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

1. 1

   Official Medical Certification of Death

   • Issuance of the medical death certificate in a healthcare facility: When your family member passes away in a hospital or inpatient medical institution, the attending physician or pathologist issues the medical certificate of death (Form No. 106/o) or feldsher death certificate (Form No. 106-1/o) and records the electronic medical conclusion of death in the Electronic Healthcare System [1].
   • Death occurring at home: If the death occurs at a private residence during clinic hours, family members should contact the family physician with whom the deceased had a signed declaration; outside clinic hours, call the emergency medical service (103) and the National Police of Ukraine (102) to inspect the scene and confirm biological death [1].
   • Forensic medical examination for sudden or unexplained deaths: Where a death occurs outside a medical institution under sudden, unclear, or potentially violent circumstances, National Police officers draw up an inspection report and refer the body to the bureau of forensic medical examination, which issues the medical death certificate following the autopsy [1].
   • Judicial establishment of the fact of death in special circumstances: When a standard Ukrainian medical certificate cannot be obtained (for example, in temporarily occupied territories), the fact of death is established by an urgent court decision, which then serves as the basis for civil registration [1] [5].
2. 2

   State Registration of Death at a DRACS Office or Through a TsNAP

   • Competent civil registry authorities and extraterritoriality: State registration of death is carried out by Civil Status Registration Departments (DRACS) overseen by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, local council executive bodies, or Administrative Service Centres (TsNAP); under martial law, the application may be filed at any operating DRACS office in Ukraine regardless of where the death occurred or where the deceased was registered, as explained on the Diia Portal - Guide to Public Services [1] [5].
   • Statutory registration deadlines: The declaration of death must be submitted within three days of the date of death or discovery of the body, or within five days if obtaining the medical death certificate or forensic report takes longer [1].
   • Required documents for registration: The applicant presents the original medical death certificate (or court judgment), the deceased's Ukrainian passport and military registration document (if applicable), which are retained by the registry office, together with the applicant's own passport [1].
   • Issuance of the death certificate and State Register extract: Upon registration, the authority issues the official state death certificate free of charge along with an extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts of Citizens for claiming the statutory funeral grant [1] [2].
3. 3

   Funeral Arrangements, Cremation, or International Repatriation

   • Contracting with a funeral service provider: Burial or cremation is arranged on the basis of the state death certificate through a municipal ritual service (rytualna sluzhba) or licensed funeral provider in accordance with the Law of Ukraine 'On Burial and Funeral Business' [1] [3].
   • Prosecutor or investigator clearance in criminal investigations: If a criminal investigation was opened or a forensic autopsy was conducted, written permission from the prosecutor or investigator is required before burial or cremation can take place [1].
   • Apostille certification for cross-border use: If the deceased was a foreign citizen, held assets abroad, or leaves heirs residing outside Ukraine, the state death certificate and registry extract should be certified with an Apostille stamp through the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine [5].
   • International transport of human remains or cremated ashes: For international repatriation of a coffin or urn, the funeral provider arranges an embalming certificate, sanitary-epidemiological clearance, a certificate confirming hermetically sealed soldering of the zinc-lined coffin (or urn), and customs transit documentation alongside the translated and Apostilled death certificate [1] [5].
4. 4

   Funeral Grants, Survivor Pensions, and Bank Notifications

   • Applying for the funeral grant through the PFU or employer: The person who paid for the funeral is entitled to a state funeral grant; if the deceased received a pension, the claim is filed at any service centre of the Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU) or online via the PFU electronic portal, with the grant for civilian pensioners equal to two months of the deceased's pension [2] [3].
   • Documents required for the funeral grant: The claimant submits their passport, taxpayer identification number (RNOKPP), a signed application, the death certificate, the extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts for receiving the funeral grant, and their IBAN bank account details [2] [3].
   • Unpaid pension arrears and survivor's pension: Family members who lived with the pensioner at the time of death, as well as dependent family members incapable of work, may apply to the Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU) within six months to receive unpaid pension up to and including the month of death and to claim a survivor's pension (pensiia u zviazku z vtratoiu hoduvalnyka) [2] [3].
   • Notifying banks and insurers: Family members should submit a copy of the death certificate to Ukrainian banks where the deceased held accounts or credit obligations so that interest and penalty accruals on any loans are suspended pending issuance of the inheritance certificate [3] [4].
5. 5

   Opening the Inheritance File with a Notary and Obtaining the Certificate of Inheritance

   • Strict six-month deadline to accept the estate: Under the Civil Code of Ukraine, heirs under a will or by intestate succession must file a formal statement of acceptance of inheritance within 6 months from the date of the deceased's death, as detailed by the Free Legal Aid System of Ukraine [4].
   • Filing with a state or private notary: The inheritance file (spadkova sprava) is opened at the deceased's last place of residence (or, under martial law regulations, before any operating state or private notary in government-controlled territory) and registered in the Inheritance Register administered by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine [4] [5].
   • Special rules for heirs residing abroad: The initial statement accepting the inheritance must be signed by the heir personally (filing the initial acceptance through a representative under a power of attorney is prohibited by Ukrainian law); an heir living abroad can have their signature on the statement notarized at a Ukrainian consulate or before a foreign notary (with an Apostille and certified Ukrainian translation) and mail it to the Ukrainian notary before the six-month deadline expires [4].
   • Issuance of the Certificate of Right to Inheritance: After the six-month period ends and property titles and bank records are verified, the notary issues the Certificate of Right to Inheritance (subsequent procedural steps after the personal acceptance filing may be handled by an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney), with free legal guidance available through the Free Legal Aid System of Ukraine [4] [5].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   State registration of death - Diia Public Services Guide — Міністерство цифрової трансформації України / Міністерство юстиції України
2. [2]
   Payment of the funeral grant - Diia Public Services Guide — Пенсійний фонд України / Портал Дія
3. [3]
   How to obtain the funeral grant - Free Legal Aid System — Координаційний центр з надання правничої допомоги
4. [4]
   Inheritance under a will and by law: what you need to know — Координаційний центр з надання правничої допомоги
5. [5]
   Ministry of Justice of Ukraine - Official Website (DRACS and Notary Services) — Міністерство юстиції України