Portugal - Obtain a Death Certificate

Advertisement

Procedure

• To register death one must provide a certificate provided by the doctor who confirmed the death
• Death must be registered within 48hrs (2days)
• Provide Proof of identity of the deceased (although this is not compulsory)
• The Civil Registry Office will issue adeath bulletin/certificateto enable the deceased's body to be repatriated for burial abroad or transported to a local cemetery.

Advertisement

Required Documents

When reporting a death at the registry office documents need to be presented. These include:

• Death certificate issued by a doctor
• Proof of identity of the deceased (although this is not compulsory)
• Next of kin identification

Office Locations & Contacts

To get details of your local civil registry office

Follow link for your nearest civil registry office addresses
http://conservatorias.com/

Eligibility

Any individual whose death occurs in the Portuguese territory is eligible for a death certificate in Portugal

Fees

Death certificate processing is free in Portugal

Validity

Death certificate is valid forever

Documents to Use

Please attach documents which can be used by people who would like to follow this procedure.    

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents which would help other people who would like to follow this procedure.    

Processing Time

After applying for the death certificate
It can take from three days to three weeks for the certificate to be available for collection.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M". 
	

Instructions

The death of an individual which occurs on Portuguese territory must be reported within two days (48 hours) at the Civil Registry Office (Conservatria de Civil Registo) in the district where the death occurred.
The following people may make the report to the registry office:

• Next of kin or any other family member present at the time of death
• Church minister
• Undertaker
• Administrative or police authorities
• If the death takes place within a hospital, retirement home, prison or other institution, the death will be reported by the institution

Required Information

• Name of the deceased
• Place of death
• Time of death
• Cause of death

Need for the Document

In the event of a death of a family member, friend or relative in Portugal the first thing to do is to call a local doctor who confirms the death and issues a document certifying the death (boletim de bito).It should be taken to the civil registry office(Conservatrias de Registo Civil), which will issue adeath certificate(certidoorassento de bito). Several copies can be obtained if needed.

Information which might help

The burial or cremation can only take place once the death has been reported. Burial rights in Portugal are only valid for a limited amount of time. After this time the burial rights have to be renewed or the Portuguese authorities reclaim the grave.
Organization of a cremation is quite straightforward and Portuguese undertakers arrange the paperwork if the person's ashes are to be transported to another country. There are no restrictions concerning moving ashes within the EU.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

• As a legal record of death
• Social Security may require one if you are claiming survivor benefits
• You will even need one to file a tax return for the deceased.
• For brokerage account,
• For bank account,
• For life insurance policy,

External Links

http://www.irn.mj.pt/IRN/sections/irn/a_registral/registo-civil/docs-do-civil/documentos-comprovativo/
http://portugal.angloinfo.com/healthcare/death-dying/

Others

It is most common for an undertaker to carry out the registration of death duty.