This page gives you information about how to register a death that occurred in England or Wales. The registration systems in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different.
A stillborn child is legally defined as a child born after the 24th week of pregnancy who did not at any time after being born breath or show any other signs of life. A child who breathed or showed other signs of life is considered live-born for registration purposes irrespective of the number of weeks' duration of the pregnancy.
When a child is stillborn, the doctor or midwife who was present at the birth or examined the body will issue a medical certificate of stillbirth. The person who registers the stillbirth must take this certificate to the register office.
Every stillbirth in England or Wales must be registered in the district in which it takes place, normally within 42 days. A stillbirth may not be registered more than three months after it occurred. Information for the registration is given to the registrar by the person registering the stillbirth.
Registration can sometimes be carried out at the hospital before the mother leaves, instead of at a register office.
If it is inconvenient to go to the district where the stillbirth took place, the information for the registration may be given to a registrar in another district. The registrar will record the details on a form of declaration and send it to the registrar for the district where the stillbirth occurred. The registrar who receives the declaration will enter the information in the stillbirth register.
Certificates of the stillbirth, which may be ordered and paid for at the time of making the declaration, as well as the document for the burial or cremation, will be posted by the registrar for the district where the stillbirth took place. If a declaration is made, it may take a day or two longer for the document for burial or cremation to be issued. The family should discuss the arrangements with their funeral director and the registrar so as to avoid any delay to the funeral.
Who can register a stillbirth
Parents married to each other
If the parents of the child were married to each other at the time of the stillbirth (or conception), either the mother or the father may register
Parents not married to each other
If the parents were not married to each other at the time of the stillbirth (or conception), information about the father may be entered in the register only in the following circumstances:
- the mother and father go to the register office and sign the still-birth register together
- where the father is unable to attend, he may make a statutory declaration acknowledging his paternity which the mother must produce to the registrar (this form may be obtained from any registrar in England or Wales)
- where the mother is unable to attend, she may make a statutory declaration acknowledging the father's paternity which the father must produce to the registrar (this form may be obtained from any registrar in England or Wales).
If information about the father is not recorded, it may be possible for the birth to be re-registered to include his details at a later date. You can obtain further information about how to apply for the re-registration of a stillbirth.
Other people who may register stillbirths
Although the majority of stillbirths are registered by the parents, sometimes neither the mother or the father are able to do this. In these circumstances, the registrar will arrange for the registration to be completed by whichever of the following people is best able to do so:
- the occupier of the house or hospital where the child was stillborn
- a person who was present at the stillbirth
- a person who is responsible for the stillborn child
- the person who found the stillborn child (where the date and place of the stillbirth are unknown).
Information to be supplied for the registration of a stillbirth
Child
- date and place of stillbirth
- the forename(s) and surname, if the parents wish to name the stillborn child
- sex of the child.
Father (where this information is to be entered in the register)
- forename(s) and surname
- date and place of birth
- occupation at the time of the stillbirth or, if not employed at that time, the last occupation.
Mother
- forename(s) and surname
- maiden surname if the mother is, or has been, married
- date and place of birth
- occupation at the time of the stillbirth or, if not employed at that time, the last occupation
- usual address at the date of the stillbirth
- date of marriage, if married to the stillborn child's father at the time of the stillbirth
- number of previous children by the present husband and by any former husband.
It is most important that the information recorded in the stillbirth register is correct. If any mistake is made, for example in the spelling of a name or surname or in the description of the father's or mother's occupation, it will give the parents or other person who registered the stillbirth some trouble to have it put right.
The person registering the stillbirth should check the information to be recorded in the register very carefully before the entry is signed.
If English is not the mother's or father's first language and help is needed with registering the stillbirth, it would be helpful for a relative or friend to accompany them to the registrar's office and act as interpreter. However, the parents must register the stillbirth personally, as a relative or friend cannot register instead of them.
How to access the service
You can contact or visit the register office from 9.15am to 4.15pm Monday to Friday. The contact details are below.
What happens next
Various certificates will be issued.
Certificate of registration
A certificate of registration will be issued, free of charge, to the person who registers the stillbirth. This certificate provides proof that the stillbirth has been registered. Any names given to the stillborn child and entered in the register will be recorded on the certificate of registration.
Stillbirth certificate
After a still-birth has been registered, one or more certificates may be bought at the time of registration or at any time afterwards by the mother or the father. The father's details would need to be recorded in the register entry for him to be able to obtain a certificate. Any application for a certificate from someone who is not the mother or father should be sent to the General Register Office, Anniversary Section, PO Box 2, Southport, PR8 2JD, giving full details of the purpose for which the certificate is required.
Certificate for burial or cremation
The registrar will issue a certificate for the burial (in a burial ground) or cremation (in a crematorium) of the stillborn child. The certificate is normally passed to the funeral director who is making the arrangements.
A funeral cannot take place until this certificate is given to the burial authority or the crematorium. If there is a delay to the registration, it is possible for a certificate for the burial (in a burial ground) to be issued before registration provided the stillbirth does not need to be reported to the coroner. A certificate for cremation cannot be issued before the registration.
The General Register Office
Room D209
Smedley Hydro
Trafalgar Road
Southport
Merseyside PR8 2HH
Tel: 0151 471 4805
Email: registering.still-births@ons.gov.uk