By law, every death in Saskatchewan must be registered with Vital Statistics. Registration is necessary to establish the legality of the death. Without registration you cannot obtain a death certificate.When a death occurs:

The physician or coroner:

• completes the Medical Certificate of Death with respect to the deceased
• forwards the Medical Certificate of Death to the funeral director who has taken charge of the body of the deceased for disposition.

The funeral director:

• completes the Registration of Death with the assistance of:
• the nearest relative of the deceased present at the death or in attendance at the last illness of the deceased
• if there is no relative available as mentioned above, a relative of the deceased residing or being within the registration area
• if no relative is available, a person 18 years of age or more, present at the death
• the occupier of the house in which the death occurred
• the coroner who has been notified of the death and has made an inquiry or held an inquest regarding the death
• delivers the Registration of Death and Medical Certificate of Death to a division registrar (municipal clerk) for registration.

The division registrar:

• registers the death by signing and dating the record
• issues a burial permit to the funeral director
• forwards the Registration of Death and Medical Certificate of Death to Vital Statistics.

Vital Statistics:

• checks and verifies the information; any missing or incorrect information is followed up with the appropriate parties (ie. funeral director, informant, physician, coroner).
• permanently files the Registration of Death and Medical Certificate of Death.