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

1. 1

   Obtain Medical Certification of Death

   • Clinical confirmation and two-part certification: In Sweden, a physician must examine the deceased to confirm the death clinically and issue two separate statutory medical documents: the Certificate of Death (dödsbevis), which is sent immediately to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket), and the Certificate of Cause of Death (dödsorsaksintyg), which is submitted to the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) within three weeks [1] [2].
   • Hospital, care home, or home deaths: If the death occurred in a hospital, residential care facility, or at home under palliative care, the attending or on-call municipal physician completes the examination and transmits the dödsbevis electronically to Skatteverket on the next working day [2].
   • Unexpected or unexplained deaths requiring police clearance: If the death was sudden, accidental, or could not be attributed with certainty to natural causes, the physician must report the case to the Swedish Police Authority (Polismyndigheten) before Skatteverket can authorise burial or cremation, and a forensic medical examination (rättsmedicinsk undersökning) may be ordered [2].
2. 2

   Register the Death and Obtain Official Certificates from Skatteverket

   • Automatic population register update: Once Skatteverket receives the physician's dödsbevis, the death is recorded in the Swedish Population Register (folkbokföringen) without the family needing to attend a registry office in person, and that registration automatically notifies other Swedish public agencies, banks, and municipal registries [1] [2].
   • Ordering the Death Certificate with Family Investigation: Request a dödsfallsintyg med släktutredning (Death Certificate with Genealogy/Family Investigation) from Skatteverket online or by phone. This official document confirms the date of death and lists the registered legal heirs (dödsbodelägare) entitled to represent the estate before probate is completed [1].
   • Immediate estate administration: Present the dödsfallsintyg med släktutredning to Swedish banks and service providers to pay urgent funeral invoices, rent, electricity, and ongoing housing costs directly from the deceased person's accounts while the estate inventory is being prepared [1] [2].
3. 3

   Arrange Burial, Cremation, or International Repatriation

   • One-month statutory burial or cremation deadline: Under the Swedish Funeral Act (begravningslagen), the body must be buried or cremated within 1 month of the date of death once Skatteverket has issued the burial or cremation certificate (intyg för gravsättning eller kremering) [2].
   • Municipal burial fee coverage: Everyone who was registered as a resident in Sweden (folkbokförd) is covered by the compulsory burial fee (begravningsavgift), which funds the burial plot or cremation facility, statutory transport from the place of death, and the ceremonial hall through the Church of Sweden (Svenska kyrkan) or the municipal cemetery authority in Stockholm and Tranås [2].
   • International repatriation and Apostille: If the deceased is to be buried abroad, a licensed funeral director (begravningsbyrå) applies to Skatteverket or the relevant county authority for a laissez-passer for a corpse (passersedel för lik), arranges embalming and a hermetically sealed coffin, and obtains an Apostille from a Swedish Notary Public (notarius publicus) or an EU multilingual form if foreign authorities require legalised civil extracts [1] [2].
4. 4

   Notify Pension, Social Insurance, and Financial Institutions

   • State survivor pensions via Pensionsmyndigheten: When Skatteverket registers a death, Pensionsmyndigheten (the Swedish Pensions Agency) is notified automatically and assesses whether survivors living in Sweden qualify for Adjustment Pension (omställningspension for a spouse or qualifying cohabitant under age 67), Child's Pension (barnpension), or legacy Widow's Pension (änkepension). Survivors residing outside Sweden must submit a formal application to Pensionsmyndigheten [4].
   • Occupational pensions and group life insurance: Check whether the deceased held an occupational pension (tjänstepension) with repayment cover (återbetalningsskydd) or family cover (familjeskydd), or trade-union group life insurance (grupplivförsäkring, such as TGL), and notify the relevant pension administrators or insurers [2] [4].
   • Municipal funeral assistance for low-asset estates: If the estate's total assets on the date of death are insufficient to cover basic funeral costs and essential bills, stop automatic direct debits (autogiro) immediately so funeral costs retain priority, and contact the deceased's home municipality (kommun) to apply for an estate inventory declaration (dödsboanmälan) and municipal financial funeral assistance (ekonomiskt bistånd till begravningskostnader) [2] [3].
5. 5

   Complete the Estate Inventory (Bouppteckning) and Distribute the Estate

   • Mandatory three-month estate inventory: Under the Swedish Inheritance Code (ärvdabalken), the estate co-owners (dödsbodelägare) must hold an estate inventory meeting (bouppteckningsförrättning) within 3 months of the death and submit the signed Estate Inventory (bouppteckning) and certified copies of any wills to Skatteverket within 1 month after it is drawn up [3].
   • No Swedish inheritance tax: Sweden abolished inheritance tax (arvsskatt), so heirs do not pay estate duty to Skatteverket; instead, recipients inherit the deceased's tax cost basis for any future capital gains tax when property or securities are later sold [2] [3].
   • Court-appointed administrator and cross-border estates: Once Skatteverket registers the bouppteckning, it serves as the official title document to close bank accounts, re-register real estate (lagfart) with Lantmäteriet, and execute the deed of estate distribution (arvskifte) [3]. If heirs cannot agree on administration, any heir can apply to the District Court (tingsrätten) under Sveriges Domstolar to appoint an independent estate administrator (boutredningsman), or apply to Skatteverket for a European Certificate of Succession (europeiskt arvsintyg) if assets or heirs are located across other EU member states [3] [5].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Dödsfallsintyg med släktutredning (Death Certificate with Family Investigation) — Skatteverket
2. [2]
   När en anhörig dör - Bra att tänka på (Checklist When a Relative Dies) — Skatteverket
3. [3]
   Bouppteckning (Estate Inventory Requirements and Deadlines) — Skatteverket
4. [4]
   Ekonomiskt stöd när anhörig dör (Survivor Pensions and Benefits) — Pensionsmyndigheten
5. [5]
   Dödsfall och arv (Estate Administration and Inheritance) — Sveriges Domstolar