What to Do When a Citizen of Germany Dies in France: 5-Step Official Checklist

1. 1

   Medical Certification of Death and Medical Certificate in France (Immediately)

   The first step is to have a physician officially certify the death and issue the medical death certificate (certificat médical de décès, on a paper Cerfa form or electronically via the CertDc application), which is required for all civil registry and funeral procedures [1]:

   • Death in a healthcare or medico-social facility (hospital, clinic, EHPAD nursing home): The attending department physician issues the medical death certificate directly [1]. The facility keeps the body in its mortuary (chambre mortuaire) and guides the family through the initial formalities.
   • Death at home, in a hotel, or in a public place: Immediately call the emergency medical service SAMU (15), the European emergency number (112), or an on-call physician (médecin de garde) so that a doctor can attend the scene, certify the death, and complete the certificate [1]. If a transfer before coffining to a funeral home mortuary (chambre funéraire) is desired, the licensed funeral director files the prior declaration with the town hall (mairie) and the transfer must be completed within 48 hours of the death [3].
   • Medico-legal obstacle (obstacle médico-légal - sudden or suspicious death): When the cause of death is unknown, sudden, or suspicious, the physician ticks the "medico-legal obstacle" (obstacle médico-légal) box on the certificate. The police or gendarmerie and the public prosecutor (procureur de la République) take charge: no coffining, cremation, burial, or repatriation to Germany may take place until judicial authorization is issued by the public prosecutor's office (parquet) [1][7].
2. 2

   Check Insurance Coverage, Appoint Funeral Directors, and Contact the German Consular Mission

   Before signing a funeral estimate, verify immediately whether the deceased person held travel or repatriation insurance (Auslandsreisekrankenversicherung), credit card assistance coverage, or a pre-need funeral insurance policy (Sterbegeldversicherung) that can organize and fund the transfer [7]:

   • Coordination between a licensed funeral operator in France and a funeral director in Germany: Funeral operations and international transport must be entrusted to a funeral operator licensed by the French prefecture (opérateur funéraire habilité en préfecture), coordinating with a receiving funeral director in Germany (Bestattungsunternehmen) in compliance with the burial law of the destination German federal state (Landesbestattungsgesetz) and Germany's mandatory cemetery interment requirement (Friedhofszwang) [3][6][7].
   • Neutral professional federations: Clarvia does not recommend, endorse, or rank commercial providers. To identify a licensed funeral operator in France, you can consult the official directory via Service-Public.fr (telephone 3939 from France or +33 1 73 60 39 39 from abroad) [1], or contact the national professional federations: the Fédération Nationale du Funéraire (telephone +33 1 55 43 30 00, email [email protected]) [4] and the Fédération Française des Pompes Funèbres (telephone +33 1 46 60 24 24) [5]. In Germany, you can find a qualified receiving provider through the professional association Bundesverband Deutscher Bestatter e.V. (telephone +49 211 16008-10, 24-hour emergency line +49 211 16008-86, email [email protected]) [6].
   • German consular assistance in France: You may notify or request assistance from the German diplomatic representations in France (Missions allemandes en France - German Embassy in Paris at +33 1 53 83 45 00 and Consulates General in Marseille, Lyon, Strasbourg, and Bordeaux), which publish lists of funeral firms experienced in Franco-German transfers and assist families in the event of difficulties [7][8].
3. 3

   Registering the Death at the French Town Hall (Within 24 Hours) and Recognition in Germany

   Under the French rules set out on Service-Public.fr, the death must be declared within 24 hours of its medical certification (excluding weekends and public holidays) to the civil status officer (officier d'état civil) at the town hall (mairie) of the municipality where the death occurred [1]:

   • Declarant and supporting documents: The declaration is made by a relative or, most commonly in practice, by the appointed funeral operator, upon presentation of the medical death certificate, proof of identity of the declarant, and the deceased person's documents (German national ID card Personalausweis or passport Reisepass, birth or marriage certificate, family record book livret de famille) [1].
   • Full death certificate (acte de décès intégral) and multilingual CIEC Form C: Request from the French mairie several full copies of the death certificate (copies intégrales de l'acte de décès) as well as several multilingual extracts of the death certificate on Form C (extrait plurilingue sur Formule C) under the Vienna CIEC Convention of 8 September 1976 [1][7]. Because both France and Germany are parties to the 1976 Vienna Convention and subject to Regulation (EU) 2016/1191, the multilingual Form C extract is directly recognized by all German authorities, pension funds, and courts without an apostille or sworn translation.
   • Registration at the German civil registry office (Standesamt): Whereas a death occurring on German soil must be reported to the Standesamt no later than the third working day following the death (§ 28 Personenstandsgesetz - PStG), for a German citizen who dies in France, subsequent recording in the German death register (Nachbeurkundung at the Standesamt of the last German residence or at Standesamt I in Berlin under § 36 PStG) is available upon application but is generally not mandatory once you hold the multilingual Form C extract.
4. 4

   Choosing Between Repatriation to Germany and Local Burial or Cremation in France

   The appointed funeral operator coordinates the administrative permits according to the family's decision:

