Registering a death

When you register a death in Scotland, the doctor must complete a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death. Some of these certificates are checked through the Death Certification Review Service. This can affect how quickly the registration is completed and when the funeral can take place. Here is what you need to know and what you can do.

What the review service is

The Death Certification Review Service is run by Healthcare Improvement Scotland. It looks at a sample of Medical Certificate of Cause of Death to make sure they are accurate and completed correctly.

The check is routine and does not mean that anything is wrong. It applies to some deaths chosen at random.

How a review can affect registration

If the death you are registering is selected for review, you may not be able to complete the registration straight away. If the certificate is missing information or a signature, you may need to return to the doctor so it can be corrected. This can delay registration.

The registrar will explain what is happening and keep in touch with you. We will contact you again once the review is finished.

You can still start planning the funeral while the review is taking place. However, the funeral itself cannot go ahead until registration is complete and the Certificate of Registration of Death is issued.

Funeral arrangements during a review

Once registration is complete, we will email the Certificate of Registration of Death to the person arranging the funeral, such as a funeral director. This allows the funeral to take place.

In special circumstances, it may be possible to apply for an advanced registration so the funeral can go ahead sooner. If this is important for you, please tell the registrar when you speak to us.

Why reviews are carried out

The review service helps to:

• improve the accuracy of death certificates
• make sure information about causes of death is reliable
• support planning of health services in the future

Find out more

You can find more detailed information on the Healthcare Improvement Scotland website. If you are unsure how this process affects you, please contact us and we will explain your next steps.