From 9 November 2026, due to legislative changes, you will now have the choice to register in person face-to-face or over the telephone with our registrars, when registering a death or stillbirth.
Note that certificates for in person appointments will be paid for with the registrar and issued immediately.
Certificates for telephone registrations will be paid for over the phone and posted on a standard postage 2nd class service, to an address of choice.
Recorded and signed for postage, will also be available, at an additional cost.
Certificate collection, for telephone registrations, will also be available if postage is not required.
If opting for a telephone registration, ensure you have the funeral director’s email address prior to the appointment, for the burial or cremation form to be sent electronically.
The MCCD is sent securely to the Register Office by the Medical Examiner. Families are not sent a copy.
Deaths must be registered within five days of the Register Office receiving the MCCD.
Use these forms to book an appointment to register a death.
Book a face to face appointment
Who can register the death
A death can usually be registered by:
- a relative
- someone present at the death
- the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors
- the personal representative of the deceased
Depending on where the death took place, the following people may also register the death:
- an occupant of the house where the death occurred
- an official from the hospital or care home where the death occurred
- the person who found the body
- the person in charge of the body
Information you may need
It is helpful to have the following documents for the deceased, although the registration can still go ahead if you know the information:
- passport
- marriage certificate
- birth certificate
- medical card
- proof of address
Documents issued for a death
If you register a death in person, the registrar will give you a green form for burial or cremation to take to the funeral director. In some cases the coroner will issue a form for burial or cremation direct to the funeral directors or a different form if the deceased is to be taken out of the country.
However, if you choose to register
The registrar will also issue any death certificates you may wish to purchase.
Correct a mistake on a death certificate
If you need to apply for a correction after the death is registered there is a non-refundable fee of up to £99.
Email: registration@luton.gov.uk
Read more about correcting a death registration on GOV.UK.
Register the death as an emergency
This emergency number is only available on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 to 11am. On bank holiday weekends, the Sunday service will run on the bank holiday Monday instead. At all other times, send us an email.
You can only use this service if the MCCD has been received by the Register Office.
If a death is reported to a coroner, the documents needed to register the death may be different. The registrar cannot go ahead with the registration until the coroner has issued the necessary paperwork or clearance.
Read more about deaths reported to a coroner on GOV.UK.
Email: registration@luton.gov.uk
Emergency mobile number: 07770 636 038