When someone dies: first steps and funerals

It is for people who are thinking about moving to Spain, preparing for the move, or already living there. After reading, you will know what must happen in the first days after a death and what choices you have.

Start with "What to do in the first hours after a death in Spain". It works whether the death happens at home, in hospital or in a care home. If you are in another country when a relative dies in Spain, go to "A relative dies in Spain and you are abroad: first steps".

Bank accounts and utilities, inheritance and wills, and bereavement counselling are not covered here.

Key rules

• Certificate fee: Death certificates from the Registro Civil are free of charge; you only pay for postage, sworn translation, apostille or an intermediary.
• Waiting time: Burial or cremation cannot normally happen until 24 hours after death, and should happen within 48 hours, though regional rules vary and refrigeration or a judicial autopsy can extend this.
• Who pays: Embassies and consulates do not generally pay for funerals or repatriation; the family, the estate or an insurer pays.
• First call: A doctor must confirm the death before anything else can happen.
• Funeral home: Call a funeral home, or your insurer's funeral service if you have a funeral policy, once the death is certified.
• Who registers: The funeral home usually files the death, so you rarely need to go to the Registro Civil yourself.

When someone dies: first steps and funerals: the whole process, step by step

• Get a doctor to confirm the death and issue the medical death certificate (read: What to do in the first hours after a death in Spain): At once, when the death is confirmed

• Call a funeral home or the insurer's funeral service (read: Arranging a funeral in Spain quickly, with or without a plan): Right after the medical certificate is issued

• Have the death registered in the Registro Civil, usually filed by the funeral home (read: Registering a death and getting certificates (Registro Civil) in Spain): Within 24 hours of the medical certificate, and in any case within 72 hours

• Hold the wake at a tanatorio, if you want one (read: Arranging a funeral in Spain quickly, with or without a plan): Usually about one day

• Burial or cremation (read: Burial or cremation in Spain: what foreign residents should know): Not until 24 hours after death, and within 48 hours; in practice usually 24 to 72 hours, and cremation often 2 to 4 days

• Send ashes home (read: Sending a body or ashes home from Spain): A few days to about a week after cremation

• Send the body home (read: Sending a body or ashes home from Spain): About 3 to 10 days from death, depending on destination and paperwork

• Order the will and life-insurance certificates for the inheritance (read: Registering a death and getting certificates (Registro Civil) in Spain): At least 15 working days after death

Documents you may need

Identity and residence

• A copy of your passport or ID — A relative dies in Spain and you are abroad: first steps

The home and the lease

• The facility's release form — What to do in the first hours after a death in Spain
• Certificate of life-insurance contracts — Registering a death and getting certificates (Registro Civil) in Spain

Other documents

• Medical death certificate — What to do in the first hours after a death in Spain, Arranging a funeral in Spain quickly, with or without a plan
• A will — Registering a death and getting certificates (Registro Civil) in Spain, Planning your own funeral and wishes in Spain before you need to
• Extract of the death entry — Registering a death and getting certificates (Registro Civil) in Spain
• Itemised written budget — Arranging a funeral in Spain quickly, with or without a plan
• Proof of the deceased's wishes for cremation — Arranging a funeral in Spain quickly, with or without a plan
• Clinical documents from the hospital or care home — What to do in the first hours after a death in Spain

Each article lists the other documents it asks for, where you need them.

When someone dies: first steps and funerals: questions that cross several articles

Who do I call first if someone dies at home in Spain?

Call a doctor first: 112 if the death is sudden, or the family doctor or on-call service if it was expected. The doctor confirms the death and issues the medical certificate, and only then do you call a funeral home. See What to do in the first hours after a death in Spain.

Who handles the paperwork when someone dies in a hospital or care home?

The facility's doctor certifies the death and passes the medical certificate to the funeral home you choose, which handles the rest. You sign the facility's release form. Read What to do in the first hours after a death in Spain, then Registering a death and getting certificates (Registro Civil) in Spain.

Will the embassy or consulate pay for the funeral or repatriation?

No, embassies and consulates do not generally pay for funerals or repatriation. The family, the estate or an insurer pays, and rare help is limited to cases with no relatives. Read A relative dies in Spain and you are abroad: first steps and Sending a body or ashes home from Spain.

How long does it take from death to funeral if relatives are abroad?

Waiting for relatives can extend the usual 24 to 72 hours, because the body can be kept refrigerated at a tanatorio. A judicial autopsy or a death abroad also delays things. Read Arranging a funeral in Spain quickly, with or without a plan and A relative dies in Spain and you are abroad: first steps.