Medical Certificate of Cause of Death

The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) is the document an attending doctor or hospital issues stating the medical cause of death. It is the document that allows the family to register the death with the local registrar; the family is not given multiple copies, and they don't need them. [source: gov-uk/register-a-death-2026-04-29.html]

It's distinct from the death certificate proper, which is the certified copy of the entry in the register issued by the registrar after registration. People often use "death certificate" to mean either; in practice, banks, insurers, and HMRC are asking for the registrar's certified copy, not the doctor's MCCD.

If the death was sudden, unexplained, violent, or otherwise unusual, the doctor cannot issue an MCCD and the death is referred to the coroner, who controls the timeline until their investigation concludes. In that case the family receives an interim certificate from the coroner's office while the inquest runs, and the registrar issues the final certificate only after the coroner's process completes.

→ How to get a death certificate

Last verified: 29 April 2026 against gov.uk/register-a-death.