Postmortem Examination and Burial; Applying for Permission to Bury a Body Outside a Cemetery

In the event of a death, a person obligated under funeral law (in particular, relatives, legal guardians, and caregivers, provided that caring for the deceased was part of their responsibilities during the deceased’s lifetime; in a hospital, the attending physician; in residential facilities, the facility director) must immediately notify a physician to perform the postmortem examination. The physician issues a death certificate, which must be forwarded immediately to the civil registry office by the person who arranged for the postmortem examination.

If the deceased is to be cremated, a second postmortem examination must also take place at the crematorium prior to cremation. This serves to re-examine the findings of the physician who performed the first postmortem examination before any evidence of criminal acts is irretrievably destroyed by cremation.

Every body must be disposed of, either by burial in a grave (interment) or by cremation in a crematorium and the burial of the ashes, sealed in a permanent urn, in a grave (cremation) or by cremation in a crematorium and the burial of the urn from a ship on the high seas (burial at sea).

Burial is generally possible no earlier than 48 hours after the time of death. Furthermore, a burial or cremation must take place no later than eight days after the time of death is determined, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The urn containing the ashes must be interred no later than three months after cremation. Under certain conditions, the municipality may, upon request, permit an earlier or later burial.

The bodies and ashes of the deceased must generally be interred in cemeteries (mandatory cemetery burial). In exceptional cases, permission for burial outside a cemetery may be requested from the district administrative authority in whose jurisdiction the intended burial site is located.

A prerequisite for granting permission for burial outside a cemetery is that the applicant can cite a compelling reason, that the burial site meets the requirements of burial law, that the preservation of the burial site is ensured during the period of rest, and that there are no overriding interests of third parties that would preclude it. For a valid reason to be accepted, the existence of exceptional circumstances is required.

To obtain permission for a burial outside a cemetery, a written or electronic application must be submitted to the competent district administrative authority.

• none