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

1. 1

   Medical Certification of Death and Forensic Clearance in France

   Before any civil registration or funeral transport can take place, the death of the deceased person must be medically certified in France [1].

   • Death in a healthcare facility or nursing home (EHPAD): The attending hospital or facility physician directly issues the medical certificate of death (certificat médical de décès, on a paper Cerfa form or via the electronic CertDc system), and the institution informs the family of the initial arrangements for preserving the body [1].
   • Death at home, in a hotel, or in a public place: You should immediately call the emergency medical service (SAMU at 15), the European emergency number (112), or law enforcement (police or gendarmerie at 17) so that a physician can attend and certify the death [1].
   • Medico-legal obstacle (obstacle médico-légal): If the death is sudden, unexplained, or suspicious, the physician checks the medico-legal obstacle box on the certificate. The body is then placed under the authority of the competent public prosecutor (procureur de la République, for example at the judicial court of Paris or Lyon) for a forensic examination. Full civil registration and placement in a coffin (mise en bière) can only proceed once the prosecutor's office formally lifts this restriction [1].
2. 2

   Insurance, Appointing Funeral Directors, and Consular Assistance

   Before incurring personal expenses, check whether your relative held a travel insurance policy, repatriation insurance, a bank card with assistance coverage, or a pre-paid funeral plan. If coverage applies, the insurer's assistance center generally appoints the funeral providers and coordinates the file.

   • Franco-Polish funeral coordination: In France, only funeral companies holding a prefectural license (habilitation préfectorale) are authorized to carry out transport and placement in a coffin [2][3]. You may appoint a licensed funeral director in France (opérateur funéraire habilité, affiliated for example with the Fédération Nationale du Funéraire or the Fédération Française des Pompes Funèbres), who will coordinate with a receiving funeral home in Poland (zakład pogrzebowy belonging to a professional trade association such as the Polska Izba Branży Pogrzebowej or the Polskie Stowarzyszenie Pogrzebowe) [2][3].
   • Polish consular assistance: The competent Polish consular office for the place of death, such as the Wydział Konsularny Ambasady RP w Paryżu (Consular Section of the Embassy of Poland in Paris, email: [email protected]) or the Consulate General of Poland in Lyon, issues the consular certificate required to bring the body or cremated remains into Poland and advises the family, though it cannot act in place of a funeral director or cover funeral expenses [3].
3. 3

   Civil Death Registration in France and Recognition in Poland

   Official registration of the death in France provides the civil status certificates needed for legal and administrative procedures in both countries [1].

   • Declaration at the town hall (mairie) in France: The death must be declared within 24 hours (excluding weekends and public holidays) at the town hall (mairie) of the municipality where the death occurred, in accordance with the rules set out on the official portal Service-Public.fr [1]. In practice, the appointed funeral director usually completes this formality using the medical certificate of death, the declarant's identity document, and the deceased person's passport, identity card, or birth certificate [1]. Request several full copies of the death certificate (copies intégrales de l'acte de décès) as well as multilingual extracts on CIEC Form C (extrait plurilingue Formule C, under the Vienna Convention of 8 September 1976), which are accepted between France and Poland without an apostille or sworn translation.
   • Transcription in the Polish civil registry: For inheritance and social security procedures in Poland, the French death certificate is transcribed (transkrypcja aktu zgonu) into the Polish civil registry at the competent municipal civil registry office (Urząd Stanu Cywilnego, for example in Warsaw or Kraków) or through the Polish consulate [3].
4. 4

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

   The family may choose either international repatriation of the body or cremated ashes to Poland, or a local burial or cremation in France [2][3].

   • Repatriation of the body or urn to Poland: The funeral director coordinates all technical permits on both sides of the border [2][3]:
     • In Poland, the family or the appointed funeral home first applies for the burial and import permit (zezwolenie na pochówek i sprowadzenie zwłok lub szczątków) from the county governor (starosta) or city mayor-president (prezydent miasta) of the destination municipality, issued after consultation with the district sanitary inspectorate (Państwowy Powiatowy Inspektor Sanitarny / Sanepid) [3].
     • In France, the prefecture (préfecture) of the department where the coffin is sealed (or where cremation takes place) issues the prefectural mortuary transit permit (arrêté préfectoral de laissez-passer mortuaire) or urn transport authorization, upon presentation of the certificate of hermetic coffining (a coffin fitted with a sealed metal liner compliant with the Berlin and Strasbourg international agreements) or the cremation certificate [2][3].
     • With the Polish permit from the starosta or prezydent miasta, the death certificate, and the French prefectural authorization, the funeral operator or family obtains the consular certificate from the Wydział Konsularny Ambasady RP w Paryżu (subject to a 60 EUR consular fee, issued within a maximum of 3 days) [3].
   • Local burial or cremation in France: If the funeral takes place in France, the mayor of the municipality of death (or where the coffin is closed) issues the burial or cremation permit, which must generally be carried out between 24 hours and 6 working days after death [1][2].
5. 5

