What to do when someone dies in Spain

Terms used

• Funeraria — A funeraria is a funeral home, which usually handles the paperwork, registration and arrangements for the funeral.
• Registro Civil — The Registro Civil is the civil registry where births, marriages and deaths are officially recorded.
• Licencia de enterramiento or incineración — The licencia de enterramiento or incineración is the licence issued by the registry that allows a burial or cremation to take place.
• Certificado literal de defunción — The certificado literal de defunción is the official death certificate you request from the registry after registration.
• Autorización sanitaria — The autorización sanitaria is the permit from the regional health authority needed to transport remains abroad.

Key rules

• Registration: The funeral cannot be licensed until the death is registered, so do not let the report slip.
• Funeral home: The funeral home usually files the registration for you, but it needs the medical certificate and the deceased's ID.
• Suspicious death: If the death was suspicious or violent, a judge must authorise the funeral, and cremation needs that authorisation.
• Repatriation: If you plan to send remains abroad, call the deceased's consulate before you arrange anything else.

What to do first

A doctor must certify the death. Then call a funeral home (funeraria). It usually handles the paperwork for you, so you can focus on the family. If the death was suspicious or violent, a judge gets involved and may order an autopsy. The funeral cannot go ahead until the judge allows it.

Who has to report the death

The duty to report falls first on relatives. If there are none, it falls on people living with the person, then neighbours. If the person died in a hospital, clinic or prison, the director of that institution must also report it. In practice the funeral home files the notice electronically, using the medical certificate and the deceased's ID. Keep the ID safe and hand it over.

Registering the death

The death is registered in the Registro Civil of the place where the person died. The report is due within 24 hours of the death or of finding the body, with the medical certificate. Some offices work to a longer time limit, so ask the registry or the funeral home which one applies.

Do not leave it late. The burial or cremation licence (licencia de enterramiento or incineración) depends on registration, so a delay holds up the funeral. A late registration is still accepted, but the registry will ask for an explanation and you may face extra procedures or a sanction.

Burial or cremation

Once the death is registered, the registry issues the licence. The burial or cremation usually happens after 24 hours and generally within 48 hours. Local rules and cemeteries vary, so the funeral home will tell you the exact timing.

Cremation needs either the deceased's recorded wishes or the family's consent. If the death was suspicious, it also needs the judge's authorisation.

Certificates you will need afterwards

After the funeral, request the death certificate (certificado literal de defunción) from the registry. Then request the certificate of last wishes (Registro de Actos de Última Voluntad) and the certificate of the deceased's insurance contracts. You need these to start the inheritance process. Order several copies of the death certificate, because banks, insurers and offices each ask for one.

If the person was a foreign national

Contact the consulate of the deceased's country first. It issues the mortuary or transit certificate and can explain what the destination country requires. Requirements and procedures differ from country to country.

To send the body home you need:

• the Spanish death certificate, in the international version where available
• the medical certificate
• the judge's authorisation, if a judge was involved
• an embalming certificate and a sealed zinc-lined coffin, both compulsory for international transport
• a sanitary transport permit (autorización sanitaria) from the regional health authority

Use a funeral director who specialises in international transport. They handle most of this, including the airline cargo. Check any travel or repatriation insurance before you sign anything, because it often covers the cost.

Cremation is a cheaper alternative. The ashes travel in an urn with a cremation certificate.

The timeline, document list, checklist and questions below set out the same steps in order.

Timeline and deadlines

• A doctor certifies the death on the medical death certificate: as soon as the death happens

• Contact a funeral home (funeraria) to handle the paperwork: right after the certificate is issued

• Receive the burial or cremation licence from the registry: once the death is registered

• Request the death certificate, then the certificate of last wishes and the insurance contract certificate: after the funeral

Documents you need

• Medical death certificate (certificado médico de defunción), completed by the doctor who certifies the death and stating the cause.

• The deceased's ID, which the funeral home uses with the medical certificate to register the death.

• Burial or cremation licence (licencia de enterramiento or incineración), issued by the Registro Civil once the death is registered.

• Death certificate (certificado literal de defunción), which you request from the registry after registration. Ask for the international plurilingual version if it will be used abroad.

• Judge's authorisation, only if the death was suspicious or violent and the judge was involved, for example for an autopsy, cremation or removal of the body.

• Embalming certificate, needed only for international transport of remains.

• Sanitary transport permit (autorización sanitaria) from the regional health authority, needed only for repatriating remains.

• Mortuary or transit certificate from the consulate of the deceased's country, needed only for repatriating a foreign national.

• Cremation certificate, which travels with the ashes in an urn if you take them abroad.

• Certificate of last wishes (Registro de Actos de Última Voluntad) and the insurance contract certificate, which you request afterwards to start the inheritance process.

Checklist

• Get a doctor to complete the medical death certificate with the cause of death.

• Contact a funeral home (funeraria) and ask it to handle the paperwork.

• Make sure the death is registered in the Registro Civil of the place of death within 24 hours, using the medical certificate and the deceased's ID.

• Collect the burial or cremation licence once the death is registered.

• Ask the judge for authorisation if the death was suspicious and you want cremation.

• Plan the burial or cremation for after 24 hours and generally within 48 hours, following local rules.

• Contact the consulate of the deceased's country first if you plan to repatriate the remains.

Frequently asked questions

Who has to report a death to the Registro Civil?

Relatives of the person who died have to report the death, and if there are none, the people living with them and then neighbours. The hospital, clinic or prison where the death happened must also report it, and so must the funeral home when it acts. In practice the funeral home usually files the notice for you.

What happens if a death is registered late?

Late registration is still accepted, but the registry asks for an explanation and it can lead to sanctions or procedural difficulties.

Can a foreign national's body be sent back to their home country?

Yes, remains can be repatriated, but it needs embalming, a sealed zinc-lined coffin and a sanitary transport permit from the regional health authority.

Is cremation a cheaper option than repatriating the body?

Yes, cremation is a cheaper alternative to sending the body abroad, because the ashes travel in an urn with a cremation certificate.