Bereavement, Cemeteries and Funerals

When someone dies, people and organisations need to be told and documents need to be completed. Some of these things can be done by a close relative or friend; others need to be done by the executor or administrator of the estate.

What do I do when someone dies?

For information about what to do when someone dies, you can browse the Death and Bereavement section of the Directgov website.

For specific information on the following topics, please use the links to the Directgov website below:

Visit the Deaths pages of the Oxfordshire County Council website for local Oxfordshire information about the registration of a death, the coroners' office, the mortuary service, civil funerals and probate.

Visit our Bereavement Advice page for more useful information on what to do when someone dies and coping with death.

What services does Oxford City Council offer?

Our Cemeteries Service offers facilities for burials in four cemeteries in Oxford:

Botley - North Hinksey Lane
Headington - Dunstan Road
Rose Hill - Church Cowley Road
Wolvercote - Banbury Road

We do not directly arrange funerals or the erection of memorials. Most people employ a funeral director or memorial mason to act on their behalf.

Visit our Cemeteries Service page for more information on the services we offer, charges and concessions, and the opening times of our cemeteries.

How and where do I register a death in Oxford?

The Registration service in Oxford is run by Oxfordshire County Council. Visit the Registering a Death section of their website for more information. Under normal circumstances, a death must be registered within five days. The registration must take place in the district where the death happened. As Oxfordshire is a single district, this can be at any of the local offices around the county. Visit the Registration Offices page of the Oxfordshire County Council website for locations of offices in Oxfordshire.

What happens if a death is reported to the coroner?

It is the duty of coroners to investigate deaths which are reported to them and which:

appear to be due to violence
are unnatural
are of sudden and of unknown cause
occur in legal custody.

Visit the Coroners' Office pages of the Oxfordshire County Council website for more information.

**Bereavement contacts**
Organisation	Phone	Address
Oxfordshire Registration Service	0845 129 5900	Registration Service Oxford Register Office 1 Tidmarsh Lane Oxford OX1 1NS
Oxfordshire Coroners' Office	01865 861912	Coroner's Office The Old School House High Street Cumnor OX2 9PE
Oxford District Probate Registry	01865 793055	Combined Court Building St Aldates Oxford Oxfordshire OX1 1LY

Reporting a death to Oxford City Council

If the deceased was a registered Council Tax payer, or in receipt of Housing or Council Tax Benefit you should advise Oxford City Council of the death. You can do this by using our online form.

Notification of death form