Checklist: which documents you need

You can print out this list and tick it off. The funeral director needs most of the documents at the first appointment already.

For the Standesamt (registry office, death certificate)

• Medical death certificate (Todesbescheinigung) issued by the doctor (all sheets)
• Identity card or passport of the deceased
• Birth certificate
• For married persons: marriage certificate or family register (Familienbuch)
• For widowed persons: death certificate of the spouse
• For divorced persons: divorce decree with certificate of legal force
• For foreign documents: certified translation, in some cases with apostille
• Residence permit, if the deceased did not hold German citizenship

For the funeral director

• All documents for the Standesamt (the funeral director submits them)
• Proof of membership in a burial fund, if available
• Health insurance card
• Pension notice or pension number
• For an existing grave: the grave right certificate (Grabnutzungsurkunde)
• For a death benefit or pre-need funeral contract: the policy

For repatriation abroad

• Death certificate (multilingual, international version)
• Confidential part of the medical death certificate (sheet 2)
• Coffining declaration (Einsargungserklärung) from the funeral director
• Passport of the deceased
• Leichenpass (mortuary passport) from the Bezirksamt Wandsbek (district office) (€31)
• Depending on the destination country: certificate from the consulate, translations

For the time afterwards

• Several death certificates (banks, insurers, landlord, employer)
• Free death certificate for the pension office and health insurance fund
• Will or contract of inheritance, if available
• For the social welfare burial: bank statements for the last three months, proof of income, tenancy agreement, funeral director's invoice, certificate of inheritance or disclaimer of inheritance