What to do after a death

There are some things you might need to think about after someone dies.

You can read about what to do when someone dies on mygov.scot.

Registering a death

All deaths in Scotland must be registered within 8 days of the date of death. 

Deaths can be registered at any registration office. You can read more about how to register a death on mygov.scot. 

Tell Us Once

Your local council might be part of a service called Tell Us Once.

Tell Us Once lets you report the death of someone once and then severalto most government bodies in one go, for example, the Department for Work and Pensions and Social Security Scotland.

You can read more about Tell Us Once on GOV.UK.

If you've had a miscarriage or stillbirth

You might have lost a baby during a pregnancy. What you need to do will depend on whether it was a miscarriage or a stillbirth. 

If you had a miscarriage 

If you lost your baby in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, you will have had a miscarriage. You don’t need to register this. 

You can apply for a memorial book of pregnancy and baby loss. This is a commemorative record held by the National Records of Scotland. 

There’s no time limit to apply for a memorial book. Read more about the memorial book on the National Records of Scotland website. 

If you had a stillbirth

A stillbirth is a birth after the first 24 weeks of pregnancy where the baby is not born alive. 

You must register a stillbirth within 21 days. 

Read more about registering a stillbirth on mygov.scot. 

Arranging a funeral

A funeral can take place any time after death. It should be arranged by the person named in a will or declaration by the person who died. The person who died might have left instructions about the type of funeral and burial they wanted. There is no legal obligation for these instructions to be followed, but they usually are. You can read more about arranging a funeral.

Dealing with the affairs of someone who has died

You might be responsible for dealing with the affairs of the person who died. This person is known as the executor. Read more about dealing with the affairs of someone who has died.

Organ donation

Everyone in Scotland over the age of 16 is assumed to have agreed to donate their organs when they die if they didn’t opt out whilst they were alive. 

You can read about organ donation on the Organ Donation Scotland website. 

Benefits you can get if someone dies

ou might be able to claim some money if someone has died. What you can claim depends on your circumstances and what your relationship was to the person who died. Read more about claiming bereavement benefits.

Stop getting unwanted mail

You might want to stop getting unsolicited post sent to someone who has died. 

You can register with the Mail Preference Service (MPS) and The Bereavement Register to help stop this. 

Registering with MPS will stop post being sent to someone who has died by companies who are members of the Direct Marketing Association. You can find out how to register on the Mail Preference Service website. 

Registering with The Bereavement Register can reduce the amount of unwanted marketing post sent by removing the person who died from mailing lists. You can find out how to register on The Bereavement Register website. 

Bereavement support and advice

You can find a list of bereavement support and advice services in Scotland on the Scottish government website.

You can also find information about local and national bereavement support services across the UK on the AtaLoss website.

If someone is missing and presumed to have died

If someone you know has been missing and is presumed to have died, you can get a declarator of death from a court.

You can find out how to get a declarator of death on mygov.scot.