Planning a funeral involves a fixed sequence of legal steps and a longer list of personal decisions. This checklist walks through both, in the order most families tackle them, with links to detailed guides for each decision along the way.
Quick-reference checklist
| Step | What to do | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Get the death confirmed and the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death issued | Day 1-3 |
| 2 | Register the death | Within 5 days (8 in Scotland) |
| 3 | Use Tell Us Once to notify government departments | Within 28 days of registering |
| 4 | Decide burial, cremation, or direct cremation | Alongside registration |
| 5 | Choose a funeral director, or arrange directly | Within the first week |
| 6 | Notify family, friends, and other organisations | Ongoing from day 1 |
| 7 | Set the date, venue, and order of service | 1-2 weeks before the funeral |
| 8 | Confirm costs and how they’ll be paid | Before booking |
| 9 | Hold the funeral | Usually 2-3 weeks after death |
Step 1: Get the death confirmed
Before anything else can happen, a doctor needs to confirm the death and issue the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). If the person died at home, this is usually their GP; in hospital, it’s the attending doctor. If you’re not yet at this stage – the death has just happened at home and you’re not sure who to call first – see our guide to what to do when someone dies at home.
A medical examiner – a senior doctor not involved in the person’s care – will then independently check the cause of death recorded on the certificate. This is a routine scrutiny step introduced across England and Wales, and it’s normal for it to take a few days. You don’t have to speak to the medical examiner’s office if you’d rather not, though they may contact you to explain the cause of death and answer questions (gov.uk: what to do after someone dies).
If the death was sudden, unexplained, violent, or happened without a doctor present in the preceding weeks, it may be reported to a coroner instead. A coroner’s investigation can add days or weeks before you’re able to register the death and proceed with funeral arrangements – if this applies to you, the register office or the coroner’s officer will explain what happens next.
Step 2: Register the death
Once the medical examiner’s office confirms you can proceed, you must register the death within 5 days in England and Wales, or 8 days in Scotland, including weekends and bank holidays (gov.uk: register a death). If you need longer, you must tell the register office immediately – don’t simply miss the deadline. Our guide to how to register a death covers the full process for England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, including exactly what to bring and how many death certificates to order.
Registration is usually done at the register office covering the area where the death happened, and in many areas you need to book an appointment. Take proof of identity for yourself and, where possible, the deceased’s documents (birth certificate, marriage or civil partnership certificate, NHS number, National Insurance number).
After registering, you’ll receive:
- A certificate for burial or cremation (sometimes called “the green form”). You must give this to your funeral director, the crematorium, or the burial authority before the funeral can take place.
- A unique reference number for the Tell Us Once service.
- As many copies of the death certificate as you need – order several, since banks, pension providers, and insurers will each want their own copy or a certified copy.
Step 3: Tell government departments in one go
The Tell Us Once service lets you report the death to most central and local government organisations at the same time – including HMRC, the DWP, the DVLA, and the Passport Office – rather than contacting each one separately. It’s free, and available online or by phone for up to 28 days after you get your reference number from the register office.
Tell Us Once doesn’t cover everything. You’ll still need to notify banks, employers, private pension providers, utility companies, and any other organisations the person dealt with directly. Our guide to who to notify when someone dies covers the full list, with the specific contact details and processes for major UK banks and companies.
Step 4: Decide burial, cremation, or direct cremation
This decision shapes most of what follows, so it’s worth making early – even provisionally. Around 4 in 5 UK funerals now end in cremation rather than burial, largely because it’s less expensive and gives more flexibility over what happens afterwards.
- Burial is more traditional, gives a fixed physical place to visit, and is required or strongly preferred within some faiths. It costs more once you account for grave purchase and gravedigger fees.
- Cremation with a service is the most common choice – a funeral service followed by cremation, with the ashes returned to the family afterwards.
- Direct cremation means the body is cremated without a service or mourners present. It’s the most affordable option and increasingly popular for families who want a low-key send-off, or who plan to hold a separate memorial later. Our guide to direct cremation in the UK explains how it works, typical providers, and what it costs.
If the person left a clear preference – in a will, a pre-paid funeral plan, or a conversation with family – start there. If not, it becomes a family decision, and it’s worth discussing before you contact a funeral director so you’re not making the choice under pressure on the phone.
Check specifically whether the deceased had a pre-paid funeral plan. Since July 2022, these plans are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, meaning providers must meet minimum standards and hold funds in trust. If a plan exists, contact the funeral director named in it as early as possible – it will specify what’s already been paid for and what wasn’t.
Step 5: Choose a funeral director, or arrange directly
Most families use a funeral director to handle the logistics: collecting the body, coordinating with the crematorium or cemetery, and guiding you through the paperwork and choices. You don’t need to have made every decision before you call – a good funeral director is used to supporting families who are still in shock, and will walk you through the options.
