What the certificatul constatator is
The certificatul medical constatator al decesului (medical death certificate) is the document by which a doctor officially confirms the death and its cause. It is the first document in the entire process — on the basis of this certificate, the certificatul de deces (death certificate) is then obtained from Starea Civilă (the civil registry office).
Without the certificatul constatator, the deceased cannot be collected, burial or cremation cannot proceed, and an application for the state funeral grant cannot be submitted.
Law 102/2014 on funeral servicesWho certifies the death, depending on the situation
| Situation | Who certifies | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| SituationDeath at home, during surgery hours | Who certifiesFamily doctor | What you doCall the family doctor and request certification |
| SituationDeath at home, at night or at the weekend | Who certifiesEmergency doctor / the crew sent by 112 | What you doCall 112 — a medical crew will be sent |
| SituationDeath in hospital or clinic | Who certifiesWard doctor / on-call doctor | What you doThe hospital issues the certificate automatically |
| SituationSuspicious, violent, or unwitnessed death | Who certifiesForensic doctor (IML — Institute of Forensic Medicine), with the police | What you doCall 112 — do not move the person; the police take over |
Legal basis: Law 119/1996 on civil status records, with subsequent amendments.
How to obtain the certificate, step by step
- Call the right doctor for the location: the family doctor at home, during surgery hours, or 112 outside those hours. In hospital, the certificate is issued by the hospital.
- The doctor certifies the death and completes the certificatul constatator.
- You receive the certificate — keep it, as it is needed for all subsequent steps.
- Call us. We collect the deceased and obtain the remaining documents on behalf of the family.
What happens after the certificatul constatator
With the certificatul constatator we move forward: we obtain the death certificate procedure from Starea Civilă and, where required, the burial or cremation permit. We obtain all these documents on behalf of the family, on the basis of a simple letter of authority. The complete list is in the guide documents needed after a death.
Where to find the official information
The Institutul Național de Sănătate Publică (INSP — National Institute of Public Health) publishes rules and guidance on the procedures for certifying death and issuing the certificates. For specific medical situations, the family doctor or the on-call doctor can advise you.
How we help
Certification of the death is carried out by an authorised doctor — the family doctor, the 112 crew, the on-call doctor, or, where applicable, the forensic doctor. We do not certify deaths, but we will guide you over the phone on who to call and what happens next, and from the moment you have the certificatul constatator we take over the entire process. If the death occurred at home, read the step-by-step guide for death at home. In hospital the steps differ — see the death in hospital page.