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

1. 1

   Obtain Medical Certification of Death (*List o prohlídce zemřelého*)

   • Hospital or inpatient care facility deaths: When a death occurs in a hospital, hospice, or residential facility in Czechia, the attending physician conducts the mandatory post-mortem examination (prohlídka těla zemřelého) and completes the official Report on the Examination of the Deceased (List o prohlídce zemřelého) [1]. The healthcare provider notifies the close family, transfers the body to the facility's mortuary, and transmits the statutory parts of the examination report to the local civil registry office (matriční úřad) and the Institute of Health Information and Statistics [1].
   • Deaths at home or outside a medical facility: If your family member dies at home, call the emergency medical service (155 or 112) or the designated regional coroner service (koroner) so an examining physician can confirm the death on site and issue the examination report [1]. Once the physician clears the body for removal, your chosen funeral service (pohřební služba) can transport the deceased to a cooling facility.
   • Unexpected, sudden, or forensic deaths: If the death occurred suddenly, outside medical supervision, or under unclear or potentially external circumstances, the examining physician or the Police of the Czech Republic (Policie České republiky) orders a pathological-anatomical, health, or forensic autopsy (pitva) before burial or cremation clearance is issued [1].
2. 2

   Register the Death with the Civil Registry (*Matriční úřad*)

   • Competent authority and statutory deadline: Under Czech Act No. 301/2000 Coll. on Civil Registries, Name and Surname, the death is registered in the Book of Deaths (kniha úmrtí) by the municipal civil registry office (matriční úřad) responsible for the district where the death occurred [1]. The examining physician or healthcare provider must report the death to the registry office within three working days of knowing of the death (or completion of an autopsy) [1].
   • Documents to submit: Usually handled directly with the assistance of your commissioned funeral service, you must submit the deceased's Czech citizen identity card (občanský průkaz) or foreign passport/residence permit, birth certificate (rodný list), marriage or registered partnership certificate (oddací list) if applicable, and public health insurance card (průkaz pojištěnce) [1].
   • Official Death Certificate (Úmrtní list): Once recorded in the civil registry and the Basic Register of Inhabitants (Základní registr obyvatel), the registry office issues the official Death Certificate (úmrtní list) to the bereaved family and notifies the competent district court and public health insurer [1]. Additional certified copies or multilingual EU standard forms can be requested at any Czech POINT office or via the Public Administration Portal (Portál veřejné správy) [1] [2].
3. 3

   Arrange Burial, Cremation, or International Repatriation

   • Engaging a licensed funeral operator (Pohřební služba): Under Czech Act No. 256/2001 Coll. on Funeral Services, the transport, preparation, inhumation, or cremation of human remains must be carried out by a licensed funeral service [1] [2]. You are free to select any licensed funeral provider regardless of which transport service initially moved the body.
   • Burial and cremation permits: Burial in a cemetery (uložení do hrobu nebo hrobky) or cremation (zpopelnění v krematoriu) may proceed once both medical parts of the Report on the Examination of the Deceased confirm that no autopsy is required (or that the autopsy has concluded) and, where forensic investigation was opened, written consent has been granted by the police or public prosecutor [1].
   • International repatriation and document legalisation: If your family member's remains must be transported across borders, the funeral operator obtains a mortuary passport (umrlčí průvodní list) from the Regional Hygiene Station (Krajská hygienická stanice) or consulate and seals the remains in an approved zinc-lined coffin [1]. For civil status documents used abroad, EU Member States accept the Czech death certificate accompanied by a multilingual standard form under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191, while non-EU destinations require an Apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or Ministry of Justice for judicial/notarial documents) or consular superlegalisation [1].
4. 4

   Notify Authorities and Claim Funeral and Survivor Benefits

   • State funeral grant (Pohřebné): Administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerstvo práce a sociálních věcí) through the regional branches of the Labour Office of the Czech Republic (Úřad práce České republiky), the statutory one-off funeral grant of CZK 5,000 is payable to the person who arranged the funeral of a dependent child or of the parent of a dependent child, provided the deceased had permanent residence in Czechia [2] [3]. The application must be filed within one year of the date of burial using the funeral invoice and death certificate [2].
   • Survivor pensions (Pozůstalostní důchody): File applications for a widow's or widower's pension (vdovský nebo vdovecký důchod) and orphan's pension (sirotčí důchod) with the Czech Social Security Administration (Česká správa sociálního zabezpečení - ČSSZ) in person at any district office (OSSZ) or online via the ePortal of the Czech Social Security Administration [4] [5]. Widow's and widower's pensions are paid for one year after the spouse's death and continue thereafter if statutory age, disability, or dependent-care conditions are met [4].
   • Health insurance, banks, tax, and contracts: Return the deceased's health insurance card and any loaned medical aids to their health insurance company (zdravotní pojišťovna) within eight days, notify Czech banks to freeze sole accounts pending probate while checking any joint or designated-beneficiary accounts, and update utilities, telecommunications, and municipal tax records [1] [4].
5. 5

   Administer the Estate and Succession Proceedings (*Pozůstalostní řízení*)

   • Automatic court initiation and notary assignment: In Czechia, heirs do not need to file a court petition to initiate probate [1]. Upon receiving the death notification from the civil registry, the district court (okresní soud) for the deceased's last permanent residence automatically opens succession proceedings (pozůstalostní řízení) and appoints a notary (notář) registered with the Notarial Chamber of the Czech Republic (Notářská komora České republiky) to act as court commissioner (soudní komisař) under a pre-set court rotation schedule [1] [6].
   • Preliminary inquiry (Předběžné šetření) and estate inventory: The assigned notary contacts the person who arranged the funeral for the preliminary investigation to identify statutory and testamentary heirs, inspect the Central Register of Wills (Evidence právních jednání pro případ smrti), and compile the deceased's assets (bank accounts, real estate in the cadastre, vehicles, securities) and liabilities [1] [6]. If the estate holds no assets or only assets of negligible value, the notary releases those minor assets to the funeral arranger and discontinues proceedings [1].
   • Succession resolution, tax rules, and cross-border estates: Following the final succession hearing, the notary issues a court resolution on inheritance (usnesení o dědictví) enabling asset transfers and land registry updates; inheritance acquired through succession is exempt from personal income tax in Czechia, though statutory notarial fees apply based on the net value of the estate [1] [6]. Where assets or heirs span multiple EU countries, the notary applies EU Succession Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 and can issue a European Certificate of Succession (Evropské dědické osvědčení) [1] [6].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Probate Proceedings (Succession Proceedings) - Official Information Guide INF-82 — Public Administration Portal of the Czech Republic (portal.gov.cz)
2. [2]
   Funeral Allowance (Pohřebné) - Service Guide S502 — Public Administration Portal of the Czech Republic (portal.gov.cz)
3. [3]
   State Social Support Benefits and Eligibility — Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MPSV)
4. [4]
   Survivors' Pensions - Widow's, Widower's and Orphan's Pensions — Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MPSV)
5. [5]
   Online Pension Application - ePortal of the Czech Social Security Administration — Czech Social Security Administration (ČSSZ)
6. [6]
   Notarial Chamber of the Czech Republic - Succession and Notarial Services — Notářská komora České republiky