What Documents Are Required for Death Registration? How Is the Time Limit for Death Registration Regulated?
How is the time limit for death registration stipulated?
Pursuant to Article 33 of the 2014 Civil Status Law which stipulates the authority and responsibility for death registration as follows:
Death Registration Procedure
Within 15 days from the date of death, the spouse, child, father, mother, or other relative of the deceased has the responsibility to register the death; in case the deceased has no relatives, the representative of the related agency, organization, or individual has the responsibility to register the death.
The civil status official regularly checks and urges the death registration of the deceased; in case the responsible person for death registration cannot be identified, the civil status official carries out the death registration.
Thus, when a person dies, the spouse, child, father, mother, or other relative of the deceased is responsible for registering the death within 15 days.
In case the deceased has no relatives, the representative of the related agency, organization, or individual is responsible for registering the death.
What documents are included in the death registration dossier? How is the time limit for death registration stipulated?
What does the death registration dossier include?
Regarding the documents for death registration, based on the provisions of Article 34 of the 2014 Civil Status Law and Clause 2, Article 4 of Decree 123/2015/ND-CP, they include:
- A declaration form as prescribed.
- Death notice or other documents substituting the death notice for the civil status registration agency: the original.
The death registration content must include the following information: Full name, middle name, name, year of birth of the deceased; personal identification number, if any; place of death; cause of death; time of death including hour, date, month, year according to the Gregorian calendar; nationality if the deceased is a foreigner.
In addition, the content of the death registration is determined based on the death notice or documents substituting the death notice issued by the competent authority as follows:
- For those who died at medical facilities, the head of the medical facility issues the death notice;
- For those who died by execution of a death sentence, the Chairman of the Execution Council issues the death execution confirmation substituting the death notice;
- For those declared dead by a court, the court's effective judgment or decision substitutes the death notice;
- For those who died in transportation, accidents, homicide, sudden death, or suspected death, the confirmation from the police agency or the forensic examination results substitute the death notice;
- For those who died not falling into any of the cases specified in Points a, b, c, and d of this Clause, the People's Committee of the commune where the death occurred is responsible for issuing the death notice.
What is the procedure for death registration?
Based on Article 34 of the 2014 Civil Status Law, the procedure is stipulated as follows:
Step 1: The person requesting the death registration submits the dossier to the competent People's Committee of the commune.
Step 2: The recipient is responsible for immediately checking the entire dossier, comparing the information in the declaration form and the validity of the documents submitted.
Step 3: If the dossier is complete and valid, the recipient writes a receipt indicating the date and time for the return of the results; if the dossier is incomplete or needs correction, guides the applicant to supplement or complete the dossier as required; if immediate supplementation or completion is not possible, a written guidance specifying the required additional documents or corrections is provided, signed by the recipient.
Step 4: Immediately after receiving the complete dossier as required, if the death registration information is complete and appropriate, the civil status official reports to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune. If the Chairman agrees to resolve, they sign a death extract for the requester; the civil status official records the death registration in the death register, guides the requester to check the contents of the death extract and the death register, and both the requester and the official sign the register.
After receiving the required documents, if the death registration is appropriate, the civil status official enters the death information into the civil status register, both the requester and the official sign the register and report to the Chairman of the People's Committee to issue an extract to the requester.
The civil status official locks the deceased's civil status information in the electronic civil status database.
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