All deaths should be registered within five days, starting from when we receive the necessary paperwork from the medical examiner, unless a coroner is investigating the circumstances of the death.

If you are unable to book within five days, make an appointment as soon as possible. If you cannot find one in your immediate area, we suggest checking other locations across Kent for more availability.

Only book an appointment if the medical examiner has made you aware that the paperwork has been sent to us.

If you have not spoken to the medical examiner and still require confirmation that the paperwork has been sent to us, you will need to contact the medical examiner's service relevant to the area where the death occurred.

The people who can register a death are:

• a relative of the deceased
• a person who was present at the death
• an administrator from the hospital where the person died
• a person arranging the funeral with the funeral director

Book an appointment

If the death occurred in the London Borough of Bexley, there is no need for you to book an appointment online. The Bexley Registration Team will contact you to schedule an appointment as soon as they receive the paperwork from the medical examiner.

If you need to book an appointment, please visit the Kent County Council website.

All deaths must be registered with a registrar where the death occurred.

This service does not include Medway, the London Borough of Bromley or The Royal Borough of Greenwich.

If you do not live in Kent or Bexley

If the death occurred in Kent or Bexley but you are unable to attend an appointment here, you can provide the details to any registrar in England and Wales.

The details are sent to Kent Libraries, Registration and Archives service, who will register the death. This is called registration by declaration.

If you need any advice about registering a death, telephone 03000 415252.

How to register a death in another country or bring a body back to the UK

If the death occurred abroad or you wish to bring the body back to the UK, you must follow the advice provided on the Citizens Advice website and GOV.UK website.

Is there a charge?

The registration service is free of charge, but there is a charge for buying copies of the death certificate.

What happens at registration

You will need to bring:

• the medical certificate of cause of death issued by the doctor, if there has been a post mortem, the coroner will send this directly to the registrar
• birth and marriage or civil partnership certificates if these are available
• disabled parking 'Blue Badge' and concessionary bus pass if applicable
• a method of payment for copies of the death certificate, cash, credit or debit card and cheque book

We need to know some information about the person who has died and your relationship to them to be able to complete the death register.

After the registration entry is complete, the registrar will give you:

• a certificate for burial or cremation (form 9) a green form to give to the funeral director
• if the death has been referred to the coroner and the funeral is a cremation, the equivalent form will be sent by the coroner to your funeral director
• a certificate of registration of death (BD8 form) a white form to be completed and sent by you, with any benefit or pension details to the Department of Work and Pensions

Death certificates

You will need to produce a death certificate when you are arranging the finances of the person who has died.

You can buy copies of the death certificate for a small fee. These can be purchased on the day of registration or after the registration process.

Organisations you need to tell

After someone dies, you will need to notify many organisations and departments.

The Tell Us Once service can help you by telling most organisations on your behalf.