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DEATH
AT HOME
► Contact your doctor. He will
issue a medical certificate of
death - Le Certificat Medical
de Deces - stating he has
confirmed the death and legally
stated that someone has died.
► Call the SAMU if you cannot
get in contact with your doctor.
► Call the Funeral Home – Pages
Jaunes/Yellow
Pages so they can remove the
deceased to either the hospital
mortuary or the Funeral Home
mortuary
► Locate the deceased’s carte de
sejour or passport for the
Doctor and the Funeral Home so
they have the correct details
► Give the Funeral Home the
following documents
◦
Medical
certificate of death Le
Certificat Medical de Deces
◦ Deceased’s carte de sejour or
passport
◦ Residence address details
◦ Marriage certificate (if
applicable)
◦ The maiden name if the
deceased is female
DEATH IN A HOSPITAL OR
RETIREMENT HOME
If the death occurs in a
hospital or retirement home the
doctor attending the deceased
will issue a medical certificate
of death to legally confirm the
death. The ‘on duty’ funeral
home will then be called to
remove the deceased to the
hospital mortuary. It should be
noted that you are under no
obligation to use the funeral
home that is ‘on duty’ for any
further services other than the
removal of the deceased. If you
have used a funeral home before
and wish to use them again, then
go ahead
Note:
Upon death in a hospital, a
private clinic, a hospice or a
retirement home:
The transfer of the body to a
private funeral home or the
residence is not mandatory and
cannot be imposed of for the
relatives/family. Placing the
deceased in the coffin and
formal closure of the coffin
which will be witnessed and
sealed by the Maire can always
be carried out where the death
occurred. Normally a small room
at the
hospital/clinic/hospice/retirement
home is set aside for relatives
and friends to visit for the
closing and sealing of the
coffin.
DOCUMENTS FOR THE FUNERAL
HOME
In both cases the doctor will
need to see the deceased’s carte
de sejour or passport. You will
also need to provide the
following information and
documents to the funeral home:
• Medical certificate of death
• Deceased’s carte de sejour or
passport
• Address details
• Marriage certificate (if
applicable)
• The maiden name if the
deceased is female
The funeral home will also
require suitable clothing for
the deceased
In the event of a violent death
such as an accident or suicide,
then the police (gendarmerie)
must be notified and not the
doctor and they will provide the
medical certificate of death.
Note: For residents living in
France part time it would be
advisable if a copy of your
birth and marriage certificate
were kept with your insurance
documents, this would save time
in obtaining copies from the
Registrars Office in the UK.
DECLARING & REGISTERING A
DEATH
Registration of a death takes
place at the Town Hall (Mairie)
where the death has occurred. An
official declaration of the
death must be registered WITHIN
24 HOURS.
In some villages the Mairie may
only be open part time, however
all Maires are contactable in an
emergency. To contact them you
need to know his/her name,
personal address and telephone
number or if you know the name
you can look in the telephone
book.
Any person can declare the death
including the funeral home and
if the death occurred in a
hospital they can also declare
it.
YOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING
IF YOU REGISTER THE DEATH
YOURSELF
• Some form of ID to prove who
you are – passport, Carte de
Sejour, birth certificate
• The medical certificate of
death from the doctor (or the
police).
• Proof of identity of the
deceased e.g. birth certificate,
marriage certificate, passport
or Carte de Sejour
 It
should be noted that the birth
certificate and marriage
certificate may require
translation from English to
French, preferably by a
recognised translator.
Registering a death involves
making a statement of factual
information including the
deceased’s full name, address in
France, date and place of birth,
details of next of kin, date,
time and place of death, your
name and relationship to the
deceased.
This statement is recorded in
the register which you then
sign. A certified copy of the
entry, the death certificate (acte
de deces), is then issued. No
fee is charged for this. You
will need multiple copies of the
death certificate as these will
be required for all the
paperwork following the death.
Ask for several as it is easier
to get them now.
Once the death is registered the
Mairie will issue either:
• The burial permit (permis
d’inhumer)
• Cremation certificate (certificat
d’incinération)
Both of these documents will
have the date and time of the
death on it.
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