How and where to get a duplicate (copy) of a death certificate, how to restore a lost document

A death certificate is an important document that is often necessary to obtain. This is due to the termination of rights to the property of the deceased, the emergence of certain rights among relatives, and other legal nuances - registration of payments, pensions, benefits, etc.

Since such a certificate is the only official confirmation of the death of a citizen, in case of loss it is necessary to immediately take measures to restore it. Read below how to do this correctly.

Who can obtain a duplicate death certificate

• Relatives - only relatives of the deceased have the right to apply to the registry office for a copy/duplicate.
• Exceptions - however, the Law “On Civil Status Acts” allows for some exceptions:

Example: if the citizen to whom the original death document was issued also died. Then his heir or relative who has a legal interest can contact the registry office, where they can obtain a duplicate of the death certificate. In this case, it is necessary to provide evidence of relationship, as well as documents confirming interest.

Example: if a son lost his father’s death certificate and subsequently also died, then the document confirming the death of the deed can be re-received by the grandson.

• Interested person - any interested person whose rights are affected in any way can also apply for a duplicate.

Example: if the deceased was registered at the place of residence of an unauthorized person, then in certain cases the owner of the property may need confirmation of the fact of death.

Why do you need a duplicate?

The need for a duplicate arises in the following cases:

• The original is significantly damaged, the information on it is impossible to recognize.
• The original paper is so worn that it is unreadable: the text, signatures and seals are not clearly visible.
• The original is destroyed or irretrievably lost.
• The interested person cannot receive the original, which is in the possession of other relatives with whom a serious conflict occurred.

Even if the original is intact, the registry office can provide a duplicate. This opportunity is relevant for citizens who need a death certificate to resolve various legal issues, but it is not available to them. An official duplicate issued by the Civil Registry Office has the same legal force as the original document.

Where to apply for a second death certificate

To the registry office where the original certificate was received (see how to obtain a death certificate).

The question arises: if the heirs do not know where it was issued, then which department will issue the duplicate?

In such cases, you should contact the registry office at the last place of residence of the deceased. If there is a copy of the lost death certificate, then you should pay attention to the name and location of the civil registry office.

If the document was issued in another city?

There are situations when it is known that a lost death document was issued in another city. Then, if it is not possible to come to receive a duplicate copy, you can issue a notarized power of attorney to another person. In addition, the law allows sending an application from another city by post (registered mail), through the MFC (in those cities where they exist), as well as the government services portal.

In such situations, the issuance of a second confirmation of death will occur at the location of the registry office where the applicant lives.

At the moment, a unified civil registry office database is being launched throughout the country, so soon you will be able to contact any civil registry office branch .

Where to restore

A repeated death certificate is issued by application. A citizen must contact the authorized body with a written application.

Important! If almost any citizen can receive the original, then only relatives and heirs under a will are given the right to receive a duplicate.

Application Options

Expert opinion

Stanislav Evseev

Lawyer. Experience 12 years. Specialization: civil, family, inheritance law.

If the archival data has not been preserved, then interested parties will have to go to court (Article 74 of Federal Law No. 143-FZ). The essence of the application is the establishment of a legal fact. If there is a judicial act, the applicant will be able to contact the registry office and receive a duplicate.

How to obtain a duplicate death certificate via the Internet, Unified portal of public services

To do this you need:

• Follow the link to the government services website.
• Fill out a special form in which you indicate: the registry office where the original certificate was issued;
• your passport details, address, full name;
• Full name of the deceased, date and place of death;
• Details of the original (number, series) – if a copy has been preserved;
• Email to which information and notifications will be sent;
• The postal address of the registry office where you intend to receive a duplicate.

Varieties

When a loved one dies, everyone finds themselves at a loss in such a situation. The relatives of the deceased have a hard time at heart; they want to delay visiting the registry office as long as possible. Unfortunately, this is not possible.

After the death of a family member, many important issues usually have to be resolved: entering into an inheritance, resolving various disputes, proving the legality of receiving benefits (for example, in the event of the loss of a breadwinner).

A more detailed list of situations in which a death certificate is required:

1. the document is required to resolve an inheritance issue;
2. it is also indispensable in the event of disputes of a property and material nature. For example, to discharge the deceased from an apartment or house;
3. When registering pension payments for the deceased and other social benefits, a death certificate is also required. Often the paper can be useful for processing survivor's pensions or other local benefits;
4. A death certificate is also needed to obtain financial assistance from the state.

For these reasons, you should not delay obtaining this document. It is issued at the civil registry office, which refers to the place of registration of the deceased. You can also get paper at the scene of the tragedy.

