In some cases the coroner will need to order a post-mortem, in which case the body will be taken to hospital for this to be carried out. The death was caused by an industrial disease. The death took place in prison or police custody The death took place during surgery or recovery from an anaesthetic The death was violent or unnatural (for example, suicide, accident or drug or alcohol overdose) The cause of death is unknown or uncertain The person's doctor had not seen them in the 28 days before they died or immediately afterwardsĪ doctor had not looked after, seen or treated the person during their last illness (in other words, death was sudden) You will find the address of your local coroner's office in the telephone directory.Ī coroner can investigate a death if the body is in their district, even though the death took place somewhere else, for example, abroad.Ī death must always be reported to a coroner in the following situations:

They're completely independent of the authority and has a separate office and staff.

When a coroner is neededĪnyone who is unhappy about the cause of a death can inform a coroner about it, but in most cases a death will be reported to a coroner by a doctor or the police.Ī coroner is a doctor or lawyer appointed by a local authority to investigate certain deaths. You’ll be told who can register the death, what they need to do and what documents they’ll need. You can find out how to register a death in the UK or abroad on GOV.UK. It's done by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. It’s a criminal offence not to register a death. The registration of the death is the formal record of the death. What happens, and things you might need to think about, after someone dies.

How many dead bodies are there in space