France - Obtain a Death Certificate

Advertisement

Procedure

The death certificate (acte de décès) provides information on where and when death took place but does not indicate the cause of death.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply In-Person

1. In person or by letter visit the Office of the Mayor (La Mairie)  either where the death occurred or where the deceased resided with all the required documents
2. The mairie will verify the documents, enter the death on the civil registry and provide a death certificate indicating the date, time and place (but not necessarily the cause) of death.
3. If the request for the death certificate is by letter, the letter must be accompany by a self- addressed and stamped envelope of the applicant.
4. For French nationals, the mairie will also add the date and place of death next to the deceased’s entry in the livret de famille or birth certificate.

Apply Online

1. Visit the website:Public Service and click on access online service.
2. On the new page, Under reason for the request box select others and enter your postal code and town under municipal where the marriage was registered then click on following
3. You will be relocated to the next page under (type of act) fill it correctly in accordance to the type of death certificate you are applying for i.e. (full copy or multilingual )
4. You will then be redirected to the next page under (identification) fill it correctly then click on following
5. Than finally you will be redirected to the last page under (summary and send) verify all the information is correct then click on send

   NB. NOT all cities in France allow you to order a death certificate online.

6. Select death certificate then click online services and forms
7. Select the request form on where the death occurred I.e. (in France or abroad)
8. Processed with filling the request form if the service is available in the city where the death occurred.The death certificate (acte de décès) provides information on where and when death took place but does not indicate the cause of death.

Advertisement

Required Documents

• Proof of identity of the person declaring the death
• Identity card or family book (Livret de famille) or marriage or birth certificate of the deceased
• Medical certificate of death issued by the doctor or police

Office Locations & Contacts

Monsieur le Maire

Bureau de l'Etat-Civil
Mairie de Boulogne sur Mer
62200 Boulogne sur Mer, France

Ministre des Affaires Etrangres

Direction des Franais l'Etranger
Service Central de l'Etat-Civil
11, rue Maison Blanche, 44000 Nantes
Tel: 0826 080 604 (from the U.S. tel: 00 33 1 41 86 42 47)
Fax: 02.51.77.36.99

Police stations in Paris

Eligibility

• An adult or close relative/friends of the diseased

Fees

• No fees charged

Validity

• Death Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

Please attach documents that can be used by people. e.g. links

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

• Application in person you will receive the certificate on the spot
• Application via online or letter it may take several days to receive the death certificate

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M". 
	

Instructions

Death certificates are obtained from the Office of the Mayor (La Mairie) where the death occurred.
The request must include:
(a) the full name of the deceased;
(b) the date and place where the death occured. The request must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. There is no charge for a copy of a death certificate.

Required Information

• Date, time and place of death
• Given names, name, date and place of birth, profession and domicile of the deceased
• Names, names, professions and homes of his parents
• Names and name of her husband or partner of Pacs
• First name, surname, age, occupation and domicile of the declarant (if applicable, his degree of relationship with the deceased)

Need for the Document

The death certificate (acte de dcs) provides information on where and when death took place but does not indicate the cause of death. Numerous copies of the death certificate are provided; these may be used when notifying authorities and service providers of the death.

Information which might help

Registering a death

In France, the death must be registered within 24 hours. Anyone can do this, but usually it is a close relative or, if the deceased died in a hospital or a care home, a member of staff will often carry out the task. A doctor must certify the death, thereafter it’s possible to register a death online, or in person or by letter at the mairie either where the death occurred or where the deceased resided. To do this, it is necessary to provide:

• Proof of identity of the person declaring the death
• Proof of identity of the deceased
• The doctor’s signed death confirmation

Once the death is registered, the town hall issues a burial permit (permis d'inhumer) indicating the time and date of death. Burial may take place in the 24 hours following the death.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Death records are especially helpful because they may provide important information on a person's birth, spouse, parents, age, and birthplace. Civil death records often exist for individuals for whom there are no birth or marriage records.

External Links

Death Dying
France

Others

Civil registers are the vital records made by the government. Records of births, marriages, and deaths are commonly referred to as "vital records" because they refer to critical events in a person's life. French civil registration offices are excellent sources for accurate information on names, dates, and places of births, marriages, and deaths in their area. In addition, civil registration may include divorce records.