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The death of a person must be reported to the competent registry office in whose jurisdiction the person died no later than the third working day after the death occurred.

If the death occurs in an institution (hospital, retirement or nursing home or other institution), the provider of the institution is obliged to report the case in writing to the registry office.

If the death occurs outside an institution (hospital, retirement or nursing home or other institution), any person who lived with the deceased in the same household, the person in whose home the death occurred and any other person who was present at the death or is aware of the death from their own knowledge is obliged to report the death verbally. A funeral home may also be entrusted with the notification.

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

- 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 notification.

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.

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

When reporting a death, you should send 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 the last place of residence (e.g. identity card, simple registration information, rental agreement, electricity bill or comparable documents) and
• the medical certificate confirming the death

of the deceased.

You may not need to submit the birth certificate if the registration data 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.

User Charge: (kostenfrei)
Vorkasse: Nein

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, you as a relative contact a mortician in consultation with the hospital staff.

The doctor/hospital will issue a death certificate and usually give it to the mortician.

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

If you have instructed the mortician to report the death, 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.

You must hand over all the necessary documents.

The registry office will check 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 will issue death certificates from the register.

The death of a person must be reported to the registry office in whose area the person died on the third working day following the death at the latest.

Registry office

§ 28-31 PstG

Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior and Sport