Coroners Office

Inquests

Overview of Inquests

A Coroner will undertake an inquest if the cause of death is unknown or if the person:

• Possibly died a violent or unnatural death.
• Died in custody or otherwise in state detention.

It is a coroner's duty at an inquest to establish who the deceased was and how, when and where the deceased came by his or her death. It is a fact finding process.  An inquest is not permitted to determine or appear to determine a criminal liability by a named person or civil liability.  It is about what happened, and how it happened, not who was responsible for what happened; this is the responsibility of the civil and criminal courts.

After an inquest the coroner will send the necessary details to the register of births and deaths for the death to be registered when it occurred in England and Wales.

Please note: That if the coroner has decided to investigate a death, registration of the death must wait for the coroner to finish his or her inquiries.  These inquiries may take time, so it is always best to contact the coroner's office before any funeral arrangements are made.

Latest Inquest Dates

We regularly update the list of latest inquest dates. However dates and times can be subject to change at short notice.

 May 2019

June 2019