Notification of death

If someone dies, it's a big blow. The guide will help you find out what you need to do.

Description of the service

What situation are you in?

The death of a loved one occurred in a medical or sanitary facility (e.g. hospital, hospice, home for the elderly...).

What will happen and what you have to do
  • A doctor from a medical facility or a doctor assigned to a social care facility (practitioner, emergency medical doctor or coroner) performs an examination of the body of the deceased.
  • It will also contact you (remaining) if you have been listed in the medical records.
  • The doctor will issue a document called a certificate of examination of the deceased. This document consists of several parts. For you, the following parts are important:
  • Part B1, which the doctor sends to the civil registry office so that they can start issuing a death certificate.
  • Part B2 is a certificate of death for the person who arranges the burial. This part will be given directly to you by your doctor.
  • Part B3 that your doctor will hand over to the funeral home of your choice.
  • You can then contact the funeral service of your choice to arrange the transport of the body of the deceased and order a funeral.
Information on the cause of death is given in Part A of the certificate of examination of the deceased. This information is sensitive, and therefore the doctor provides it only on request of relatives.
What situation are you in?

The death of a loved one occurred at home or elsewhere outside a medical facility.

What you have to do
  • Call your GP or Emergency Medical Service or Emergency Medical Service or directly the coroner on 112 and  155 to report your death.
  • The doctor or dispatcher on the phone will want to know if it was the expected death of an incurably ill patient or an unexpected death. This is important for the way forward.
  • If there is an unexpected death, the Emergency Medical Service immediately follows the patient. It is also necessary to start urgent resuscitation under the phone guidance of the dispatcher.
  • If it is an expected death, resuscitation usually does not begin. Depending on the time, a doctor will come to examine the deceased. In the meantime, it is important that you prepare all available medical documentation (e.g. a discharge report from hospitalization or outpatient reports of specialist examinations) so that your doctor can correctly assess the overall clinical picture and determine the probable cause of death.
  • The doctor will examine the body of the deceased and discuss with you whether an autopsy will take place.
  • If an autopsy is performed, the doctor will arrange for the body of the deceased to be transported for autopsy. After the result of the autopsy, the doctor will issue a document called a certificate of examination of the deceased. This document consists of several parts. For you, the following parts are important:
  • Part B1, which the doctor sends to the civil registry office so that they can start issuing a death certificate.
  • Part B2 is a certificate of death for the person who arranges the burial. This part will be given directly to you by your doctor.
  • Part B3 that your doctor will hand over to the funeral home of your choice.
  • If the autopsy does not take place, the doctor will issue a sheet of examination of the deceased on the spot. You can then contact the funeral service of your choice  , arrange the transport of the body of the deceased and order a funeral.
How long does it usually take to be processed by the authorities and what is the legal time limit for processing?

Notification of death and issuance of a death certificate is usually dealt with immediately (within minutes) at the registry office, the registry office is legally obliged to act immediately without undue delay. Administrative processing (register changes, writing changes) can take up to 2 weeks.
The law does not set a time limit for contacting the funeral service and removing the body of the deceased. If the family wants to say goodbye to the deceased at home or wants to perform some religious rituals, it is possible
Information on the cause of death is given in Part A of the certificate of examination of the deceased. This information is sensitive, and therefore the doctor provides it only on request of relatives.
What situation are you in?

You found the body of the deceased or a part of it.

What you have to do

You must report the body to the Police of the Czech Republic by calling 158 or by calling the emergency number 112. Then follow what the dispatcher tells you on the phone.