There’s no obligation to accept the first quote. It’s reasonable, and increasingly common, to get quotes from two or three funeral directors before deciding – prices for a broadly similar service can vary significantly between providers in the same area. Our guide to independent funeral directors covers named, verified options in several UK cities.
If you’d rather arrange things yourself, a direct or DIY funeral is legal – you deal directly with the crematorium or burial authority, handle the certificate and paperwork personally, and arrange transport of the body yourself. It takes more time and organisation but avoids funeral director fees. This suits some families, particularly for a simple direct cremation, but most people still bring in professional help for at least part of the process.
Step 6: Notify people, and check for a will
Before any wider announcement, make sure immediate family and close friends hear the news directly – not through social media or a group message. Once that’s done, work outward to the wider circle: colleagues, clubs, faith communities, and anyone who’d want advance notice of the funeral date.
Check whether the deceased left a will. It may name an executor with the legal authority to make funeral arrangements, and it may record specific wishes about burial or cremation, music, or a particular venue. If there’s no will, or a dispute arises about who should decide, it’s worth getting legal advice early. Our probate guide explains the wider process of dealing with an estate, which runs alongside – but separately from – funeral planning.
Step 7: Set the date, venue, and order of service
Most UK funerals take place two to three weeks after the death, giving time for far-flung family to travel, for a slot to become available at the crematorium or cemetery, and for the details to come together. Direct cremation can happen sooner, often within a week, since there’s no service logistics to coordinate.
Decisions to work through at this stage:
- Venue and format – a religious service, a secular or humanist ceremony, a graveside service, or a woodland burial. There’s no single right answer; what matters is that it reflects the person who died.
- Order of service – whether to print one, what to include, and how many copies. See our guide to creating an order of service.
- Music – hymns, songs, or instrumental pieces. See our guide to hymns for funerals, which also covers popular secular songs.
- Readings and poems – religious, secular, or personal choices. See our guide to funeral poems and readings.
- Eulogy – who will speak, and what to include. See our guide to writing a eulogy.
- Flowers – wreaths, tributes, or a request for donations instead. See our guide to funeral flowers.
- Coffin – wood, wicker, cardboard, or another material. See our guide to coffin types.
- Dress code – what to tell guests to expect. See our guide to what to wear to a funeral.
After the funeral, many families also plan a lasting memorial – a headstone, plaque, or the scattering of ashes. Our guides to headstone prices and wording, memorial plaques, and scattering ashes in the UK cover these decisions when you’re ready for them; they don’t need to be settled before the funeral itself.
Step 8: Confirm costs and how they’ll be paid
Get a written, itemised quote before booking anything. UK funeral costs vary widely depending on choices made at each step above – our guide to funeral costs in the UK has current national averages, and our guide to cremation costs specifically breaks down crematorium fees by region.
Ways to cover the cost:
- The deceased’s estate, if funds are available – some banks will release money directly to pay funeral invoices before probate is granted, on production of the invoice and death certificate.
- A pre-paid funeral plan, if one exists.
- Funeral Expenses Payment, a government payment for people receiving certain means-tested benefits. It doesn’t cover every cost, but it’s worth checking eligibility – see our bereavement benefits guide.
- Family contributions, split however the family agrees.
Ask specifically what’s included in any quote – professional fees, the coffin, disbursements (crematorium or cemetery fees, doctors’ certificates, officiant fees), and anything optional like limousines or a memorial book. These are often quoted separately and can add up. If the final bill doesn’t match what you agreed, or something else goes wrong, see our guide to how to complain about a funeral director for the free redress schemes available.
What to avoid
Don’t feel pressured to make every decision on the first phone call with a funeral director – a good one will let you think things over. Don’t assume a pre-paid plan covers everything; check what’s included before you’re presented with a bill for the difference. And don’t wait for every decision to be settled before registering the death or starting the Tell Us Once process – those steps have their own deadlines and shouldn’t be delayed by unrelated choices about flowers or music.
Summary
- Register the death within 5 days (8 in Scotland) of getting medical examiner confirmation, then use Tell Us Once to notify government departments within 28 days.
- Decide burial, cremation, or direct cremation, and check for a will or pre-paid funeral plan before you commit to arrangements.
- Get quotes from more than one funeral director, or consider a direct funeral if you’d rather arrange things yourself.
- Most funerals happen 2-3 weeks after the death, giving time to book a venue, arrange the order of service, and notify family and friends.
- Confirm costs in writing before booking, and check whether Funeral Expenses Payment or the deceased’s estate can help cover them.
- Once the funeral is arranged, our funeral planning hub has detailed guides for every individual decision – from coffins and flowers to headstones and scattering ashes.