For example, a person was going on a business trip or visiting relatives in another city. On the way, he got into an accident and crashed. In such a situation, the paper is issued in the nearest locality.

There are two types of death certificates:

1. medical;
2. stamp.

A medical (medical) death certificate is classified as a primary document. It is this paper that gives the right to further organize and conduct the funeral. It has a strictly defined appearance. Usually the form N 106/у-08 is used.

The document is drawn up in compliance with the provisions of the Letter of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation. Based on the requirements of this document, an official record of dead Russian citizens is carried out. You need to pay attention to this point: without this paper, the relatives of the deceased have no chance of receiving the main document - the official stamp certificate of death of a loved one.

The essence of a medical certificate is to officially determine the cause and establish the fact of death of a particular citizen. As a rule, it is the cause of death that influences what type of certificate will be issued in the future.

Often, when identifying the cause of death, the basis for entering the relevant information in the form column is the conclusion of the pathologist. The record is formed in the form of an extract from the specialist’s official research protocol. Next, the paper arrives at the medical institution. Since this document is usually issued no later than 24 hours, it is not always possible to reliably determine the diagnosis and the reason for death.

A stamp death certificate is a document of a standard form, which looks like a sheet of A4 paper. It contains all the necessary data and information for authentication, watermarks and related information. All entries are made exclusively by printing and not by hand.

The stamp certificate contains the following information:

1. Full name of the deceased, dates of birth and death, place of birth and death (not only the city, but also the region, country must be indicated), gender, nationality;
2. the number of the act under which the citizen is listed in the accounting book;
3. full name of the registry office department;
4. date of receipt of the document. Be sure to put a stamp next to it. The head of the department also needs to put his own signature;
5. Below you must indicate the document number.

The following information must be indicated in the book of state acts:

1. where the deceased was registered;
2. cause of death and medical statement number;
3. Full name and address of the applicant.

Documents for certificate restoration

We recommend that you stock up on the following documents in advance:

• a copy of your passport (bring the original with you for verification);
• a copy of the lost death certificate (if any);
• receipt of payment of state duty;
• confirmation of relationship or interest in receiving a copy (such documents may be: marriage certificate, birth certificate, etc.).

At the registry office you will be asked to fill out a standard application (form No. 23):

Sample application for a duplicate

To the Civil Registry Office_________________ from Petrov I.I., residing at the address: Moscow, lane. Griboyedova, 1, apt. 1, passport series___No____________, issued _________________, “__”_______ 2010.

STATEMENT

I ask you to issue a second death certificate for Igor Mikhailovich Petrov, date of death - “__”_____________________2016. Place of death______________________ Place of state registration - civil registry office of the ____________________ district of Moscow. Date of state registration “__”________________________, No. _____. The document is required ________________________________ (specify why). Number __________, ____________signature.

Please note that in the last line you need to indicate the reason for the repeated application (the document is lost, torn, lost, etc.).

Procedure for receiving in person

Algorithm of actions:

1. Visit the district registry office.
2. Apply.
3. Present documents.
4. Pay the fee.
5. Get a duplicate.

Statement

The application must provide the following information:

• name of the registration authority;
• information about the applicant (full name, residential address, passport details);
• the essence of the appeal “I ask you to issue a repeat certificate...”;
• place of death of an individual;
• place, date of registration of the event;
• why is a duplicate required?
• date, signature.

The form is issued by the authorized body.

Sample application for issuance of a duplicate death certificate:

Required documents

The application must be accompanied by:

1. A copy of the passport of a Russian citizen.
2. Papers confirming family ties with the deceased.
3. Receipt for payment of state duty.

When submitting an electronic application, similar papers are attached. If a third party applies for a duplicate, then it will be necessary to justify the existence of interest. If a representative acts in the interests of the applicant, then an additional notarized power of attorney will be required.

Expenses

When issuing a document for the first time, no fee is charged. Whereas to obtain a duplicate certificate you need to pay a state fee. Its size is 350 rubles . (Article 333.26 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Payment details can be obtained from the Civil Registry Office staff.

Similar rates are established when applying via the Internet. However, when paying the fee through State Services, a discount of 30% of the payment amount is provided.

Deadlines

The processing time for documents depends on the method of sending the application:

• in person – within 1 day ;
• when sent by mail – 30 days + shipping time;
• when applying through the MFC - at least 30 days ;
• when applying through the State Services portal - from 30 days , depending on the location of the department that registered the death.

Time frame for consideration of the issue of restoration of a death certificate

• one day to receive a duplicate death certificate . If you collect all the documents in advance and pay the state fee, then, provided that you personally contact the civil registry office where the original was issued, the applicant will receive a duplicate document within an hour (according to the official regulations, within 63 minutes).
• It’s another matter if the records of registration of the fact of death are not preserved in the archive, if they cannot find data on the issuance of the original, the application was sent from another city. In the listed cases, consideration of the application will take a month .
• If the original copy has not been preserved, then you need to contact the regional executive authority, which has access to all regional archival records stored in written or electronic form.

When is refusal possible?

An applicant may be refused in the following situations:

• It is impossible to obtain information about the death of a person, and even in the regional archive there is no proper information.
• The registry office doubted the legality of the request and the applicant’s right to receive a duplicate.
• The registry office considered the reason for the request not convincing enough.
• The provided package of documents is insufficiently complete.

The refusal is transmitted to the applicant in writing in person or through Russian Post. Further, he has the right to act as follows:

• Fill in the gap, for example, add missing documents, and resubmit the request. You will have to pay the state fee again, since it is not refundable if you refuse.
• Apply to the court with a request to declare the actions of the refusing registry office illegal. The claim should indicate the essence of the claim and describe in detail the refusal of the registry office. You also need to convincingly prove why the duplicate is necessary.

Grounds for refusal to issue a duplicate copy

A refusal to issue a duplicate death certificate can be considered justified only if the following reasons exist:

• the absence of any information about the citizen in the registry office where, according to your information, the initial registration of the fact of death took place;
• the applicant did not confirm the legitimacy of his interest in obtaining a duplicate of such an important document;
• the applicant did not submit documents included in the mandatory list.

The refusal is issued in writing and handed to the applicant personally against signature (or sent by mail if he did not appear). After reading the reasons for the refusal, you can try to apply again, eliminating the comments that are set out in the document.

Example : a wife was denied a second death certificate for her husband due to lack of confirmation of the marital relationship. If the applicant applies again with a similar application and does not forget to attach a copy of the marriage certificate, then they will no longer be able to refuse to issue her a duplicate. In this case, the state fee will need to be paid again.

If you consider the refusal to issue you a copy of the death registration as unfounded, you can apply to the court to recognize the actions of the registry office employees as illegal with a request to oblige them to issue a copy of the original.

What documents should I prepare?

It doesn’t matter how you decide to contact the registry office (in person or online), you need to prepare the following documents:

• passport;
• a copy of the lost certificate;
• a receipt confirming that the fee has been paid;
• documents confirming relationship with the deceased (for example, if you need to get a duplicate of the death of a father or mother, a birth certificate is provided, and if about the death of a husband or wife, then a marriage certificate).

Before visiting the registry office in person, you need to prepare copies of these documents, and before filling out the application online, make a scan. If you decide to apply in person, then in addition to copies, it is important to take with you the original documents: the registry office employee will compare the copies with the originals to prevent forgery.

What is the price?

Obtaining a certificate from the registry office does not imply payment of a state fee . A certain amount will have to be paid if a duplicate is issued (up to 350 rubles), or certain important changes are expected to be made to the document (issuance of a new certificate), which will cost 400 rubles. There is no fee when receiving a death certificate from the MFC. The document is issued completely free of charge.

Dear readers! To solve your problem right now, get a free consultation

— contact the on-duty lawyer in the online chat on the right or call:
+7
— Moscow and region.
+7
— St. Petersburg and region.
8
- Other regions of the Russian Federation
You will not need to waste your time and nerves
- an experienced lawyer will take care of solving all your problems!

Burial passport (burial certificate)

This document confirms the right to the site. If the funeral is held in an open necropolis, in a free plot allocated, according to the law, upon the first application for death, such a passport (certificate) is issued by the cemetery administration.

In case of a related sub-burial, the certificate kept by the person in charge of the plot with an existing grave must be presented to the cemetery administration staff. This will not only justify the right to a place for a second funeral, but also confirm compliance with the period established by sanitary rules of 15 years or more from the date of the last burial.

To organize a burial in a family plot, the right to it is also confirmed by a certificate (passport) issued by the Department of Trade and Services after completing the purchase.

How much to wait

The waiting time depends on several factors. You collected all the documents, paid the state duty and came to the registry office with the entire package. In this case, you will have to wait no more than an hour. The paper will be issued directly on the day (or even the hour) of the application. But if you sent a letter by mail, be prepared to wait about a month. This will include standard delays at the post office, time spent searching for information about the right person, and other paperwork.

Problems will also arise if, for some reason, there is no record of the citizen’s death in the archive. It will also take about a month to search for data.