Funeral Arrangement in Riga

If you need to arrange a funeral in Riga, the Riga City Funeral Service takes over the whole process: transporting the deceased, paperwork, booking a burial plot or cremation, the farewell ceremony and the memorial repast. Our duty specialist answers around the clock — at night, on weekends and public holidays — and can come to any neighbourhood of Riga. Call +371 2944 9849.

Arranging a funeral means coordinating more than twenty tasks within a few days: the morgue, the registry office, the cemetery administration, a church or a celebrant, flowers, transport, a venue for the repast. We do this work every day, so the family only makes the key decisions — our specialists handle the rest. The office is at Tēraudlietuves iela 3, but most matters can be settled remotely by phone, WhatsApp or e-mail, which is convenient if you are abroad.

Funeral arrangement step by step

It usually takes three to five days from the first call to the funeral in Riga. The process goes as follows:

1. Certification of death. If a person has died at home, call the family doctor or the emergency service. If the death occurred in hospital, the medical death certificate is issued by the hospital itself.
2. Call to the funeral service. We agree on transporting the deceased to the morgue and hold the first consultation. Specialised transport is available at any hour.
3. Paperwork. We obtain the death certificate at the registry office, apply for the state VSAA funeral benefit and, where applicable, for support from the Riga municipality. The family does not have to queue anywhere.
4. Planning the funeral. Together we choose burial or cremation, agree on the plot, date and time, the coffin or urn, flowers, musicians and the repast venue. The estimate is approved before any work begins.
5. The farewell ceremony. On the day of the funeral our specialist coordinates everything: transport for the mourners, pallbearers, the celebrant or clergyman, the laying of flowers and the repast.

Which documents you will need

A few documents are enough to start the arrangement:

• the passport or ID card of the deceased;
• the medical certificate of the cause of death, issued by a doctor or the hospital;
• the passport or ID card of the person ordering the funeral;
• a bank account number for the VSAA benefit payment.

Our specialist obtains the death certificate at the registry office and all other papers on the family's behalf — only a power of attorney is needed, which can be signed at the office or remotely. If the deceased is a foreign national, we also liaise with the embassy or consulate. See the documents for burial page for details.

Funeral services in Riga

We provide everything needed for a dignified funeral, so the family does not have to deal with several contractors:

• transporting the deceased from home, hospital or a care home to the morgue;
• obtaining the death certificate and applying for the VSAA benefit;
• preparation of the body in cooperation with Riga morgues;
• coffins, urns, crosses, wreaths and funeral accessories from our own catalogue;
• booking a grave and grave digging at Riga cemeteries;
• farewell ceremonies in a chapel, church, farewell hall or at the crematorium;
• arranging the memorial repast, musicians and a photographer.

We handle all morgue formalities on the family's behalf — certificates, preparation of the body and the release time. What Riga morgues do free of charge and what is paid separately:

How much does a funeral in Riga cost

The cost of a funeral in Riga depends on the scope of the ceremony: burial or cremation, the location of the plot, the choice of coffin and accessories, the number of guests at the repast. To keep the price predictable, we offer three plans: Social (€0 — fully covered by the state benefit), Optimal (from €580 with a full farewell ceremony) and Enhanced, tailored to the family's wishes. The estimate is agreed before work begins and does not change.

A significant part of the costs is covered by the VSAA funeral benefit; we file the application, and the benefit is usually paid within days. Low-income families can also receive support from the Riga municipality. Read more in our guide to the funeral benefit in Latvia.

Burial or funeral with cremation

Riga families increasingly choose cremation: it allows a more flexible date for the farewell and does not require arranging a grave immediately. We work with the Riga crematorium at Varoņu iela 3A — we arrange the cremation certificate, transport and collection of the urn, as well as the burial of the urn or its placement in a columbarium. See funerals with cremation and cremation for details.

Religious and civil funerals

We shape the farewell ceremony according to the family's traditions and beliefs. We coordinate the service with the parish and clergy: Catholic funerals, Lutheran funerals, as well as Orthodox funerals following the Eastern rite.

If the family prefers a farewell without a religious rite, we will hold a civil funeral service with a celebrant: a eulogy, music, the laying of flowers and a minute of silence. The ceremony can be held in English, Latvian or Russian.

Cemeteries in Riga

We help establish the family's rights to an existing grave or obtain a new plot at Riga municipal cemeteries: we prepare the documents and agree the funeral time with the cemetery administration. We work at all city cemeteries — addresses and opening hours are listed in the cemeteries section. If you want the funeral closer to home, our services are available in every neighbourhood — for example, in Bolderāja, Ziepniekkalns, Pļavnieki and Torņakalns.

Arranging a funeral in Riga from abroad

Many of our clients live outside Latvia. In that case we arrange everything remotely: we agree on the plan by phone or e-mail, send photos and documents, accept payment by bank transfer and can stream the ceremony for relatives who cannot attend. If the deceased needs to be transported to another country, or brought to Riga from abroad, we take care of repatriation: permits, consular paperwork, a zinc-lined coffin and international transport.

Every year we help hundreds of families in Riga. Here is what relatives say about our work: