We are sorry. Here is what happens next.

What the law says in France

Declaring the death

The death is declared at the town hall (mairie) of the commune where it happened. A hospital or care home must declare it within 24 hours; for a death at home or in a public place there is no legal deadline, but the body cannot be moved until it is declared. Any adult can declare it, free and without an appointment, or the funeral company can with your written authority. Service Public, Déclaration de décès (F909); Un proche est décédé (F16507); Transport d’une personne décédée (F35706)

Obstacle médico-légal and autopsy

If the doctor ticks “obstacle médico-légal” on the certificate, the public prosecutor takes charge and the body usually goes to the forensic institute, most often for an autopsy. The family cannot refuse a judicial autopsy. Once the body is no longer needed for the investigation, it must be returned as soon as possible and at the latest one month after the autopsy, so ask the prosecutor’s office to confirm the date before fixing the funeral. Close family can ask to see the body before the coffin is closed. Service Public, Un proche est décédé (F16507); Code de procédure pénale, art. 230-28 and 230-29

Release, timing and repatriation

Burial takes place at least 24 hours after the death and no later than the 14th calendar day after it. The prefect of the département of burial can allow exceptions, and the funeral company usually asks. After an obstacle médico-légal, the 14 days run from the day the prosecutor authorises burial. Code général des collectivités territoriales, art. R2213-33 (décret n° 2024-790 du 10 juillet 2024); Service Public, Inhumation (F14935)

Release, timing and repatriation

To bury abroad, the funeral company asks the prefect of the département where the coffin is closed for authorisation. A hermetic, metal-lined coffin is compulsory by air, and the family pays the cost, so check any insurance. The destination country’s consulate sets its own conditions: call it early. Service Public, Transport d’une personne décédée (F35706); Code général des collectivités territoriales, art. R2213-22

Burial and graves

French law requires a coffin for every burial. Whether the cemetery has a Muslim section (carré musulman) is for the mayor alone to decide, so ask the town hall. We have not confirmed the legal rules on the family or a mosque team washing the body in a funeral home, so ask the funeral company in advance who may do the ghusl there. Code général des collectivités territoriales, art. R2213-15; Assemblée nationale, QE n° 6776, JO 12 December 2023

Burial and graves

A free plot (terrain commun) lasts at least 5 years, after which the commune can take it back. A concession lasts 5 to 15, 30 or 50 years, or for ever, at a price set by each commune. Ask which long or perpetual concessions are offered. A perpetual one has no end date, but it must be kept up: an abandoned grave can be taken back after a set procedure. Renew a fixed one within 2 years of its end. Service Public, Concession funéraire (F31001); Inhumation (F14935)

The notaire and the estate

A notaire is needed if the estate includes a home or land, is worth €5,965 or more, or there is a will or a gift between spouses. Whatever a will says, children share at least half the estate (one child), two thirds (two) or three quarters (three or more), sons and daughters equally, so ask the notaire how the heirs can agree to follow the Islamic shares. Service Public, Notaire (F1295); Quelles sont les règles pour hériter ? (F2529)

Small estates

Below €5,965, with no home or land, no will and no gift between spouses (donation entre époux), a statement signed by all the heirs can prove who they are, without a notaire. The bank can also pay the funeral bill from the deceased’s account, up to €5,965, on the paid invoice. A husband, wife, child or parent who received only declared gifts need not file an inheritance tax return if the estate is under €50,000. Service Public, Déclaration de succession (F80); Notaire (F1295); Frais d’obsèques (F17059)

Death benefit and help with costs

If the deceased was an employee, on unemployment benefit, on sick leave or on certain pensions in the 3 months before death, the family can claim a death benefit (capital décès) of €4,009 from the CPAM or MSA with form S3180. A dependant claims first, within 1 month; others have 2 years. If the family cannot pay for the funeral, the commune of the place of death pays. ameli.fr, capital décès; Service Public, