Notification of a death

• If the death did not occur in a hospital, old people's home or nursing home or other institution,
  • you need to contact a doctor and an undertaker

and

• verbally report the death to the competent registry office or instruct the undertaker with the notification.

• If the death occurred in the hospital, you as a relative contact an undertaker in consultation with the hospital staff.
• The doctor issues a death certificate and usually hands it over to the undertaker.

• If you have commissioned the undertaker with the notification, he creates a written death notice (including all necessary documents) and hands it over to the registry office.
• If the death has occurred in a hospital, old people's home and nursing home or other institution, the institution will prepare the written death notice and send it to the registry office.
• The registry office checks the documents presented for authenticity and the information on the documents for completeness.
• Where appropriate, the death is recorded in the death register.
• If requested, the registry office issues death certificates from the register created.

The jurisdiction lies with the registry office in whose area the person died.

• If the death did not occur in a hospital, old people's home, nursing home or other institution, the person is:
  • who lived in the same household as the deceased,
  • in whose home the death occurred, and
  • who was present at the time of the death or learned of the death,

is obliged to report the death orally. The person may also entrust it to a funeral home.

• Undertakers registered with a chamber of commerce, industry or commerce may make the notification in writing.
• Hospitals, old people's and nursing homes or other institutions must notify the death in writing.

• Marriage or civil partnership document of the last marriage or civil partnership, if applicable proof of dissolution
• Birth certificate of the deceased (possibly not necessary if the registration data of the birth result from a marriage or civil partnership certificate)
• Proof of last residence (e.g. identity card, simple population register information, rental agreement, electricity bill or comparable documents)
• medical certificate of death

A death must be reported no later than the third working day following death.

Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior and Sport

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.