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

1. 1

   Medical Certification of Death and Forensic Clearance in France

   The essential first step is to obtain the medical certification of death in France in order to authorize funeral operations and civil registration [1].

   • Death in a healthcare facility or nursing home (EHPAD): The attending hospital or facility physician directly completes the medical certificate of death (certificat médical de décès, on a paper Cerfa form or via the electronic CertDc system) [1].
   • Death at home, in a hotel, or in a public place: Immediately call the emergency medical service (SAMU at 15), the European emergency number (112), or the police/gendarmerie (17) so that a physician can attend in person to certify the death [1].
   • Medico-legal obstacle (obstacle médico-légal): In the event of a sudden, accidental, or unexplained death, the physician marks a medico-legal obstacle on the certificate. The case is then referred to the territorially competent public prosecutor (procureur de la République, for example at the judicial court of Paris, Lyon, or Marseille) for a forensic examination; authorization to seal the coffin and transport the body can only be granted once the prosecutor's office lifts this restriction [1].
2. 2

   Insurance, Appointing Funeral Directors, and Consular Assistance

   Before signing a funeral contract personally, check whether the deceased held travel insurance, assistance coverage linked to a bank card, a funeral plan, or coverage provided by their employer.

   • Franco-Romanian funeral coordination: In France, only funeral providers holding a prefectural license (habilitation préfectorale) may carry out mortuary transport and placement in a coffin [2]. 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 coordinates with a receiving funeral company in Romania (firmă de servicii funerare holding sanitary authorization from the Public Health Directorate, Direcția de Sănătate Publică - DSP, pursuant to Government Decision HG nr. 741/2016 of the Ministerul Sănătății) [2][3].
   • Romanian consular assistance: The consular section of the Ambasada României în Republica Franceză (Embassy of Romania in Paris) or the Consulatul General al României la Lyon (Consulate General of Romania in Lyon, as well as the Consulates General in Marseille and Strasbourg) assists the family with the consular registration of the death certificate and inheritance powers of attorney by appointment through the official portal eConsulat.ro, though consular offices do not cover repatriation costs [3][4].
3. 3

   Civil Death Registration in France and Transcription in Romania

   The death certificate issued in France must be obtained and then transcribed into the Romanian civil status registers to take full legal effect in Romania [1][4].

   • 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 of the municipality of death, in accordance with the guidance on Service-Public.fr [1]. The appointed funeral company generally completes this step upon presentation of the medical certificate of death, the declarant's identity document, and the identity or civil status documents of the deceased [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 1976 Vienna Convention) [4].
   • Transcription into the Romanian civil status registers: The French death certificate must be transcribed (transcrierea certificatului de deces) in order to obtain the Romanian death certificate (Certificatul de deces românesc, issued free of charge for the first copy) [4]. This procedure can be completed either at the Ambasada României în Republica Franceză or the competent Romanian consulate general (upon presentation of the original multilingual CIEC Form C extract, or the full French copy accompanied by a legalized Romanian translation, together with the deceased's Romanian identity and civil status documents), or directly in Romania at the local public community service for personal records (Serviciul Public Comunitar Local de Evidență a Persoanelor - SPCLEP or the town hall of the last place of residence, coordinated by the Direcția Generală pentru Evidența Persoanelor - DGEP) [4].
4. 4

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

   The family chooses between international transfer of the body or cremated urn to Romania and arranging local funeral services in France [2][3].

   • Repatriation of the body or ashes to Romania: Because both France and Romania are parties to the 1937 Berlin International Arrangement and the Strasbourg Agreement on the Transfer of Corpses, the mortuary passport (laissez-passer mortuaire) and transport authorization are issued in France by the competent prefectural authority of the place where the coffin is sealed (or by the town hall under local delegation) [2][3]. No separate consular mortuary passport (pașaport mortuar) is required from the Romanian consulate in France: the hermetic coffin (fitted with a sealed metal liner and following statutory embalming/preservation care) travels accompanied by the French death certificate, the French laissez-passer mortuaire, and the sanitary certificates of non-contagion and coffining assembled by the funeral director [2][3].
   • Local burial or cremation in France: If the funeral takes place in France, the mayor of the municipality of death authorizes burial or cremation, which must take place between 24 hours and 6 working days after the death [1][2].
5. 5

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

   Once the civil death certificates have been issued, beneficiaries can claim social security entitlements and settle the estate in both countries.

   • Social security, tax, and probate procedures in Romania:
     • Funeral grant and survivor's pension: If your relative was insured or retired under the Romanian public pension system (or was a qualifying family member of an insured person), the person who proves payment of the funeral expenses may apply for the death grant (ajutor de deces) from the Casa Națională de Pensii Publice (CNPP, via the local Casa Teritorială de Pensii) by submitting the standard claim form (Anexa 11), the death certificate, and original invoices; payment is generally made within 3 working days (subject to a 3-year limitation period) [5][6]. The surviving spouse and dependent children may also apply for a survivor's pension (pensia de urmaș) at the territorial pension house (Casa Teritorială de Pensii) [6].
     • Notarial probate and taxation in Romania: Estate settlement (procedura succesorală notarială) takes place before a Romanian public notary affiliated with the Uniunea Națională a Notarilor Publici din România (UNNPR) in the jurisdiction of the deceased's last domicile or where the main assets are located in Romania [4][7]. Under Romanian tax law administered by the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (Agenția Națională de Administrare Fiscală - ANAF), an estate settled by notarial deed within 2 years of the date of death is exempt from the tax on the transfer of inherited real property (after 2 years, a 1% tax on the value of the estate assets applies).
   • Social security, tax, and probate procedures in France:
     • Health insurance and death grant (capital décès): If your relative worked or resided in France, notify the local health insurance fund (Caisse primaire d'assurance maladie - CPAM) and, if contribution or benefit conditions are met, apply for the lump-sum death grant (capital décès) using Cerfa form no. 10431 (S3180) [8].
     • Pensions and survivor's pension (pension de réversion): Report the death and apply, where eligible, 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 deceased owned real estate in France, left a will, or held assets requiring a deed of heirship (acte de notoriété), appoint a notary via the portal of Notaires de France (the French inheritance tax return must be filed within 6 months following a death 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]
   Procedures in the event of the death of a Romanian citizen in France and mortuary passport (Decesul unui cetățean român) — Ministerul Afacerilor Externe / Consulatul General al României la Lyon
4. [4]
   Transcription of civil status certificates and Romanian death certificate — Ambasada României în Republica Franceză
5. [5]
   Granting and payment of the funeral grant (Ajutorul de deces) — Casa Națională de Pensii Publice (CNPP)
6. [6]
   Death grants and survivor benefits in Romania — Union européenne (Your Europe) / CNPP
7. [7]
   Directory of public notaries and probate procedures in Romania — Uniunea Națională a Notarilor Publici din România (UNNPR)
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