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

1. 1

   Medical certification of death and medical certificate in France (immediately)

   Every death occurring in France must first be officially certified by a doctor (constatation médicale du décès), who issues the medical certificate of death (certificat médical de décès, either on the paper Cerfa form or electronically via the CertDc application), which is required to declare the death at the town hall (mairie) and initiate funeral operations [1]:

   • Death in a healthcare or medico-social facility (hospital, clinic, EHPAD nursing home): The ward physician certifies the death and issues the medical death certificate directly [1]. The facility keeps the body in its mortuary chamber (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 on 15), the European emergency number (112), or an on-call doctor so that a practitioner can attend on site to certify the death and draw up the medical certificate [1]. If transport before coffining (transport avant mise en bière) to a funeral home (chambre funéraire) is desired, the funeral operator files the prior declaration with the town hall and the transfer must take place within 48 hours of death [3].
   • Forensic hold (obstacle médico-légal for sudden or suspicious death): When the cause of death is unknown, sudden, or suspicious, the doctor ticks the obstacle médico-légal box on the certificate. The police or gendarmerie and the public prosecutor (procureur de la République) take over: no coffining, cremation, burial, or repatriation to Italy may take place before judicial clearance is granted by the public prosecutor's office (parquet) [1].
2. 2

   Checking insurance coverage, appointing funeral directors, and contacting the Italian consulate

   Before signing a private funeral contract, immediately check whether the deceased person held travel or repatriation insurance, assistance coverage linked to a bank card, or a pre-need funeral insurance policy (contrat de prévoyance obsèques) capable of organizing and funding the transfer [7]:

   • Coordination between a licensed funeral operator in France and a funeral provider in Italy: Funeral operations and international transport must be entrusted to a funeral operator licensed by the French prefecture (opérateur funéraire habilité en préfecture), which coordinates with an authorized funeral company in Italy (impresa funebre autorizzata) for receiving the coffin or urn and arranging burial in the Italian destination municipality [3][7][8].
   • Neutral professional federations: Clarvia provides these contact details for informational orientation only and does not recommend, endorse, or rank any commercial provider. In France, you can consult the official portal Service-Public.fr (phone 3939 from France or +33 1 73 60 39 39 from abroad) [1], or identify a licensed operator via the Fédération Nationale du Funéraire (FNF, phone +33 1 55 43 30 00, email [email protected]) [4] and the Fédération Française des Pompes Funèbres (FFPF, phone +33 1 46 60 24 24) [5]. In Italy, you can locate an authorized funeral provider through the national federations FENIOF (Federazione Nazionale Imprese Onoranze Funebri, phone +39 051 6650285, email [email protected]) [8] and FederCoFIt (Federazione Comparto Funerario Italiano, phone +39 02 33403992, email [email protected]) [9].
   • Consular assistance from Italy in France: Notify the Italian consular network competent for the place of death in France, operating under the Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (MAECI, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation), specifically the Consulat général d'Italie à Paris (Consulate General of Italy in Paris - civil status / death department: email [email protected]) or the Italian Consulates General in Lyon, Marseille, Nice, and Metz [6][7].
3. 3

   Registering the death at the French town hall (within 24 hours) and transcription for Italy

   In accordance with French regulations detailed on Service-Public.fr, the death must be declared within 24 hours of medical certification (excluding weekends and public holidays) before the civil registrar (officier d'état civil) at the town hall (mairie) of the French municipality where the death occurred [1]:

   • Declarant and supporting documents in France: The declaration is made by a relative or, most often in practice, by the appointed funeral operator, upon presentation of the medical death certificate, the declarant's identity document, and the deceased person's documents (Italian identity card / carta d'identità or passport, birth or marriage certificate, family record book / livret de famille) [1].
   • Full death certificate (acte de décès intégral) and multilingual extract (Formule C): Request several full copies of the death certificate (copies intégrales de l'acte de décès) as well as several multilingual death certificate extracts on CIEC Form C (extraits d'acte de décès plurilingues sur Formule C, issued under the Vienna CIEC Convention of 8 September 1976) from the French town hall [1][6]. Because both France and Italy are parties to the 1976 Vienna Convention and apply Regulation (EU) 2016/1191, the multilingual Form C extract is directly recognized by Italian authorities without an apostille or sworn translation [6].
   • Transcription at the Italian Civil Registry (Ufficio di Stato Civile): Whereas a death occurring in Italy is declared within 24 hours to the Ufficio di Stato Civile of the Italian municipality (which issues the death certificate and burial permit), the death of an Italian citizen occurring in France must be transcribed into the civil status registers of the Italian municipality of residence or AIRE registration [6]. To do this, send by post to the Consulat général d'Italie à Paris (or the territorially competent Italian consulate) the original multilingual death certificate extract (Form C / Formule C) issued by the French town hall, accompanied by the transcription request form and a copy of an identity document of the deceased [6].
4. 4

   Choosing between repatriation to Italy and local burial or cremation in France

   The appointed funeral operator coordinates the administrative and sanitary permits according to the family's choice:

   • Option A - International repatriation of the body or cremated ashes to Italy:
     • Prefectural mortuary transit permit (laissez-passer mortuaire) and 1937 Berlin Agreement: Both France and Italy are parties to the International Berlin Agreement of 10 February 1937 on the Conveyance of Corpses (while France also applies the 1973 Strasbourg Agreement within the framework overseen by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs - Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères - MEAE / France Diplomatie) [3][7]. To repatriate a body from France to Italy, the French funeral operator applies for a prefectural order for a mortuary transit permit (arrêté préfectoral de laissez-passer mortuaire) from the prefecture of the French department where the coffin is closed, upon presentation of the death certificate, the medical certificate of non-contagion, and the coffining report (procès-verbal de mise en bière) [3].
     • Hermetic coffin, embalming care, and reception by the Italian municipality: The body is placed in a regulation hermetic coffin (double coffin with a sealed zinc metal liner and embalming care / soins de conservation in accordance with applicable regulations) [3][7]. Under the rules set out by the Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (MAECI), transport to Italy relies on the mortuary transit permit (laissez-passer mortuaire / passaporto mortuario), the public-health certificate of non-contagion, and the reception and burial authorization issued by the Italian destination municipality (for example via the municipal funeral services such as the Comune di Milano or any other Italian municipality) [3][7][10].
     • Repatriation of a cinerary urn: If cremation takes place in France, international transport of the ashes requires a prefectural urn transport authorization issued upon presentation of the death certificate and the cremation certificate (certificat de crémation), coordinated with the authorization for entry into the Italian destination cemetery [3][7].
   • Option B - Local burial or cremation in France: If the funeral takes place in France, burial (inhumation) or cremation must take place at the earliest 24 hours after death and at the latest within 14 calendar days following the day after death (unless a prefectural waiver is granted), with authorization from the mayor of the municipality of death [2].
5. 5

   Survivor pensions, health insurance, taxes, and succession in Italy and France

   Using the multilingual death certificate extract (Form C), initiate the social security, tax, and estate settlement formalities in both countries:

   • Procedures in Italy:
     • Survivor pensions with INPS: If the deceased received an Italian pension or paid contributions to the Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale (INPS, Italian National Social Security Institute), report the death and submit an online application (or apply free of charge through a Patronato assistance office) for the survivor pension (pensione ai superstiti) (pensione di reversibilità for a retiree or pensione indiretta for an active insured worker) [11].
     • Inheritance tax return in Italy (Agenzia delle Entrate) and Italian notaries: If the deceased resided in Italy or owned real estate or taxable assets there, the heirs must file the Italian inheritance tax return (dichiarazione di successione) electronically with the Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian Revenue Agency) within 12 months from the date of death (unless exempt where the estate passes to the spouse and direct-line relatives, has a value not exceeding EUR 100,000, and includes no real estate) [12]. To search for a will registered in Italy or abroad (Registro Generale dei Testamenti), publish a holographic will, or unblock Italian bank assets, consult an Italian notary through the Consiglio Nazionale del Notariato (National Council of Italian Notaries) [13].
   • Procedures in France (if the deceased resided, worked, or held assets in France):
     • French health insurance and pension funds: Notify Assurance Maladie (CPAM / ameli.fr, phone 3646 from France or +33 1 84 90 36 46 from abroad) to close the insured person's file and claim a potential lump-sum death grant (capital décès) [14], as well as Assurance Retraite (CNAV, phone 3960 or +33 9 71 10 39 60 from abroad) and the supplementary pension scheme Agirc-Arrco for a survivor pension (pension de réversion) [15].
     • French notary and inheritance tax filing: If the deceased had their tax domicile in France or held real estate or bank accounts there, engage a notary via the Notaires de France network (phone +33 1 44 90 30 00) to draw up the proof of heirship (acte de notoriété), consult the Central Register of Last Wills (Fichier central des dispositions de dernières volontés - FCDDV), and file the inheritance tax return (déclaration de succession) with the French tax administration within 6 months (for a death occurring in metropolitan France) [1][16].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Death declaration, medical certificate, and initial formalities in France (F16507) — Direction de l'information légale et administrative (Service-Public.fr)
2. [2]
   Burial and cremation time limits 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 - Fédération Nationale du Funéraire (FNF) — Fédération Nationale du Funéraire
5. [5]
   Contact the Fédération Française des Pompes Funèbres (FFPF) — Fédération Française des Pompes Funèbres
6. [6]
   Civil status - Transcription in Italy of a death certificate issued in France (multilingual extract) — Consulat général d'Italie à Paris (consparigi.esteri.it)
7. [7]
   Consular assistance and repatriation of remains and ashes to Italy (Berlin Agreement) — Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (esteri.it)
8. [8]
   International funeral transport and contact details - FENIOF — Federazione Nazionale Imprese Onoranze Funebri (FENIOF)
9. [9]
   National contact details - Italian Funeral Sector Federation (FederCoFIt) — FederCoFIt
10. [10]
    Funeral services, death declaration, and municipal Mortuary Passport in Italy — Comune di Milano
11. [11]
    Survivor pension (pensione di reversibilità and pensione indiretta) in Italy — Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale (INPS)
12. [12]
    Inheritance tax return in Italy (dichiarazione di successione) within a 12-month deadline — Agenzia delle Entrate
13. [13]
    Guide to successions in Italy and the General Register of Wills (Registro Generale dei Testamenti) — Consiglio Nazionale del Notariato
14. [14]
    Declaring the death of a relative and claiming the death grant (capital décès) in France — L'Assurance Maladie (ameli.fr)
15. [15]
    Declaring the death of a pensioner and claiming a survivor pension (retraite de réversion) — Assurance Retraite (CNAV)
16. [16]
    Estate settlement and the role of the notary in France — Conseil supérieur du notariat (Notaires de France)