When a person dies, the death certificate is one of the first essential documents to obtain. After the declaration of death by a doctor, he writes a death certificate, which is both an administrative and medical document allowing the person's disappearance to be confirmed. The presentation of this certificate at the town hall is also essential to obtain the death certificate. The latter is in fact the necessary starting point for carrying out all the steps following death, including the organization of the funeral. What are the characteristics of the death certificate? What's in it? How to get it? What is its use? Our answers in this file.
The death certificate is a document intended to prove and certify the death of a person. Free, it is issued at the town hall and signed by a civil registrar. This is the first document to obtain following the death of the person since it must be collected from the town hall of the municipality where the death occurred within 24 hours, excluding weekends and days. holidays.
Indispensable, the death certificate is necessary for the organization of the funeral of the deceased, but also for the completion of several formalities and procedures before, during and after the funeral. As a result, even if the moment is dominated by grief, the relatives of the deceased are forced to request this document quickly.
The death certificate will be required for any administrative procedure concerning the deceased. It will indeed be necessary to provide it as proof to the employer of the deceased, to the tax authorities, to the financial establishments and insurers linked to the deceased, to the various social and health organizations with which the deceased was affiliated, to the establishments with which the deceased had taken out subscriptions (water, electricity, gas, internet, telephone, etc.), the lessor of his accommodation, etc.
This document is also useful for relatives of the deceased. Indeed, they may need it to obtain, for example, exceptional leave for funerals from their employer, etc. As a result, the town hall systematically issues a death certificate and several dozen free copies as needed.
A death certificate includes several elements:
Of course, for its authenticity to be recognized, the death certificate must be signed by a civil registrar and by the person who makes the declaration of death at the town hall.
Remember that the delivery of the death certificate and several copies is completely free.
The death certificate can be requested by a funeral agency or by any person, close or not to the deceased. This person must have previously had the death declared by a doctor, who then issues the death certificate, then go to the town hall to make the declaration with the section intended for this purpose. It can therefore be a relative, a neighbour, a friend, a caregiver at home or the staff of the care or health establishment in which the person was hospitalized or received.
The person requesting the death certificate must be able to prove their identity, present the family record book of the deceased and the death certificate provided by the doctor.
We have seen that the death certificate was delivered to the town hall to the person who came to declare the death of the missing person. On the other hand, if you need to obtain a copy, you can obtain it by various means depending on the place of death in particular.
If the death takes place in France, the procedures for obtaining a death certificate will be identical, regardless of the nationality of the deceased. The certificate can only be obtained from the town hall of the municipality in which the deceased resided or in which he died.
The death certificate can be requested:
If the deceased died abroad, you have two options for obtaining a death certificate:
To obtain a death certificate for a foreign person who died abroad, you must apply to the embassy of the country of the deceased. Even if this embassy is located on French territory, the procedures for obtaining the document will be those dictated by the legislation of the foreign country. Thus, in some cases, you may be asked to justify your approach.
