Registering a death in Torbay
When someone dies, you will need to register the death. Once the death has been registered, you will be given all the paperwork required to arrange the funeral.

When do I register?
When someone passes away there needs to be a certificate produced by either the doctor or the coroner to allow the registration process to go ahead.

Certain situations differ as to which certificate is sent but to keep it simple, you cannot register until the Registrar is in receipt of one of these certificates. The certificate is emailed to the Registrar by either the doctor or the coroner and you will be notified once this is done and when you can make an appointment to register.

In most cases, a death should be registered within 5 days, but this can vary if there is a post mortem.

How do I register?
When a death occurs in Torbay you will need to book an appointment at the Registrar’s Office by calling: 01803 207130

Where do I need to go?
For deaths that occurred in Torbay you will need to go to:
Paignton Library
Great Western Road
Paignton
Devon
TQ4 5AG
There is easy parking opposite the library which is accessed off Station Lane.

Who can register?
If the person died in a house or hospital, the death can be registered by:
• A relative
• Someone present at the death
• The owner, manager, matron of the residential home or hospital administrator where the death occurred
• The person responsible for arranging the funeral (but not the Funeral Director)

Most deaths are registered by a relative. The registrar would normally only allow other people if there are no relatives available.

What information will they need?
They need to know some information about the person who has died to be able to complete the Death Register Entry. It is important that the information is correct:
• The date and place of death
• The full name of the person who died and any other names they were known by
• Their date and place of birth
• Their occupation and whether they were retired
• Their usual address
• If the person who died was married the full name and occupation of their spouse
• Whether they were in receipt of a pension from government funds, such as teachers, civil services, armed forces etc
• If the deceased was married, the date of birth of the spouse.
• If available, the person’s NHS number

What is a Death Certificate?
A death certificate is a certified copy of the entry in the Register, you can buy as many as you need at the registration, at a cost of £11 each.
You can buy extra copies at any time after the registration, but they will cost more.

More information and book to register
Please click the link below to download this guide as a pdf.