Documents for a funeral in Riga

The chain of paperwork begins with a doctor and ends with the cemetery supervisor. Each document follows from the one before: without the doctor's certificate the death cannot be registered, and without the death certificate no plot is allocated and no benefit is paid. So what matters is not only the full list but the order.

This page sets out where each document comes from, within what deadlines, and what our specialist can handle for you. To start right away, call +371 2208 4540 — we are on duty around the clock.

• A death must be reported to a civil registry office within six working days.
• The death certificate is issued on the day of registration, free of charge.
• Allocation of a grave site in Riga municipal cemeteries carries no charge.
• The cemetery supervisor must be notified at least 48 hours before the burial.

Which documents you need: the full list

Step 1: the medical certificate of the cause of death

This is the first document in the chain — without it the death cannot be registered. Who issues it depends on where the death occurred.

• In hospital — biological death is confirmed by any doctor of the hospital, and the hospital prepares the certificate.
• At home or outside hospital — the fact and cause of death are established by the family doctor with whom the person was registered, or by the doctor on duty.
• If the cause is unclear but there are no signs of a violent death — the body is taken to the hospital's pathology department for examination.
• If a violent death is suspected — the doctor notifies the State Police and the deceased is taken to the State Centre for Forensic Medical Examination. The examination is ordered by the official in charge of the proceedings, and the funeral date then depends on how it progresses.

In practice: the first call goes to a doctor or to 113, and only then to us. The first hours are described step by step on what to do when someone dies.

Which morgue the deceased is taken to depends on the hospital and on whether the cause has to be clarified. The morgues of Riga, with addresses and opening hours:

Step 2: registering the death at the civil registry office

A death is reported no later than six working days after it occurred or after the deceased was found. Any civil registry office in Latvia can take the report — the registered address does not matter.

Bring the medical certificate of the cause of death, your own identity document and, if available, the documents of the deceased. The death is registered on the day of the report and the death certificate is issued free of charge. The funeral benefit application can be filed at the same desk.

If the certificate is later lost, or a second copy is needed for probate, the state fee for a repeat certificate is EUR 7. People with category I or II disability, low-income persons, orphans and large families are exempt on presentation of proof of status.

Step 3: documents for a grave site in Riga

The Riga municipality maintains 22 cemeteries, and the procedure depends on whether the family already holds a plot.

• A new plot. The site is allocated by the cemetery supervisor on the basis of a written application. For an open cemetery the application can also be filed online through the KP-1 e-service.
• Burial in a family plot. Permission is issued by the cemetery supervisor on the written application of the plot holder, with a copy of the death certificate attached.
• A further burial in the same plot. Where the previous burial was in a coffin, another may follow after 20 years; with the agreement of the Health Inspectorate the period can be reduced to 15 years, which requires its permit.

When placing the funeral order you present the death certificate, the grave maintenance agreement, an identity document and, if someone else is acting, the plot holder's power of attorney. No charge is applied for allocating the plot — the municipality does not levy it, following the Constitutional Court ruling of 5 March 2019.

The cemetery supervisor is notified at least 48 hours before a burial, and 24 hours before an urn is placed. The plot paperwork itself is covered on burial arrangements; below are all 22 municipal cemeteries, each with its own page giving the address, opening hours and procedure:

Documents for cremation and urn burial

Besides the death certificate, a cremation requires the family's order and, where the cause of death was clarified at the morgue, the documents issued by the hospital. After the cremation the crematorium issues a cremation certificate: without it an urn cannot be buried and a columbarium niche will not be released. The procedure is described on cremation certificate.

Documents for the funeral benefit

The benefit requires an application, the death certificate, the claimant's identity document and a bank account number. The Riga municipal allowance additionally requires a copy of the VSAA decision and the original proof of expenses, so keep invoices from day one. Amounts, deadlines and the full procedure are on funeral benefit in Riga.

If the deceased has no documents, or they are lost

This blocks neither the registration nor the funeral. The registry office establishes identity from the Register of Natural Persons, and the death certificate is issued even if no passport is found. More difficult cases — an unknown identity, or documents left abroad — are covered separately in what to do if the deceased has no identification documents.

If the family does hold the passport or eID card, do not destroy it: an identity document is state property and should be handed in to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs at any of its branches. The document itself becomes invalid automatically once the registry office records the death. If the deceased had active eID electronic certificates, it is worth notifying the LVRTC trust services support desk.

Death of a foreign national and taking the deceased out of Latvia

If the deceased was a citizen of another country, or the body has to be taken abroad, the list grows: a Health Inspectorate permit for removal, the death certificate with a translation, the doctor's certificate of the cause of death and clearance from the relevant consulate. Requirements differ from country to country, so we establish them case by case — see repatriation.

What the service does with the paperwork

A family can handle all of it alone — the procedure is not complicated, but it takes several trips: to the doctor, the registry office, the cemetery, VSAA. We take that part on: under a power of attorney we obtain the certificates, register the death, file the applications for the plot and the benefit, and agree the date with the cemetery supervisor or the crematorium. What remains with the family are the decisions about the farewell itself.

The service has its own page: registration of documents. The estimate is fixed before any work begins, and the paperwork is already included in the funeral plans.

Common mistakes

1. Naming the funeral date before the death certificate exists. Until the certificate is issued, the cemetery supervisor will not allocate a plot. The date can only be agreed after registration.
2. Not checking who holds the family plot. If it is registered to a relative who has died, the maintenance rights must first be transferred — a separate application, and time.
3. Throwing away receipts. The municipal allowance needs original proof of expenses; copies will not do.
4. One death certificate for every institution. The notary will need an original for probate too — a repeat copy costs EUR 7, so do not hand the certificate over at a counter unless it is necessary.
5. Waiting on the benefit. The six-month deadline runs from the date of death, not from the end of probate.

Information verified on 5 October 2026 against official sources: the Civil Status Acts Registration Law, Cabinet Regulations No. 265 and No. 215, Regulation No. 906 on the state fee, riga.lv on recording the fact of death, the binding regulations of the Riga municipality on the operation and maintenance of cemeteries, and the Riga City Cemeteries Administration. Procedures change over time — check the current requirements before filing, or call us.