Death certificate: Chaos in registry offices delays burials

It sounds pretty scary: Anyone who dies today isn't officially dead yet. In some municipalities, relatives have to wait weeks for their loved one's death certificate. Registry offices are responsible for issuing the document—and they're currently complaining about staffing problems and complex procedures.

The chaos in the registry offices is also noticeable at the Meißen crematorium. Coffins are currently piling up there because cremations can't take place without death certificates. According to the Sächsische Zeitung, this is due to digitalization . Electronic collection files have been in place for some time, and digital death certificates are soon to be added. For the administrations, this means they have to work in a hybrid way, using both paper and computers. This means everything takes longer.

The electronic collection file, which requires scanning and storing paper documents, is particularly time-consuming, says Jörg Schaldach, head of the Meißen Crematorium. While processing a case used to take 20 minutes, it now takes 40. And the data is often incomplete.

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Waiting for a death certificate – especially in major cities, three to four weeks is not uncommon. "In some Berlin citizen's offices, they are no longer able to properly process all the applications," says Hans-Joachim Möller, managing director of the Association of Independent Funeral Directors. "In exceptional cases, it can take up to three months."

Möller sees the different processing procedures in municipalities as a major reason for the delays. "We need a secure digital solution that simplifies work and makes it compatible," he demands. "The uncomplicated exchange of documents would be a huge relief. However, the transition to digital equipment is often a financial problem for municipalities."

Christian Jäger, Managing Director of the Undertakers' Association and the Undertakers' Guild of North Rhine-Westphalia, is also annoyed by the complicated process: "In the 21st century, it is no longer comprehensible that there is an electronic medical record, electronic sick notes, an electronic income tax return, and many other aspects of human life are now made possible in digital form, but when a person dies, the process could not be more complicated."

"Here, a multi-page set of forms must be filled out by hand by the doctor and stamped on-site, only to be taken by the undertaker to a registry office, where parts of the set of forms are then forwarded analogously to the health department, so that both offices can then independently enter this data into a digital system," explains Jäger. "The registry office ultimately issues a paper death certificate, which must then be presented to the crematorium and cemetery administration."

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The staff shortage at registry offices further exacerbates the situation. "Every death is also an administrative act – and if there aren't enough people, the waiting time increases," explains Möller. "Not least, the death rate has continued to rise in recent years – this also contributes to the bottlenecks." 1.2 million deaths per year are expected in Germany in the coming years. By comparison, there were around 868,000 deaths in 2014.

All of this has an impact on funerals. "In order to be able to meet the burial deadlines, especially for burials – which range from four to ten days depending on the state – registry offices are increasingly issuing so-called "reserves," says Möller. "This documents that the notification of the death has already been submitted to the responsible authority. The certification will then be carried out at a later date."

With the help of the provision, the relatives would have a certificate in hand that would make the funeral possible, but it wouldn't help with the other formalities. Without a death certificate, banks won't grant access to accounts, local courts won't open a will, and associations won't dismiss a member.

Anyone who wants to apply for a transitional pension from the pension insurance agency also needs this document—otherwise, the pension office will refuse payment. "This advance payment will be paid if it is requested from the Deutsche Post Pension Service within 30 days of the pensioner's death," the German Pension Insurance website states. Otherwise, the money will be paid later with the survivor's pension, which has yet to be calculated. So, it takes longer.

By the way: At least equally important is the death certificate, which is usually issued by a doctor. It must be submitted to the registry office no later than three business days after the death, which will then issue the death certificate upon request. The responsible authority is the registry office of the place of death, not the one of the person's place of residence.

Funeral directors often handle the registration of the death. However, you can also submit the application yourself – many registry offices already offer this online. Also eligible to apply are the spouse and all direct relatives of the deceased, including parents, children, siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren.