If death takes place at home

Supporting you at the start of the process

Whatever the circumstance of your loved one’s death, we will support you at all times during this very difficult period.

If the death took place at home and was expected, you should call your GP first to come and certify the death. If this happens out of surgery hours, simply call the surgery’s emergency phone number. If the death is unexpected, the police must be called as well as your GP.

Once the death has been certified by your GP or any other qualified person such as a paramedic, we can call to collect your loved one. Of course, we will also ensure that any family members who would like to see your loved one has chance to do so before we arrive. We will aim to be with you an hour or so after you call us.

To register the death, you will need to pick up the medical certificate from your GP. He or she may complete this while they visit your home after your first call. If not, this is usually available to collect from your GP’s surgery. It’s probably best to call first to make sure that the medical certificate is ready for collection.

If the death took place outside of surgery hours and a paramedic attended, they will leave a document that your GP will need. Take this to the GP’s surgery and your doctor should be able to issue the medical certificate. However if the death was unexpected, the coroner may be consulted. If this happens, please call us and we will explain to you what will happen next.

Once you have the medical certificate

Once you have the medical certificate the death must be registered at the local Register office:

Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages
8-10 The Lakes
Northampton
NN4 7YD

Telephone: 0300 126 1000 (8am to 6pm)
Email: registrationservice@northamptonshire.gov.uk

The registrar will usually issue a green certificate which we will need to enable the funeral to take place. This is issued free of charge. The registrar will also issue copies of the death certificate at around £4 each. In most cases, we don’t need a copy of the death certificate. However, banks, insurance companies, solicitors and others may all need to have their own copy, so it’s worth ordering a few.

Once you have registered the death, please get in touch with us and we can begin to make the funeral arrangements.

Contact Us

If you need us in an emergency your call will be answered by us personally – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Location

Head office and Primary Funeral Home

1-5 Balmoral Road, Kingsthorpe
Northampton NN2 6LA

Telephone: 01604 792284

The Village Funeral Home, Woodley Chase
Duston, Northampton NN5 6PS

Telephone: 01604 580077