A death must be registered within 5 days unless a coroner is involved.
All deaths should be registered with the Registrar in the area where the death occurred.
For information on stillbirth registration, please visit our register a stillbirth page.
Online pre-registration form
If the death occurred within the Borough of Bedford, we ask that a family member or another qualified informant completes the online pre-registration form below giving details of the deceased and pre-purchasing any copies of the death certificate they may require.
The online pre-registration form is only for deaths that have occurred in Bedford Borough. To check if the death did occur in Bedford Borough, please enter the postcode of where the death occurred on this gov.uk webpage.
If the death occurred outside Bedford Borough, please contact us by email giving the name of the deceased, when and where the death occurred and we will advise you further.
Once we have checked the pre-registration form and have received the electronic copy of the MCCD from the GP or hospital and/or Coroner's paperwork we will telephone the applicant to arrange an appointment to attend our offices to complete the registration.
If they are available, please check the following documents before you complete the online pre-registration form.
- passport
- Council Tax bill or utility bill
- driving licence
- marriage or civil partnership certificate
- birth certificate, deed poll document
- NHS medical card
This will help the Registrar to make sure the record is correct. Don't worry if you can't find some of the documents, we can register the death without them as long as you know the information. Any incorrect information provided on the pre-registration form can be corrected during the face-to-face appointment.
Green form
In most instances the green form will be issued to the informant once the registration has been completed.
Make a change to the record or certificate
Use GOV.UK's correct a death registration if you need to correct the information on a certificate.