Legally a death must be registered within five days in the Registration District where the death actually occurred. If the death is referred to the Coroner this may be extended, the Coroner’s Office will be in touch with you to confirm what will happen next.
Registration of a death will be a face to face appointment at Sandwell Register Office.
The address for Sandwell Register Office is: Highfields House, High Street, West Bromwich, B70 8RJ
We can only register a death once we are in receipt of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) or where the Coroner is involved the paperwork issued by the Coroner certifying the cause of death.
The MCCD or Coroners form will be sent directly to the Register Office and we will contact the person who is completing the registration as soon as this is received to arrange the appointment.
Please email Registrars_Westbromwich@sandwell.gov.uk to let us know that you wish to register a death.
When you contact us, please let us know the name, contact details and relationship to the deceased for the person who is going to register the death.
Alternatively call us on 0121 368 1188.
Our out-of-hours death registration service is available on 07810 152159 on weekends and Bank Holidays from 9am - 1pm.
Baby Loss Certificate
- A new voluntary scheme has been introduced from 22 February 2024 which fulfils a government commitment in the Women’s Health Strategy for England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
- It is a voluntary scheme to support parents who have experienced a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks and the certificate is an important acknowledgement of a life lost but it is not a legal document.
- Either parent can apply for a Baby Loss Certificate if they have experienced a loss under 24 weeks since 1 September 2018; are at least 16 years of age; currently live in England and were living in England at the time of the loss.
- Should you wish to apply please use this link: Request a baby loss certificate - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The appointment and information will you need to register the death?
The registration appointment will take approximately 45 minutes. The Registrar will ask for the following information in relation to the deceased:
- Date and place of death and usual address
- Details of their wife or husband or civil partner
- Full name and surname and maiden name if ever married
- Date and place of birth
- Occupation and occupation of spouse or civil partner if appropriate.
The Green Form
To plan for the funeral, you will need to have a certificate for burial or cremation (Also known as the Green Form) which is issued by the Registrar following the registration. This form will be sent electronically to the funeral director you have chosen on the day of the registration. If you should change funeral director, we will ask for the form to be returned to the Register Office and will contact you for the new arrangements.
How much are certificates?
Death certificates cost £11 each, you can order and pay for as many certificates as you need during the appointment. After the appointment if you need to order additional certificates they can be ordered via our online application service.
Order and pay online for a death certificate
Urgent registration of a death
An out-of-hours service is available for families who need to register a death so that an urgent burial can take place either at a weekend or a Bank Holiday. The hours for the out of hours service is 9AM until 1PM Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays (Excluding Christmas Day).
This service is for when a burial needs to take place on the day of death or the next day.
Tell Us Once
You can save you a great deal of time and effort using our Tell Us Once service where we inform government departments about somebody's death for you.