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A Coroner is an independent judicial office holder albeit appointed by the local council. Most Coroners are Solicitors or Barristers.

Not all deaths are referred to the coroner. In 2022, 208,400 deaths were reported to the coroner, 36% of the total deaths registered in England and Wales.

Generally speaking, the coroner is only involved where the death:

1. is due to an unknown cause e.g. sudden and unexpected death, including those at a hospital.
2. is violent or unnatural e.g. accident, suicide, homicide.
3. occurred in state detention e.g. prison.

However, an apparently natural cause of death may still be referred to the coroner if the deceased had a medical procedure which may have contributed to death; or had sepsis.

The extent of the coroner’s involvement can vary. The coroner may:

1. have no duty to investigate and be required only to issue an Out of England Certificate.
2. do no more than discuss the case with the attending doctor or a Medical Examiner in order to gather enough information to ascertain the cause of death and that it was natural.
3. obtain a post-mortem to determine the cause of death. If it is natural causes, the investigation will be discontinued.
4. in cases where the death was violent, unnatural, unknown (despite a forensic post-mortem), or in state detention, open an investigation and conduct an Inquest hearing to find out who has died and how, when, and where they died.

A list of all Senior Coroners and their Office contact details can be found on the judiciary website.

If someone’s death has been reported to the coroner, after completing their preliminary enquiries, the coroner may decide to hold an inquest to establish when, where, and how the person died. An inquest will always be needed if the person has possibly died a violent or unnatural death, the cause of death is unknown or if they died in prison or police custody.

If the coroner does decide to hold an inquest into the death, then this can take weeks, months or even years to conclude, depending on the complexity of the situation. The inquest will be opened soon after the death, which allows the coroner to give authorisation for burial or cremation to take place. After the inquest has been opened, it may be adjourned until after any other investigations have been completed (the average length of adjournment was 30 weeks in 2022).

The registrars will not issue the death certificate until the inquest has concluded, and the death also cannot be registered until this point. However, in the meantime, the coroner will issue an interim death certificate, which is known as the ‘Coroner’s Certificate of the Fact of Death’.

If you wish to move a body out of England, you will need to ask the coroner to sign a completed Out of England form (Form103)

To apply to move a body you will need the following documents:

1. Form 104 (‘Form of Notice to a Coroner of Intention to Remove a Body out of England).
2. The death certificate issued by the Registrar (where the death isn’t being investigated by the coroner).

If the death isn’t being investigated by the coroner and your application is approved, the coroner will issue Form 103 to your funeral director. This will usually be within 1 to 2 working days. You should not make travel arrangements until your funeral director has received Form 103 from the coroner.

If the death is being investigated then it will take longer, especially in cases where a post-mortem is needed. The registrar will not issue the death certificate until the inquest has concluded, and the death also cannot be registered until this point. However, in the meantime, the coroner will issue an interim death certificate, which can be used by the funeral directors to make the arrangements to move the body.

• A list of Names and contact details of Regional Coroners can be found here.