What to Do When Someone Dies in Belgium: 5-Step Official Checklist

1. 1

   Medical Verification and Official Certification of Death

   Every death occurring in Belgium must first be officially verified by a physician, who completes the medical death certificate (attestation médicale de décès, Form Modèle IIIC for a person aged one year or older, or Form Modèle IIID for an infant under one year of age) [1]:

   • Death in a hospital or care home: The facility's attending physician verifies the death and directly issues the medical death certificate (Modèle IIIC or Modèle IIID) required for civil registry formalities [1][2].
   • Death at home, in a hotel, or in a public place: If the death occurs at home from a known natural cause, call the attending general practitioner or the on-call doctor (médecin de garde, or 112 in an emergency) to examine the body and complete the medical certificate [1]. If the death is unexpected, suspicious, or violent, the physician notes a medico-legal objection (obstacle médico-légal) and notifies the police and the Public Prosecutor's Office (parquet du procureur du Roi). A forensic medical examiner (médecin légiste) then investigates, and burial or cremation cannot take place until the Public Prosecutor (procureur du Roi) issues formal clearance [1].
   • Pacemaker or battery-powered implant: The examining physician must also check for and certify the removal of any cardiac pacemaker (stimulateur cardiaque) or battery-operated implant before the coffin is sealed or cremation takes place [1].
2. 2

   Checking Funeral Pre-Arrangements and Appointing an Accredited Funeral Director

   Before signing a service contract, check whether the deceased person held a funeral insurance policy (assurance obsèques) or left formal pre-arranged funeral instructions (convention préalable de funérailles) filed with the municipality. Next, the family appoints an accredited funeral director (entreprise de pompes funèbres agréée), which can be located through the Fédération Royale du Secteur Funéraire Belge (Royal Federation of the Belgian Funeral Sector - FUNEBRA) [3]:

   • Transport and regional timelines: In practice, the funeral director arranges the transfer of the deceased to the funeral home (funérarium), ensures compliance with the statutory preservation, burial, and cremation timelines applicable in the relevant Region (Wallonia, Brussels-Capital Region, or Flanders), and handles day-to-day coordination with the municipal authorities [1][3].
   • Written cost estimate: Always request a detailed written itemized quote (devis écrit) covering both funeral services and municipal burial or cremation taxes before signing an agreement [3].
3. 3

   Civil Death Registration at the Municipality and Obtaining Certificates and Permits

   The death must be declared as soon as possible to the civil registry office (service de l'état civil) of the municipal administration (administration communale) in the municipality where the death occurred, following the procedures published on the federal portal Belgium.be [1].

   In most cases, the funeral director submits this declaration on behalf of the family by presenting the medical death certificate (Modèle IIIC), the deceased person's identity card and driving licence, the marriage record book (livret de mariage) if applicable, and the formal application for cremation authorization if cremation is chosen [1]. The civil registrar records the death in the Database of Civil Status Records (Banque de données des actes de l'état civil - BAEC) and issues:

   • Burial or cremation permit: The official burial permit (permis d'inhumer) or cremation authorization (autorisation de crémation) [1].
   • Official death certificates: Certified copies and extracts of the death certificate (acte de décès), as well as a multilingual extract on Form C (extrait plurilingue Formule C) issued under the 1976 Vienna Convention if administrative steps must be completed in another signatory state [1].

   Recording the death in the National Register (Registre national) automatically notifies several Belgian public bodies (such as pension authorities and health insurance funds if the deceased resided in Belgium), whereas banks, private insurers, and landlords must be notified directly by the family [1][4].

4. 4

   Claiming Survivor Pensions and Health Insurance Notifications

   Once the death is registered, surviving relatives should review their statutory pension and social security entitlements:

   • Survivor pension or transition allowance: The Service fédéral des Pensions (Federal Pensions Service - SFP, accessible via MyPension.be or the toll-free number 1765) assesses the entitlements of the surviving spouse [4]. If the deceased already received a Belgian retirement pension, the survivor pension (pension de survie) or transition allowance (allocation de transition) is often examined automatically following municipal registration; if the deceased was still employed or had insurance periods abroad, submit an application directly to the Service fédéral des Pensions [4]. A specific statutory funeral grant (indemnité de funérailles) also applies upon the death of a retired civil servant [5].
   • Health insurance fund (mutuelle): Although the general lump-sum funeral grant under the employee healthcare scheme was abolished by the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (Institut national d'assurance maladie-invalidité - INAMI), you must still contact the deceased's health insurance fund (mutuelle) to claim reimbursement for final medical invoices, close the file, and check whether supplementary insurance covers funeral expenses [6].
5. 5

   Unblocking Bank Accounts, Certificate of Inheritance, and Succession Tax Return

   Administering the estate and fulfilling tax obligations in Belgium follows strict legal rules:

   • Freezing and unblocking bank accounts: As soon as a bank is notified of the death, it freezes the bank accounts and safe deposit boxes of both the deceased and the surviving spouse [2][7]. However, the surviving spouse or legal cohabitant (cohabitant légal) is entitled to a statutory advance (up to half of the available balances, capped at EUR 5,000) and may have funeral expenses and urgent final household bills paid directly from the estate accounts upon presentation of invoices [2]. To unblock the accounts permanently, heirs must present either a certificate of inheritance (certificat d'hérédité, issued free of charge by the Legal Certainty Office of SPF Finances via MyMinfin for straightforward estates without a will or marriage contract) or a notarial deed of inheritance (acte d'hérédité) drawn up by a notary via the Fédération Royale du Notariat Belge (Royal Federation of Belgian Notaries - Notaire.be) [2][7].
   • Will search and succession options: The notary checks the Central Register of Wills (Registre central des testaments - CRT) and advises heirs on choosing between unconditional acceptance (acceptation pure et simple), acceptance under benefit of inventory (acceptation sous bénéfice d'inventaire), or renunciation (renonciation) [2].
   • Inheritance tax return within 4 months: When a death occurs in Belgium, the heirs must file the inheritance declaration (déclaration de succession) within 4 months of the date of death [2][8]. This declaration is filed with the Federal Public Service Finance (SPF Finances) if the deceased's last tax domicile was in Wallonia or the Brussels-Capital Region, or with the Flemish Tax Administration (Vlaamse Belastingdienst - VLABEL) if the last tax domicile was in Flanders [8].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Declaration of a death to the municipal administration — Belgium.be
2. [2]
   Formalities after a death, unblocking bank accounts, and succession declaration — Notaire.be (Fédération Royale du Notariat Belge)
3. [3]
   Royal Federation of the Belgian Funeral Sector (FUNEBRA) — FUNEBRA
4. [4]
   Survivor pension and procedures in the event of death — Service fédéral des Pensions
5. [5]
   Funeral grant for retired civil servants — Service fédéral des Pensions
6. [6]
   Regulations governing the funeral expense allowance — INAMI
7. [7]
   Unblocking bank accounts and certificate or deed of inheritance — Belgium.be
8. [8]
   Succession declaration: deadlines and competent tax authorities — Belgium.be