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

1. 1

   Obtain the Medical Certificate of Death

   • Hospital or inpatient death: When a death occurs in a hospital or clinical facility regulated by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, the attending physician or hospital pathology department issues the official medical certificate of death (Form No. 106/u, meditsinskoe svidetelstvo o smerti) in paper or electronic form [1] [2].
   • Death at home from natural causes: If your family member died at home, immediately call emergency medical services (103 or 112) and the local police so that medical personnel and the district police officer can inspect the scene and confirm the absence of external or violent causes [1]. Where the deceased was under regular observation for a documented chronic illness, the local polyclinic or pathology bureau under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation issues the medical certificate of death [1].
   • Unexpected, sudden, or unexplained death: If the death occurred suddenly outside a medical institution or involves any suspicion of external causes, police and investigative authorities order a forensic medical examination (sudebno-meditsinskaya ekspertiza) at the regional forensic bureau, which issues the medical certificate of death once the examination is complete [1].
2. 2

   Register the Death with the Civil Registry (ZAGS)

   • Competent civil registry authority: Official state registration of death is carried out by Civil Status Registration Offices (organy ZAGS) or Multifunctional Centres for Provision of State and Municipal Services (MFC Moi Dokumenty), which record the act in the Unified State Register of Civil Status Records (EGR ZAGS) supervised at the federal policy level by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation [2] [3].
   • Statutory deadline and venue: Under Article 66 of Federal Law No. 143-FZ on Acts of Civil Status, a declaration of death must be submitted within three days from the date of death or discovery of the body, though ZAGS offices register deaths even if the three-day period has elapsed [2] [3]. Registration may be completed at the ZAGS office or MFC covering the deceased's last residence, the place of death, the location where the body was found, or the seat of the medical organization that issued the medical death certificate, or initiated online via the Unified Portal of State and Municipal Services (Gosuslugi) when an electronic medical certificate has been issued [2] [3].
   • Required documents and certificates issued: Present the applicant's passport, the medical certificate of death, and the deceased's internal Russian passport (or foreign passport with notarized Russian translation if the deceased was a foreign citizen), which is retained for cancellation [2] [3]. ZAGS issues the official stamped state death certificate (gerbovoe svidetelstvo o smerti) and the official death extract (Form No. 11) required for the statutory funeral benefit on the same day free of state duty [2] [3].
3. 3

   Arrange Burial, Cremation, or International Repatriation

   • Domestic burial or cremation: Under Federal Law No. 8-FZ on Burial and Funeral Business, present the official state death certificate to a municipal specialized funeral service (spetsializirovannaya sluzhba po voprosam pokhoronnogo dela) or licensed funeral agency to arrange a free cemetery plot at a public cemetery or cremation at a licensed crematorium [2] [4]. Clarvia does not endorse or rank commercial funeral providers.
   • Sanitary and customs permits for international repatriation: If your family member's remains (gruz 200) or cremated urn must be transported out of the Russian Federation, obtain a certificate of absence of infectious disease and sanitary-epidemiological clearance from Rospotrebnadzor, an embalming certificate from the mortuary under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, a certificate confirming hermetically sealed zinc-lined coffin soldering without extraneous objects, and a customs declaration [1] [3].
   • Apostille and consular legalization: If the Russian state death certificate will be presented to authorities abroad, obtain a Hague Apostille from the regional ZAGS archive department or the territorial authority of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation (for notarized copies and translations), or complete consular legalization through the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation if the destination country is not a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention [3] [6].
4. 4

   Notify Social Security, Pension, Tax, and Banking Authorities

   • Statutory funeral allowance (sotsialnoe posobie na pogrebenie): Under Federal Law No. 8-FZ, the person who bore the cost of the funeral may apply within six months of the date of death for either the guaranteed free list of burial services or the federal social funeral allowance (indexed annually and increased by regional coefficients where applicable) through the Social Fund of Russia (SFR) or via the Unified Portal of State and Municipal Services (Gosuslugi) [2] [4].
   • Survivor pensions and accrued unpaid benefits: Eligible dependent family members (including minor children, full-time students under age 23, and surviving spouses or parents who have reached pensionable age or have a disability) may apply to the Social Fund of Russia (SFR) for an insurance or social survivor pension (pensiya po sluchayu poteri kormiltsa), as well as any pension accrued in the month of death that remained unpaid under Article 1183 of the Civil Code [4].
   • Banks, tax offices, and utilities: While ZAGS transmits death registration data electronically from EGR ZAGS to the Federal Tax Service (FNS) and the Social Fund of Russia (SFR), notify commercial banks directly with the state death certificate to freeze sole accounts and stop recurring debits, and update municipal utility and housing centres (EIRTS / ZHKKH) [2] [4] [5].
5. 5

   Administer the Estate and Notarial Succession

   • Mandatory six-month deadline to open an inheritance case: Under Article 1154 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, heirs by will or by law must file a formal application to accept the inheritance (zayavlenie o prinyatii nasledstva) and open an inheritance file (nasledstvennoe delo) with a notary of the Federal Chamber of Notaries of the Russian Federation within strictly six months from the date of death [5]. Under the Principle of Inheritance Without Borders, heirs may apply to any notary within the notarial district corresponding to the deceased's last registered permanent residence in Russia [5].
   • Verification through the Unified Information System of Notaries: Present the state death certificate, proof of the deceased's last residence registration, documents confirming family relationship or the testament, and property records [5]. The notary of the Federal Chamber of Notaries of the Russian Federation searches the public probate registry (reestr nasledstvennykh del), verifies whether a will was recorded, sends electronic inquiries to Rosreestr and Russian banks, and issues the Certificate of Right to Inheritance (svidetelstvo o prave na nasledstvo) upon expiration of the six-month period [5].
   • Taxation and cross-border representation: Russia imposes no inheritance tax, though heirs pay a statutory notarial tariff (0.3% of asset value for close relatives, capped at 100,000 RUB, or 0.6% for other heirs, capped at 1,000,000 RUB) [5]. Heirs living abroad may execute a declaration of acceptance of inheritance or a power of attorney before a Russian consulate under the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, or before a foreign notary with an Apostille and certified Russian translation [3] [5] [6].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Official Portal of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation — Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation
2. [2]
   Social Fund and Civil Services Portal — Unified Portal of State and Municipal Services (Gosuslugi)
3. [3]
   State Services for Civil Registration and Apostille Legalization — Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation
4. [4]
   Social Funeral Allowance and Survivor Benefits Administration — Social Fund of Russia (SFR)
5. [5]
   Acceptance of Inheritance and Issuance of the Certificate of Right to Inheritance — Federal Chamber of Notaries of the Russian Federation
6. [6]
   Consular Notarial Functions and Document Templates — Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation