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For the bereaved · Erding & Freising region

What to do now?

The first steps after a death – explained calmly, one step at a time. So that you don't have to face these first hours and their many questions alone.

Download the checklist as a PDF to print

First, take a breath. You do not have to arrange everything at once, and almost nothing needs to happen immediately. A loved one may remain at home for a while after death – take the time you need to say goodbye.
In the first hours

Have the death certified

Before anything else happens, a doctor must certify the death and issue the death certificate (the “Leichenschauschein”).

  • For an expected death at home: call the family doctor or the medical on-call service. Medical on-call service (Bereitschaftsdienst): phone 116 117
  • For a sudden or unclear death: dial the emergency number 112.
  • Notify close relatives – you do not have to get through this alone. It is good not to be alone during these hours.
  • You do not need to decide anything further yet. Keep the death certificate safe – the funeral director and the registry office will need it.
Within 1–2 days

Choose a funeral director

The funeral director (Bestatter) is your greatest relief: they collect the deceased, report the death to the registry office, apply for the death certificates and guide you through nearly all the formalities.

  • Choose a funeral home in your own time. You may take time and compare offers. There is no obligation to engage the first one you contact.
  • Look for a will or a funeral directive (Bestattungsverfügung). Were there wishes about the type of burial (earth or cremation), the place, the music?
  • Check whether a funeral insurance or prepaid plan exists.
Gathering documents

These documents will be needed

Have these papers ready for the funeral director and the registry office. What exactly is required depends on marital status – the funeral director will tell you in detail what is missing.

  • Medical death certificate
  • Identity card of the deceased
  • Birth certificate
  • If married: marriage certificate or family record book
  • If divorced: divorce decree
  • If widowed: spouse’s death certificate
  • Pension insurance number
  • Health insurance card
  • Will, if any
In the following days

Registering the death & deadlines in Bavaria

These steps are usually handled for you by the funeral director. For your orientation – this is how the deadlines are set in Bavaria:

  • Report the death to the registry office (Standesamt) – no later than the third working day after the death (§§ 28, 29 of the Civil Status Act, Personenstandsgesetz). The registry office responsible is the one for the place where the person died. The funeral director usually handles this for you.
  • Apply for death certificates – ideally several copies at once. They are needed for insurers, pension, bank and the estate. The first certificate costs around €10, each additional copy requested at the same time about €5.
  • Earliest burial: a burial may take place at the earliest 48 hours after death.
  • Latest point: the burial or cremation must take place within 8 days of the death being certified – or the transfer must have been initiated. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are not counted towards this deadline (Bavarian Burial Ordinance, since 2021).
Local · Erding & Freising

The local registry offices

Standesamt Erding Responsible for the town of Erding and the municipalities of Oberding and Eitting.
Landshuter Straße 1, 85435 Erding · Tel. 08122 408-242 · standesamt@erding.de

Standesamt Freising Obere Hauptstraße 2, 85354 Freising · Tel. 08161 54-43131
For deaths directly: sterbefall@freising.de · Tel. 08161 54-43105

The responsible office is always the registry office where the death occurred. Each municipality in the Erding and Freising districts has its own Standesamt. In most cases your funeral director will handle the visit to the registry office – I am glad to point you to the right contact for your place.

Once things settle a little

Inform the relevant institutions

This can wait and need not happen in the first days. A list to work through later:

  • The deceased’s employer
  • Pension and health insurance
  • Life, accident and other insurers
  • Bank and ongoing contracts (rent, electricity, phone, subscriptions)
  • If needed: probate court (Nachlassgericht) / certificate of inheritance

And when the formalities are done?

Once the papers are sorted and the appointments made, it often grows quiet. That is exactly when real grief begins – and exactly when someone may stand at your side.

I accompany people in the districts of Erding and Freising through this time: with a dignified funeral service, a personal eulogy and a companionship that does not end with the burial. Regardless of background or belief.

“Grief is not something to be overcome – it is an expression of love that is still looking for a place.”
Arrange a quiet conversation
Phone 08122 – 4970376 · Trauerbegleitung@makumpa.de

This overview does not replace legal advice and reflects the situation in Bavaria without guarantee. Deadlines and responsibilities may change.