   • Option A - International repatriation of the body or ashes to Germany:
     • Prefectural mortuary transit permit (laissez-passer mortuaire / Leichenpass): Both France and Germany apply the 1973 Strasbourg Agreement and the 1937 International Berlin Agreement on the transfer of corpses. To repatriate a body, the French funeral operator obtains a prefectural order for a mortuary transit permit (laissez-passer mortuaire) from the prefecture of the department where the coffin is sealed [3][7]. The body is placed in a regulatory hermetic coffin (with a sealed metal liner and embalming treatment, soins de conservation, depending on road or air transport); under these international agreements, the French prefectural laissez-passer mortuaire and the multilingual extract suffice for entry into Germany without requiring an additional German consular mortuary passport [3][7].
     • Repatriation of a cinerary urn and mandatory cemetery interment (Friedhofszwang): If cremation takes place in France, transporting the urn requires a prefectural authorization for the transport of ashes [3]. Please note: because of the legal requirement for cemetery interment applicable in Germany (Friedhofszwang), an urn cannot be handed directly to relatives to be kept at home in Germany; the ashes must be shipped directly to the German cemetery administration (Friedhofsverwaltung), crematorium, or German funeral director upon presentation of a certificate of acceptance (Übernahmebescheinigung) [6][7].
   • Option B - Burial or cremation in France: If the funeral takes place in France, burial (inhumation) or cremation must occur no earlier than 24 hours after death and no later than 14 calendar days following the day after death (unless a prefectural exemption is granted), upon authorization by the mayor (maire) of the municipality of death [2].
5. 5

   Pensions, Health Insurance, Taxation, and Estate Administration in Germany and France

   Using the multilingual death certificate extract (Form C), initiate social security and succession procedures in both countries:

   • Procedures in Germany:
     • German pensions and three-month transition period (Sterbevierteljahr): If the deceased person received a German pension or contributed to the German pension system, report the death to the federal pension authority Deutsche Rentenversicherung (toll-free number 0800 1000 4800 from Germany or +49 30 865 0 from abroad) to process survivor pension entitlements (Witwen-/Witwerrente or Waisenrente) [9], as well as to the payment service Renten Service der Deutschen Post (telephone +49 221 569 2777) [10]. The surviving spouse or registered partner has 30 days following the death to apply through the Renten Service der Deutschen Post for the advance on the Sterbevierteljahr (payment of the pension at the full rate for the three months following the month of death) [9][10].
     • Health insurance and German probate court (Nachlassgericht): Notify the German health insurance fund (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung or private insurer) as well as German banks. For succession proceedings in Germany, the probate court (Nachlassgericht at the Amtsgericht of the last German domicile) has jurisdiction over the opening of wills registered in the Central Register of Wills (Zentrales Testamentsregister) and the issuance of a German certificate of inheritance (Erbschein) or European Certificate of Succession [8]. In the event of an insolvent estate governed by German law, the deadline to disclaim the inheritance (Erbausschlagung) is 6 weeks (or 6 months if the deceased resided exclusively abroad or if the heir is abroad when the period begins), and the signature on the disclaimer declaration can be certified at the Missions allemandes en France [8].
   • Procedures in France (if the deceased person resided, worked, or owned assets in France):
     • French social security and pensions: Notify the French health insurance fund Assurance Maladie (CPAM, telephone 3646 from France or +33 1 84 90 36 46 from abroad) to close the insured person's file and submit any claim for a lump-sum death grant (capital décès) [11], as well as the statutory pension fund Assurance Retraite (CNAV, telephone 3960 or +33 9 71 10 39 60 from abroad) and the supplementary pension scheme Agirc-Arrco for a survivor's pension (pension de réversion) [12].
     • Notary and tax administration: If the deceased person held real estate, bank accounts, or their tax domicile in France, instruct a notary through the official network Notaires de France (telephone +33 1 44 90 30 00) to draw up the deed of heirship (acte de notoriété) and file the inheritance tax return (déclaration de succession) with the tax authorities (within 6 months for a death occurring in metropolitan France) [1][13].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Declaration of Death, Medical Certificate, and Initial Steps (F16507) — Direction de l'information légale et administrative (Service-Public.fr)
2. [2]
   Time Limits for Burial and Cremation in France (F14935) — Service-Public.fr
3. [3]
   Transport of a Body Before or After Coffining and Prefectural Mortuary Transit Permit (F35706) — Service-Public.fr
4. [4]
   Legal Notice and Contact Details - National Funeral Federation (Fédération Nationale du Funéraire - FNF) — Fédération Nationale du Funéraire
5. [5]
   Contact the French Federation of Funeral Directors (Fédération Française des Pompes Funèbres - FFPF) — Fédération Française des Pompes Funèbres
6. [6]
   Contact and Immediate Bereavement Assistance - Federal Association of German Funeral Directors (Bundesverband Deutscher Bestatter e.V.) — Bundesverband Deutscher Bestatter e.V.
7. [7]
   Death in France - Repatriation, Burial, and Consular Information — Missions allemandes en France (Auswärtiges Amt)
8. [8]
   Successions (Nachlassangelegenheiten) - Certificate of Inheritance (Erbschein) and Disclaimer of Inheritance — Missions allemandes en France (Auswärtiges Amt)
9. [9]
   Survivor Pensions - Widow's Pension, Widower's Pension, and Orphan's Pension — Deutsche Rentenversicherung
10. [10]
    Renten Service der Deutschen Post - Reporting a Death and Applying for the Three-Month Transition Period (Sterbevierteljahr) — Deutsche Post AG - Renten Service
11. [11]
    Reporting the Death of a Relative and Applying for the Lump-Sum Death Grant (Capital Décès) — L'Assurance Maladie (ameli.fr)
12. [12]
    Reporting the Death of a Pensioner and Applying for a Survivor's Pension (Retraite de Réversion) — Assurance Retraite (CNAV)
13. [13]
    Settlement of Estates and Official Directory of Notaries — Conseil supérieur du notariat (Notaires de France)