death certificate

[thor]

hi everyone

 I have received a few certificates today including a couple of death certificates.  I just wondered why on one it says certified but on the other it says not certified.  What do they mean not certified? can anyone help?

[Old Bristolian]

I believe certified implies a doctor has been present at death or attended soon afterwards & certified the death. Civil registration was done by the family (usual) at a later date.

Steve

[celia]

Civil registration was done by the family (usual) at a later date.

So for clarification for me as well does Not certified mean a doctor was not called, or present at the death.So did not write out the death cert.The family registered it themselves? So who fills in Cause of Death?

Celia

[stanmapstone]

Until 1874 entering the cause of death was not a legal requirement but  from 1874 a doctor's certificate was necessary before a death certificate could be issued. Between 1858 and 1874 the entry should indicate whether the cause had been 'certified' or 'not certified' by a medical practitioner, but even afterwards a few registrars  were prosecuted for allowing death entries to be signed by unqualified persons. An entry such as  'Fourteen days certified' indicates that the deceased had been under regular medical supervision.
Stan

[celia]

Thank you Stan  for taking the time to explain that. although it was originally Thor's question it is interesting to know these things should anyone else come across them.

Celia