Registration of Deaths

Bedfordshire Registration Service at Bedfordshire County Council is responsible for recording all deaths that take place in Bedfordshire (excluding Luton).

The Register Office is in Bedford, with outstations in Ampthill, Biggleswade, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard.

The death must be registered within five days of the date of the death, unless the Coroner is investigating.

The death must be registered at any of the offices within the district where the death took place but before you register, you should have a Medical Certificate Cause of Death from the doctor or hospital. The Certificate will be supplied in a sealed envelope, which must be delivered to the Registrar unopened. If you do not have this Certificate, you may need a notification from the Coroner.

Civil Funerals

In addition to its legal duties of registering deaths, Bedfordshire Registration Service now offers, in partnership with Civil Ceremonies Limited, a number of celebratory services, including civil funerals

These ceremonies have no basis in law and officers who conduct them do so not as Registration Officers, but as Bedfordshire County Council Celebrants.

Civil Funerals can be held almost anywhere with the exception of religious buildings and churches.

A civil funeral provides an alternative to the "traditional" religious funeral service. It focuses on celebrating the life of the deceased and is created by a professional Celebrant in consultation with the family to produce a dignified and highly personal ceremony.

The Celebrant will meet with the family to discuss all the options available to create a unique ceremony that reflects the express wishes of the family and the deceased.

Stillbirths

A stillborn child is legally defined as a child born after the 24th week of pregnancy who did not show any signs of life at any time after being born.

Stillbirth registration began on 1 July 1927 to help protect infant life. As well as being an important source of historical and statistical information, it also gives parents the opportunity to have their child officially acknowledged and to give him or her names if they wish to.

Stillbirths in England and Wales must normally be registered within 42 days of the stillbirth but cannot be registered more than 3 months after its occurrence. This can often be done at the hospital or if not at the local register office.

More information on registering a stillbirth can be found on the General Register Office website.

Bereavement

How you respond to a death or a bereaved person will be very individual and personal. If you need help, advice or simply someone to talk to about bereavement, then there are many organisations that can provide this support.

Cruse is the leading charity in the U.K. specialising in bereavement. They currently have 148 branches and over 5,300 volunteers throughout the U.K. Over 100,000 people contact Cruse each year for help and information.

You can contact the Cruse helpline by telephoning: 0870 167 1677 or by emailing: helpline@crusebereavementcare.org.uk.

Contact

If you would like more information about registering a death/stillbirth or arranging a civil funeral, please visit the Bedfordshire County Council website or contact Registration Service using the details below:

Bedfordshire Register Office,
Pilgrim House,
20 Brickhill Drive,
Bedford. MK41 7PZ

Telephone: 01234 290450
Email:lifeevents@bedscc.gov.uk