Poland - Register a Death

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Procedure

When registering a death, you will need to complete a registration form and provide the medical certificate of the cause of death, signed by a doctor to your local District Registration Office.

Any death which occurs in Poland must be registered within the next few days of the date of death by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. The law allows a death to be registered in any registration district in Poland. You can obtain the address of the local registrar from the undertaker, the hospital, the doctor, the external links and the offices given below.

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Required Documents

• Death record (Death Card) issued by a doctor who confirmed death
• Deceaseds identity document
• The medical certificate of cause of death
• The deceased's birth and marriage certificate
• The deceased's medical card;
• Any documents relating to the receipt of a pension or allowance from government funds.

Office Locations & Contacts

Police in Bialystok
ul. Sienkiewicz 65 / 15-003 Bialystok
Website

Provincial Police Headquarters

Central Forensic Laboratory of the Police
ul. Ujazdowskie 7 / 00-583 Warsaw
Switchboard: (022) 621 79 16
Website

Institutions and organizations in Poland

Eligibility

The death can be registered by:

• Any relative of the deceased, or
• Any person present when the person died, or
• The deceased's executor or other legal representative, or
• The occupier of the property where the person died, or if there is no such person,
• Anyone else who knows the information to be registered.

Fees

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Validity

This document does not expire.

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

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Related Videos

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Instructions

Deaths are usually registered within a few days of the death in the town or city where the person died.

Cause of death is determined and appropriately recorded by a physician, in case of autopsies by a forensic physician.

Required Information

• Family relationships of the witnesses appearing
• Exact time and place of death
• Place of birth and parent's names
• Place and date of registration of death
• The witnesses testify concerning the death, including the place (given with grammatical ending) and the date and time of day when the death occurred
• Name of deceased

Need for the Document

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

Information which might help

Do not worry if any of the required documents are not available as the registrar can still proceed to register the death.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

When the registration is complete the registrar will give you, free of charge:

• A certificate of registration of death for production to the person in charge of the burial ground or crematorium;
• A Social Security registration or notification of death certificate for use in obtaining or adjusting Social Security benefits.
• An abbreviated extract (i.e. excluding cause of death and parentage details) of the death entry.
• You can obtain a full extract of the death entry for a fee.

External Links

https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Poland_Civil_Registration-_Vital_Records

http://www.usc.pl/

http://bip.gov.pl/

http://www.investing-in-poland.pl/institutions.html

Others

The opening hours of registration offices varies between local authorities and some operate an appointments system. You should therefore check with the relevant local authority before attending an office. You will wish to note that a burial can take place before the registration but that a cremation can only take place after the death has been registered.