Notify the registry office of a death
Full text
Every death must be reported to the registry office of the municipality in whose district the death occurred. The registrar makes the entry in the register of deaths and issues the death certificate.
Basis for action(s)
Required documents
- Identity card, passport or registration certificate of the deceased (as proof of last residence)
- Identity card or passport of the person reporting the death
- Doctor's death certificate
Sheets A and B (non-confidential part) and sheets 1 and 2 (confidential part) in the envelope - Civil status documents of the deceased - only if the civil status registers are not kept at the registry office processing the application:
- Marriage or civil partnership certificate of the last marriage or civil partnership and, if applicable, proof of its dissolution
- if there was no marriage or civil partnership, a birth certificate
- In special cases, further documents may be required (e.g. translations of foreign documents).
Prerequisites
The following persons are obliged to report the death in the following order:
- any person who lived in the same household as the deceased,
- the person in whose home the death occurred,
- any other person who was present at the death or is aware of the death from their own knowledge.
Special regulations apply to deaths in hospitals, retirement and nursing homes and other institutions (see procedure).
Costs (fees, expenses, etc.)
The death certificates issued in connection with the notification of death are free of charge, insofar as this is provided for under federal or state law. If the notarisation is postponed by the registry office because not all documents relevant to the notarisation are available, the registrar for the funeral will issue the notifying party with a certificate free of charge stating that the notification has been duly made.
Procedure
The death must always be reported in person to the registry office of the municipality in whose district it occurred. If you, as the person obliged to notify, have commissioned a funeral parlour to carry out the funeral, they will take care of the notification for you at the registry office.
If the death occurred in a public institution (e.g. hospital, prison, retirement and nursing home) or in any other institution, the institution is obliged to notify the registry office in writing.
If there are indications of a non-natural death, the doctor who certifies the death notifies the public prosecutor's office. The investigating authority reports the death to the registry office.
Deadlines
The death must be reported to the registry office no later than the third working day following the death. Saturday does not count as a working day.
Typing
3bResponsible office
the registry office of the place of death