Notification of a death

• §§ 28 et seq. of the Civil Status Act (PStG)
• § 38 Civil Status Ordinance (PStV)

• Marriage or civil partnership certificate 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 place of residence (e.g. identity card, simple population register information, rental agreement, electricity bill or comparable documents)
• medical certificate of death

• If the death did not occur in a hospital, retirement and nursing home or other facility, the person
  • who lived in the same household as the deceased,
  • in whose home the death occurred, and
  • who was present at the death or learned of the death,

obligation to report the death orally. The person can also entrust it to a funeral home.

• Funeral directors registered with a Chamber of Crafts, Industry or Commerce can make the notification in writing.
• Hospitals, retirement and nursing homes or other facilities must notify the death in writing.

• If the death did not occur in a hospital, retirement or nursing home or other facility,
  • you need to contact a doctor and a funeral director

and

• report the death orally to the competent registry office or instruct the undertaker to report it.

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

• If you have instructed the undertaker to make the report, he or she will prepare a written death notice (including all necessary documents) and hand it over to the registry office.
• If the death occurred in a hospital, retirement and nursing home or other facility, the institution will prepare the written death notification and send it to the registry office.
• The registry office checks the documents presented for authenticity and the information on the documents for completeness.
• The death may be recorded in the death register.
• If requested, the registry office will issue death certificates from the established register.

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

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior and Sports

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