Before you bury a person who died, you must first report their death to the civil registry office (urząd stanu cywilnego, USC). You must do it within 3 days after being issued with a death card. If the person concerned has died from an infectious disease – you have only 24 hours after death to report. Find out how to do it.

Who can report

• the spouse of the deceased,
• other members of the deceased person’s family, e.g. children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, parents, grandparents, brother, sister, niece, nephew, in-laws,
• a proxy for one of the above persons. Find out at the office how to proceed by proxy.

What you need to prepare

• death card – you will get it from a doctor who declared the person dead,
• ID card of the deceased,
• your identity document for presentation (e.g. an identity card or a passport).

When to report

• within 3 days after the doctor has issued a death card,
• within 24 hours from death – if the person concerned died from an infectious disease.

Where to report

To the office for the area where the person died. For example: if the person died in Sopot, you must report their death to the civil registry office in Sopot.

How much you will pay

The service is free of charge.

How long you will wait

The head of the civil registry office will register (i.e. draw up a death certificate) the death on the day the report is submitted.

After registering the death, the head of the civil registry office will issue you with an abridged certified copy of a death certificate, free of charge.

If, for technical reasons, registration of the death is not possible on the day the report is made, the head of the civil registry office will include in the death card a note that the death has been reported. With this document, you can apply to the authorities responsible for cemetery administration to bury the deceased. The head of the civil registry office will register the death as soon as possible. You will be issued with two certified copies of a death certificate. Agree with the official on how to collect them. You can receive them during your next visit to the office or by post. Keep one certified copy for yourself and submit the other one to the authorities responsible for cemetery administration.

Additional information

When you report a death, the deceased person will be automatically deregistered from their permanent or temporary residence and their ID card will no longer be valid.

Legal basis

• Vital Records Law Act of 28 November 2014 (Journal of Laws 2014, item 1741, as amended)
• Act of 31 January 1959 on cemeteries and burials (Journal of Laws 2011, No 118, item 687, as amended)