Farra is a death administration assistant for UK families. Get step-by-step guidance for registering a death, applying for probate, notifying banks, and managing bereavement admin. From essential documents to practical checklists, Farra simplifies estate paperwork and funeral-related tasks so you can focus on what matters.
A post-mortem is an examination of the body to establish the medical cause of death. Whether you have a say depends on who is asking: a coroner's post-mortem is part of a legal investigation and cannot be objected to, while a hospital post-mortem needs consent under the Human Tissue Act 2004 and can be declined. The regulations require the examination to be requested, and the body released, "as soon as reasonably practicable" — no official average is published for either — and the funeral does not have to wait for the full results.
What it is: an examination ordered by the coroner as part of a legal investigation into how the person died.
Your choice: GOV.UK is blunt about this — "You cannot object to a coroner's post-mortem". What you can do is tell the coroner's office in advance that you want to know when and where it will happen: regulation 13 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013 then requires them to notify you, unless doing so is impracticable or would unreasonably delay the examination. Regulation 13(4) also entitles you to be represented at the examination by a medical practitioner.
Why it happens: to establish the medical cause of death — either to decide whether an investigation should start, or as evidence within one. A post-mortem can take place even where the coroner decides not to investigate the death.
If you want to understand the wider coroner process, our guide on how long coroner cases take walks through it stage by stage.
What it is: an examination requested by doctors to understand a disease better, confirm a diagnosis, or help future patients.
Your choice: it can only go ahead with consent from the family (or the person's own recorded wishes). You are completely free to say no, and doctors will respect your decision.
Worth asking: why it is being requested, what they hope to learn, whether a limited examination would be enough, and what happens to any tissue samples.
No official figures are published for how long a post-mortem or its results take, so this page gives none. What is fixed is the order of events and the duties on the coroner:
Regulation 11 requires a coroner who considers a post-mortem should be made to request it "as soon as reasonably practicable". No average is published. If your faith requires burial quickly, tell the coroner's office straight away.
Regulation 20 requires the coroner to release the body for burial or cremation as soon as is reasonably practicable, and to tell the next of kin the reason for any delay beyond 28 days. Release may be held up where the coroner needs further tests, or where criminal proceedings may follow and a second post-mortem is possible. Once released, the funeral can be arranged. Our guide on when the body is released from the coroner explains what happens at that point.
Regulation 16 requires the pathologist to report to the coroner as soon as practicable after the examination. The same regulation stops them giving the report to anyone else without the coroner's written authority, so ask the coroner's office for what they can share.
Where samples are sent for histology (tissue examined under a microscope) or toxicology (testing for medicines, alcohol or other substances), the wait can be long. No official turnaround figures are published. The Ministry of Justice does report how often these are used: in 2025, 21% of post-mortem examinations included histology and 30% included toxicology.
The funeral does not have to wait for the results. Once the body is released, the funeral can usually go ahead, even though full results may still be some way off.
While the coroner is still investigating, the death usually cannot be registered, and that can feel like everything is stuck. It is not. GOV.UK says: "If you need proof of the death while you wait for the inquest to finish, ask the coroner for an interim death certificate." GOV.UK confirms you can use it to:
Banks, insurers and pension providers each set their own requirements. Many accept an interim certificate; some will wait for the final death certificate showing the cause of death. Ask each one rather than assuming.
The full death certificate follows once the coroner's investigation concludes. If an inquest is held, our guide to coroner verdicts (conclusions) explained covers what the outcome means.
Many people find that knowing what happens, in plain terms, is less distressing than imagining it. A specialist doctor called a pathologist carries out the examination with care and respect throughout.
The pathologist first examines the outside of the body, recording anything relevant to understanding how the person died.
An incision is made so the internal organs can be examined. Small tissue samples may be taken for laboratory testing where needed.
The incisions are carefully closed afterwards. They are not visible when the person is dressed, so a viewing is almost always still possible. Your funeral director can advise on when a viewing can take place.
Less-invasive techniques such as CT scanning are in real use: the Ministry of Justice records 16,705 post-mortems in 2025 that used less-invasive techniques alongside an invasive examination, and 6,717 that used less-invasive techniques only. Availability varies by coroner area, and whether the coroner will order one is their decision, not yours. Some areas ask families to meet the cost of a scan; ask the coroner's office what applies in your case.
If your faith asks for burial quickly, as in Islam and Judaism, raise this with the coroner's office as early as possible. Coroners' offices deal with this regularly and will try to accommodate religious urgency, for example by prioritising the examination and releasing the body as soon as they can.
Because a hospital post-mortem needs your consent, you can simply decline on religious or personal grounds, and doctors will respect that without question.
Small tissue samples are often kept for laboratory testing, such as histology and toxicology. Occasionally a whole organ needs to be retained for specialist examination. You have rights here:
The Human Tissue Authority regulates the storage and use of human tissue, and the coroner's office or hospital bereavement team can answer questions at any point.
In a small number of cases, usually where criminal proceedings are possible, a second post-mortem may be carried out (for example, at the request of the defence). This can delay the release of the body, which is hard on families. The coroner's office should keep you informed and release the body as soon as it is no longer needed.
Scotland does not have coroners, and none of the regulations cited on this page apply there. Deaths are reported to the Procurator Fiscal, who can instruct a post-mortem, and the family's consent is not needed for one ordered as part of that investigation. Scotland also has no medical examiners: certificates that are not reported to the Procurator Fiscal go straight to the registrar, with around 12% selected at random for review by the Death Certification Review Service.
Northern Ireland has its own Coroners Service, operating under the Coroners Act (Northern Ireland) 1959 rather than the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, so the regulations cited on this page do not apply there. NIDirect says that where a death is referred to the coroner, funeral arrangements should not be made before the coroner's consent has been obtained.
It depends who is asking. A coroner's post-mortem is part of a legal investigation and does not need the family's consent — GOV.UK says plainly that you cannot object to it. What you can do is ask the coroner in advance to tell you when and where it will take place; regulation 13 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013 then requires them to, unless that would unreasonably delay the examination, and entitles you to be represented there by a medical practitioner. A hospital post-mortem, done to understand a disease or confirm a diagnosis, does need consent under the Human Tissue Act 2004, and you are free to say no.
No official figure is published. Regulation 11 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013 requires the coroner to request the examination 'as soon as reasonably practicable', and regulation 20 requires them to release the body 'as soon as is reasonably practicable' afterwards — and to tell the next of kin the reason for any delay beyond 28 days. The funeral can usually go ahead once the body is released, and you do not need to wait for the full results.
Regulation 16 requires the pathologist to report to the coroner as soon as practicable after the examination. No official figure is published for how long full results take where histology (tissue examined under a microscope) or toxicology (testing for substances) is involved. The coroner's office should keep you updated, and the funeral does not have to wait for the full results.
Usually, yes. Once the coroner releases the body, the funeral can go ahead, even though full results such as histology and toxicology may still be outstanding. If the death cannot yet be registered, you can ask the coroner for an interim death certificate; GOV.UK confirms you can use it to apply for probate and to report the death through Tell Us Once. Banks and insurers each set their own requirements, so ask them.
You can ask, but the decision is the coroner's, not yours. Less-invasive techniques such as CT scanning are widely used — the Ministry of Justice recorded 6,717 post-mortems in 2025 using less-invasive techniques alone — but availability varies by coroner area and some areas ask families to meet the cost of a scan. If your faith requires burial quickly, raise it with the coroner's office straight away.
Yes, viewing is usually possible. The incisions are carefully closed afterwards and are not visible when the person is dressed. Pathologists and funeral directors take great care over the person's appearance. Your funeral director can advise on timing.