Who can register a death in France - and what needs to be done?

Dealing with the death of a family member is a difficult time, especially if this happens in a country where you may not be so familiar with the regulations. 

There are several steps you must take following a loved one’s death in France, both in the first week and then the first year, including informing the tax authorities and many other organisations. 

Read more: Key financial steps to take after the death of family member in France

In France there is a difference between a notice of death (certificat de décès) and death certificate (acte de décès). 

The former, despite its name, is the medical confirmation of death, which is needed to prove a person’s death and receive what in English might be considered a certificate of death. 

Death certificates are received from the mairie – usually the mairie of where the person lived. 

If a person dies in a care home or hospital, administrative staff there may be responsible for organising this certificate. 

However, you should liaise to make sure the mairie knows that you will be the person coming to collect it. 

Government checklist provides info on crucial steps

Generally, it is up to a close family member to register the death. 

This includes children, partner (spouse or civil partner), live-in partner, or parent. 

To help deal with the complications, the French government provides a checklist of things to consider on its service Public website, available here. 

You can enter the information about both the deceased and your situation and then you are given a list of the necessary people and companies you need to contact, as well as where you can look for help. 

Questions asked include: 

• Your relation to the deceased

• If they died in or outside of France 

• Where they died (hospital, home, care home, outside, etc – all of which can affect how the death certificate is obtained),

• If they died when working, had a job, or were retired and if so if they were a civil servant or worked in the private sector 

• If they owned or rented their home

• Whether they had a vehicle registered in their name 

• If they employed someone, either as a business owner or carer 

• Details of the person declaring the death

Once the questionnaire is completed a drop-down menu showing all the information related to your situation is shown. 

This includes the steps to register the death, as well as what to do with the certificates you receive.

You can access information without answering the personal questions. 

Information on the service Public website is usually available in English and French, however at the time of writing (May 2; 2025), English translations were unavailable. 

Note that information on the death of a person if on holiday (or at a second home) in France is also available from the UK government. 

This covers specific issues such as repatriating the body or ashes of the individual to the UK, if that was the deceased’s wish, as well as how to receive information on the death (such as the death certificate) in English. 

Information for Americans is available on the US embassy website here, covering what needs to be done if a citizen dies in France. 

Links on the website provide additional help for situations such as a French autopsy report and settling a person’s estate in France.