Show death

You, an institution or the funeral home you have commissioned will report the death to the relevant registry office.

If the death occurred in hospital, as a relative you should contact a funeral director in consultation with the hospital staff.

The doctor/hospital issues a death certificate and usually hands it over to the funeral director.

If the death did not take place in a hospital, retirement or nursing home or other facility, you, as the aforementioned obligated persons, must report the death verbally to the relevant registry office, submitting the necessary documents, or instruct the mortician to do so.

If you have commissioned the mortician to make the notification, the mortician will, with your cooperation, prepare a written notification of death including all family-related information, compile the documents required for the notification and hand them over to the registry office.

To do this, you must hand over all the necessary documents.

The registry office checks the submitted documents for authenticity and the information on the documents for completeness.

The death is recorded in the death register. If requested, the registry office issues death certificates from the register.

Contact the registry office of the municipality or town in whose jurisdiction the person died.

If the death did not take place in a hospital, retirement or nursing home or other institution, you are listed as a person in the following order

- who lived with the deceased in the same household,

- in whose home the death occurred, or

- who was present at the death or is aware of the death from their own knowledge is obliged to report the death verbally.

You can also entrust a funeral home with the announcement.

If you are a funeral director registered with a Chamber of Crafts or Chamber of Industry and Commerce and have been commissioned by one of the above-mentioned persons to report a death, you can also report the death in writing.

As a hospital, retirement and nursing home or other facility where the death occurred, you are obliged to report the death in writing to the registry office.

When reporting a death, you should inform the registry office

• the marriage or civil partnership certificate of the last marriage or civil partnership and, if applicable, proof of dissolution,
• the birth certificate,
• proof of your last place of residence (e.g. identity card, simple registration information, rental agreement, electricity bill or comparable documents) and
• the medical certificate of death

of the deceased.

You may not need to submit the birth certificate if the registration details of the deceased's birth can be found on a marriage or civil partnership certificate. Please contact the relevant registry office for more information.

The registry office may request the submission of further documents if this is necessary.

§ 28-31 PstG