How do I find out if someone has died in the UK

If someone close to you dies, most likely you will find out fairly quickly. However, what about someone you’re not too close to, or someone you used to know but have now lost touch with? You may not be able to ask someone who might know, or you may not feel it’s appropriate.

Here are some ways you can find out if someone has died in the UK:

Use a search engine
Put their name in a search engine and see what comes up. It can be helpful to search their name + “death” or “obituary”, to see if there are any notices of death for them. If you have more information, such as where they lived, this can be helpful to narrow down the search.

Check death records
Death records are available to the public in the UK, so you can use websites such as www.publicrecordsearch.co.uk to see if you can find anything. You may need to register to see any results, but this is usually free.

Local Newspaper
If you want to keep tabs on friends in your area, you can check your local newspaper regularly for notices of death, but if you’re wanting to find out if someone has already passed away it may be a better idea to check their websites. www.funeral-notices.co.uk has thousands of death notices open to the public, and it’s as easy as typing a name into the search.

Genealogy websites
Sites such as www.ancestry.co.uk can be useful when searching for details of someone who died a long time ago.

Grave records
Websites such as https://www.findagrave.com/ have records of graves all over the world, some of the records even include a photo of the grave in question. You can see what was inscribed on the gravestone, and sometimes further details are available.

Social Media
Many people announce deaths on social media now, so it’s always worth checking sites such as Facebook and Instagram. Searching a name should bring up that person’s profile if they have one. If they have passed away, their wall will likely have tributes from others posted on it. You can also check the profiles of other friends or family members, to see if they have posted anything.

Check newspaper archives
If you’re searching for information for someone who died a long time ago, it may not be online. You may have to search through old newspaper archives, which can be found at your local library.

Thank you for reading.