On 26 March 2020, provisions on remote registration of deaths and still-births in the UK Coronavirus Act 2020 came into force, to prevent unnecessary in-person contact at registration offices. This means that doctors providing the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD), or the Certificate of Still-birth, will be expected to ask the person who will be making funeral arrangements which registration office they intend to deal with.
The doctor will then send a copy of the certificate to the specified registrar electronically, also copying in the person making the funeral arrangements. This is to ensure that the registrar receives a copy of the MCCD, without which the death cannot be registered.
To read the full guidance, click here.