Death - show

The death of a person must be reported to the registry office.

Notification obligation
In the case of deaths in hospitals, retirement and nursing homes and similar institutions, the obligation to report the death lies with the institution's owner. Otherwise, the following persons are obliged to report a death in the following order

1. Any person who lived with the deceased in the same household,
2. the person in whose home the death occurred,
3. any other person who was present at the death or who is aware of the death from their own knowledge. (This also includes the morticians, who usually take over the notification after the clinics).

In any case:

• Mortuary certificate (also called death certificate), it is the medical certificate confirming the occurrence of death
• Identity card or passport of the deceased and the person reporting the death.

Additionally, if the deceased was married, widowed, divorced or in a same-sex civil partnership at the time of death:

• current marriage certificate as proof of the marriage and any changes
• If married abroad, a multilingual marriage certificate if possible
• Civil partnership certificate, final judgment of the family court on the dissolution or non-existence of a civil partnership
• Divorce decree with final judgment
• Death certificate of the predeceased spouse/life partner
• Foreign divorce decrees require partial recognition in German law

Additionally, if the deceased was single:

current birth certificate or
current copy from the birth register
if born abroad, a multilingual birth certificate if possible

In order to be able to make the legally required notifications to other authorities (tax office, local court, probate court) after the death has been notarized, we require additional information, for example about relatives of the deceased person, in addition to the information from the notification of death.

• Administration fee: Free of charge.
  The notarization of the death is free of charge. You will also receive death certificates free of charge for submission to the health insurance fund, for pension matters and a certificate for the funeral. Issuing further death certificates for private purposes is subject to a fee.

A death must be reported to the relevant registry office no later than the third working day following the death.