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These certificates record the time and cause of death. They are perhaps less obviously useful for people trying to take generations further back, but can give a useful picture of the social standing and life conditions of your ancestor (usually indicated by cause of death).

The recording and indexing of death certificates is done in the same way as births, with a record being kept locally by the superintendent registrar and one nationally at the GRO. A death would be recorded locally where it occurred, rather than on the actual residence of the deceased. Again, the GRO indexes are organized annually and then subdivided into quarters. Within these quarters the individuals are listed strictly alphabetically, surname first and then forename. From the March quarter of 1866 to the March quarter of 1969 an age of death for the deceased also appears. Hence there is no need to order the actual certificate if you only require this information (and if you are sure this is the correct ancestor, as with common names you may only be able to verify if it is the right person by obtaining the actual certificate). From June 1969 an age at death was replaced by the date of birth of the individual. As with birth and marriage certificates, the indexes were organized annually from 1984, and not further subdivided on a quarterly basis.

The actual certificate will give the following information:

• The exact registration district where the death was recorded.

• When and where died: The exact location of where the death occurred, which may not be where the deceased lived as he or she may have been visiting family or died in hospital.

• Name and surname: The full name of the deceased.

• Sex: Whether the deceased was male or female.

• Age: The age of the deceased; this is perhaps the most useful piece of information for those wishing to take their family tree further back in generations. Once you have an age it is possible to start searching for the individual’s birth certificate and parentage. Bear in mind, however, that this information would not always be accurate as no proof of age was required. Not everyone remembered their age with absolute certainty, especially those born prior to civil registration or in the early part of the nineteenth century.

• Occupation: A good genealogical clue in helping trace appropriate employment records if relevant. Women who were married or widowed would usually have the name and maybe occupation of their husband provided, which can be useful.

• Cause of death: The more modern records of death may give quite specialized medical terms that may need to be researched. The early certificates could be somewhat vaguer in the medical terms used. The cause and age of death are good indicators of the living conditions of the deceased, with poorer people generally having shorter life spans then the wealthier classes. Additionally, a sudden death or accident would often require a coroner’s inquest before the death certificate could be issued, and the date of the inquest should be stated on the certificate. These inquests may well have been reported in local newspapers and it is worth pursuing this line of enquiry. You may also be able to find the actual coroner’s report in your local record office. However, they are subject to data protection for 75 years and not every report would have survived, as there is no legal requirement to retain the information after 15 years have elapsed.

• Signature, description and residence of the informant: This can also be a useful piece of genealogical information as sometimes it would be family members who would register the deaths. However, after 1874 the law changed and it was compulsory to have a doctor’s certificate before a death certificate could be issued, and hence doctors would sometimes appear as the informants.

• When registered: The date the death was registered, the legal requirement being five days after the death of the person. However, if a coroner was involved, there may well be a considerable delay in registration.

• Signature of registrar: The signature of the local registrar.