What will happen next?

How will I get the death certificate?

The doctor will normally give you the death certificate just after the death or the next day. Sometimes it may take longer, for example if the doctor needs to find out more about why someone died.
You need to take the death certificate with you to register the death at an office of the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths.
The death certificate gives information about the person who has died, including what caused their death.
You should read the death certificate and ask the doctor to explain anything you don’t understand. You should do this before you go to the registrar’s office.

If the person died in hospital and you would like to come back to see them, you can ask the ward staff to arrange this for you.
You can ask a funeral director to arrange for you to see the person at the funeral home.
A funeral director can usually arrange for the person who has died to be at home before the funeral, if this is what you wish.

You should tell the doctor or hospital staff that the person wished to donate their organs or tissue. You will need to explain that you know this because the person:
told you about this
included their wishes in a will, or
had a donor card or signed the Organ Donor Register.
It may be possible to use tissue for transplant, but this must be done within 48 hours of the death.

A hospital post-mortem (sometimes called an autopsy) is the medical examination of a person who has died.
Sometimes the doctor will ask for a hospital post-mortem to find out more about why someone died.
If this happens, the doctor will always discuss it with you first. A hospital post-mortem can only be carried out if the person gave their consent before they died, or if their nearest relative agrees.

When a death is sudden, unexplained or caused by an industrial illness it must be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
Doctors, registrars or the police usually report such deaths, but anyone who is concerned about a death can contact the Procurator Fiscal.
If the Procurator Fiscal decides to investigate a death, the police will often speak to the doctor or relatives of the person who has died. This is to gather information that will help the Procurator Fiscal reach a decision.
The Procurator Fiscal may also order a post-mortem to confirm the cause of death.
The Procurator Fiscal will try to answer any questions you may have.
They will complete their investigations as quickly as possible.

To find out more about this, phone the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service on 0131 226 2626 or look on the internet (www.copfs.gov.uk).

Page last edited: 23 June 2011