   Social Security Benefits, Pensions, Taxes, and Estate Administration in Poland and France

   Post-funeral administrative steps must be completed with the social security funds, tax authorities, and notarial offices of the countries where your relative worked, contributed, or held assets.

   • Social security and probate procedures in Poland:
     • Funeral grant and survivor's pension: If the deceased was covered by the Polish social insurance system (or if the person who paid the funeral costs is insured there), you may claim the Polish funeral grant (zasiłek pogrzebowy, set at a flat rate of 7,000 PLN for close family members upon submission of form Z-12, the death certificate, and original invoices within 12 months) as well as any applicable survivor's pension (renta rodzinna via form ERR) from the Polish Social Insurance Institution, Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych (ZUS, or KRUS for the agricultural scheme) [4][5].
     • Probate and inheritance tax in Poland: To establish heirship in Poland, beneficiaries may obtain a notarial deed of succession certification (Akt Poświadczenia Dziedziczenia) registered in the Inheritance Register maintained by the Krajowa Rada Notarialna (National Council of Notaries), or apply for a court order confirming acquisition of the estate (sądowe stwierdzenie nabycia spadku) [6]. Heirs have 6 months from learning of their entitlement to accept or renounce the estate, and then 6 months from the registration of the notarial deed or final court ruling to file tax form SD-Z2 with the Polish tax office (Urząd Skarbowy) to claim the full inheritance tax exemption available to immediate family members (grupa zerowa) [6][7].
   • Social security, tax, and probate procedures in France:
     • Health insurance and death grant (capital décès): If your relative lived or worked in France, notify the local health insurance fund (Caisse primaire d'assurance maladie - CPAM) and, if the deceased was an employee, receiving unemployment benefits, or holding a disability pension, apply for the lump-sum death benefit (capital décès) using Cerfa form no. 10431 (S3180) within 1 month for priority dependent beneficiaries (or within 2 years otherwise) [8].
     • Pensions and survivor's pension (pension de réversion): Report the death and, where applicable, apply for a survivor's pension from L'Assurance Retraite (CNAV / CARSAT) and the supplementary pension scheme Agirc-Arrco [9].
     • Taxes and estate settlement in France: Notify the French tax administration and, if the estate includes real estate in France, a will, or bank assets exceeding standard thresholds, instruct a notary via the official directory of Notaires de France to draw up the deed of heirship (acte de notoriété) and file the French inheritance tax return within 6 months of a death occurring in France [10].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Declaration of death at the town hall and medical certification — Service-Public.fr
2. [2]
   Transport of the body of a person who died in France or abroad — Service-Public.fr
3. [3]
   Consular certificate for transporting a body or ashes to Poland (Zaświadczenie na sprowadzenie zwłok lub prochów) — Gov.pl / Ambassade de Pologne en France
4. [4]
   Obtaining the funeral grant in Poland (Uzyskaj zasiłek pogrzebowy - ZUS) — Gov.pl / Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych
5. [5]
   Conditions and application for a survivor's pension (Renta rodzinna) — Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych (ZUS)
6. [6]
   Inheritance Register and notarial deed of succession certification (Rejestr Spadkowy) — Krajowa Rada Notarialna
7. [7]
   Inheritance tax declaration and SD-Z2 exemption (Zgłoś otrzymanie majątku ze spadku - formularz SD-Z2) — Gov.pl
8. [8]
   Application for a lump-sum death grant from Assurance Maladie (Form S3180 / Cerfa no. 10431) — Service-Public.fr
9. [9]
   Administrative formalities in the event of death and survivor's pension (pension de réversion) — L'Assurance Retraite
10. [10]
    Settlement of estates and the role of the notary — Notaires de France