When someone you love dies in a care home, the staff will take care of the immediate steps. They deal with this regularly and will guide you through what happens next. But knowing the process yourself can help you feel more prepared and less overwhelmed when the time comes.
This guide covers everything from the moment of death through to registering the death and arranging the funeral, including what the care home will do, what you’ll need to do, and the support available to you.
When someone dies in a care home, the staff will contact the next of kin and arrange for a doctor to verify the death. If the death was expected, the GP will issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). If it was unexpected, the coroner will be informed. You will need to register the death within 5 days in England and Wales, or 8 days in Scotland.
Most care homes will ask you and your family member to record their wishes while they are still alive. This typically includes which family members should be contacted, whether you want to be called in the middle of the night if the death happens overnight, and which funeral director you would like the home to contact.
If your family member has a prepaid funeral plan, make sure the care home has the provider’s details on file. If they have specific religious or cultural wishes around the care of their body after death, these should also be recorded. Having this conversation early means the care home can act on your family member’s wishes without delay.
If your family member was receiving end-of-life or palliative care and the death was anticipated, the process is usually straightforward. A nurse or doctor at the home will verify the death. The care home will then contact the person’s GP to arrange the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD), which records the official cause.
If the home has a registered nurse on duty (as in a nursing home), they may be able to verify the death without calling an external doctor. In a residential care home without nursing staff, the home will call the GP surgery or the NHS 111 out-of-hours service.
If the death was sudden or the cause is unclear, the care home will call 999 and the death will be referred to the coroner (or procurator fiscal in Scotland). The coroner may order a post-mortem to establish the cause. A funeral cannot take place until the coroner has completed their investigation and released the body.
The care home will contact you as soon as possible in either situation. If you were not present, you can usually visit the home to spend time with your family member before the funeral director collects them.
Since September 2024, all non-coronial deaths in England and Wales are reviewed by a medical examiner. This is an independent senior doctor who checks the proposed cause of death before the MCCD is issued. It is a routine safeguard, not an investigation.
The medical examiner’s office will phone you within a few days to explain what will be recorded as the cause of death. They will ask whether you have any concerns or questions about the circumstances. Once they are satisfied, they send the MCCD to the registrar and let you know that you can go ahead and register the death.
Care home staff are trained to treat the person with dignity and respect after death. They will usually carry out personal care within a few hours, which may include closing the person’s eyes, tidying their hair, and washing and dressing them. If the person had specific wishes about clothing, the staff will follow those where possible.
The person will be moved to their own room or another private space where family and friends can visit. There is no immediate rush to move them. You can sit with them, hold their hand, or say goodbye in whatever way feels right for you.
If the death is being referred to the coroner, the staff may be asked not to wash or dress the body until the coroner gives permission. The care home will explain this to you if it applies.
If you live a long way from the care home or cannot travel immediately, the care home will look after the person until the funeral director collects them. You can speak to the staff by phone and give instructions from a distance.
If you would like to visit before the funeral director arrives, the care home will usually wait until you can get there. Just let them know and they will make arrangements.
If your family member had specific religious or cultural practices around death, let the care home staff know as early as possible. Some traditions require the body to be washed by family members rather than staff. Others require the body to face a particular direction, or for prayers to be said within a set time.
Good care homes will already have your family member’s wishes on file, but it is worth confirming on the day so nothing is missed.
Under rules introduced by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), a care home cannot choose a funeral director on your behalf without your express permission. The home should ask you or the next of kin which funeral director to contact.
If the care home has already contacted a funeral director without consulting you, you are entitled to switch to a different one with no payment due to the first. You do not have to use a funeral director suggested by the care home.
The funeral director will attend the care home to collect the person and transfer them into their care. Most funeral directors are available around the clock.
You need to register the death within 5 days in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, or 8 days in Scotland. The death can be registered by a relative, someone who was present at the death, or the person arranging the funeral.
You’ll need to bring the MCCD (or a coroner’s certificate if the coroner was involved), along with the person’s name, date of birth, last address, and occupation. Their NHS medical card is helpful but not essential.
The registrar will give you a certified copy of the death certificate and a green form, which is the formal authority for burial or cremation. Certified copies cost £11 in England and Wales, £12 in Scotland, or £8 in Northern Ireland. You’ll need at least one copy for banks, solicitors, and insurers.
If you don’t live near the care home, you can register at your local register office by declaration. The certificates will still be issued by the registrar in the area where the death occurred, so this may take a little longer.
| Step | Who is responsible | When |
|---|---|---|
| Verify the death | Care home staff (call GP or nurse) | Immediately |
| Contact next of kin | Care home staff | As soon as possible |
| Medical examiner review | Medical examiner’s office contacts you | Within a few days |
| Collect the person | Funeral director (chosen by you) | When you are ready |
| Register the death | You (at the local register office) | Within 5 days (8 in Scotland) |
| Notify government departments | You (via Tell Us Once service) | At or after registration |
Even when a death has been expected for some time, it can still hit hard when it happens. Grief does not follow a schedule, and there is no right or wrong way to feel.
Once the cremation is complele, the ashes are placed into a container and labelled with the person’s details. Depending on your provider, ashes may be returned by hand delivery to your home, by secure tracked post, or available for collection from the crematorium.
What you do with the ashes is entirely your decision, and there is no time limit.
Common options include keeping them at home in a decorative urn, scattering them at a meaningful location, burying them in a family grave, or having them made into memorial jewellery. For a closer look at these and other memorial options, read our guide on what to do with ashes after cremation.
