At home
Contact the person’s treating doctor. If the practice cannot be reached, 116117 can help identify the responsible medical service.
Initial guidance
A death has occurred. What now?
Take a breath. The first steps depend on where the death occurred.
The first few minutes
The first step
Choose the situation that applies right now.
In hospital or a care home
The institution arranges the medical examination first. Ask what next steps apply there.
Emergency or unclear circumstances
If you are not sure whether the person is still alive, or there is an acute danger, call 112. If the circumstances are unclear or may not be natural, follow the emergency services’ and police instructions.
After that, you can call us. We can discuss together what needs to happen next.
Read at your own pace
Further steps and guidance
What to do next
- Have the medical examination carried out and keep the Todesbescheinigung (medical death certificate) in a safe place.
- Contact a funeral director of your choice and discuss the next organisational steps.
- Register the death with the responsible registry office (Standesamt). Notification is generally required no later than the third working day; who must notify the office depends on the circumstances.
- Gather important personal documents and, depending on the situation, inform insurers, the employer and pension or benefit providers.
Which documents may be helpful?
Not every document is needed in every case. Start by gathering the following where available:
- The deceased person’s identity card or passport
- Birth certificate and, where applicable, marriage or civil-partnership certificate or divorce decree
- Registration certificate or details of the last place of residence
- Health, life, accident or funeral insurance documents
- Pension and benefit documents
- Grave documents, existing funeral pre-arrangements and personal wishes
Todesbescheinigung and Sterbeurkunde
These German terms refer to different documents:
- The Todesbescheinigung is the medical certificate issued after a doctor has examined the body.
- The Sterbeurkunde is the civil registry death certificate issued by the Standesamt. It is often needed for administrative matters.
Legal information in North Rhine-Westphalia
In NRW, a medical examination must be arranged without delay. A body must generally be transferred to a mortuary within 36 hours of death, and only after the Todesbescheinigung has been issued. Burial or cremation must generally take place within ten days; ashes must generally be interred within six weeks. The local regulatory authority may allow exceptions or extensions.
These are general statutory rules for NRW, not individual legal advice. Different requirements or exceptions may apply in a particular case.
Official information
Further guidance is available from the responsible public authorities. The linked pages are in German.
Last checked: 22 August 2026