A guide to searching for death and burial records in Southwark
Death certificates
Before requesting a death certificate, bear in mind a few things when researching information about the deceased:
- variations in name spellings, use of nicknames and aliases as it was not unusual for people to write what they heard and often people liked to keep their nicknames throughout their life; middle names were sometimes used as first names
- names appearing on birth certificates may not be the same ones that appear on a death certificate
- until 1874, it was the responsibility of the registrar to ensure a death was registered using information supplied by the informant; thereafter, the next of kin was responsible for ensuring the deceased was registered
Death certificates record (where information is available) the full name of the deceased, when and where they died, age, occupation, cause of death, name and address of the informant, the date of registration and name of the registrar. A guide to death certificates can be found on the General Register Office website.
Ordering a death certificate
A death certificate can be ordered from the following sources for a fee:
Southwark Register Office for pre 1900 certificates
Southwark Register Office for post 1900 certificates
Page last updated: 28 November 2023
