in any public buildings.

Where a burial certificate, often referred to as a green disposal form is issued as an emergency, informants / family members of the deceased would need to book an appointment to register the death at a later date.

Burials not taking place on the same day

If a burial is not taking place on the same day the informant / family members of the deceased should call 020 8356 3355, 9am-5pm Monday to Friday, to arrange an appointment to register the death. You can also book a death registration appointment online.

Bereavement support 

There are many specialist bereavement support organisations who can help you in your grief.

Copies of death certificates

Copies of certificates cost £11.

Order a copy certificate on GOV.UK

Certificates for adopted people and for people born abroad to armed services or diplomatic families can be obtained from the General Register Office.

Funeral services

If a person has no relatives who are willing or able to arrange a funeral, we will arrange a cremation or burial.

Protecting people’s property and assets

If a person who is taken ill or dies has no relatives able or willing to make the necessary arrangements, we will protect their property and assets. Landlords also have certain responsibilities.

Burial and grave details

We don’t keep a central register of deaths and cremations for the borough. This type of information is kept by individual cemeteries, such as:

• Abney Park Cemetery, Stoke Newington High Street, N16 5TU. Phone: 020 7275 7557
• The East London Cemetery, 230 Grange Road, E13 0HB. Phone: 020 7476 5109
• Manor Park Cemetery, Sebert Road E7 0NP. Phone: 020 8534 1486
• City of London Cemetery, Aldersbrook Road E12 5DQ. Phone: 020 8530 2151
• Woodgrange Park Cemetery, Romford Road E7 8AF. Phone: 020 8471 3433
• West Ham Cemetery, Cemetery Road, E7 9DG. Phone: 020 8534 1566
• Tower Hamlets Cemetery (Bow), Southern Grove, E3 4PX
• St Patrick Cemetery (RC), Langthorne Road E11 4HL. Phone: 020 8539 2451
• Chingford Mount Cemetery, 121 Old Church Road, E4 6ST. Phone: 020 8524 5030
• Walthamstow Cemetery, Queens Road E17. Phone: 020 8524 5030

Some data from 1840-1978 relating to deaths in the borough is held at Hackney Archives.

Search find a grave

Find a grave lets you search for people by location, birth date or death date.

Hackney mortuary

Our mortuary stores bodies where deaths have been referred to the coroner or where a death certificate cannot be issued.

Reporting deaths to the coroner

Some deaths have to be reported to the coroner before they can be registered or the funeral can go ahead. If it hasn’t already been reported, the registrar will report a death when:

• there’s no doctor who can issue a medical certificate of cause of death
• the doctor who issued the medical certificate did not see the person within 14 days before death or after they died
• the cause of death is unknown
• the cause of death is believed to be unnatural or suspicious
• the death occurred during an operation or before recovery from an anaesthetic
• the death is due to industrial disease or industrial poisoning

If a death has been reported to the coroner, we can’t go ahead with the registration until the coroner has decided whether any further investigation into the death is necessary. In most cases no further investigation is necessary and the registration can be completed straight away.

If a death has been reported to the coroner, he or she may issue a certificate for burial or cremation where possible.

Have a body repatriated abroad

You will need to contact the coroner to have a body repatriated abroad.

Contact

Coroners can be contacted on 020 7538 1201.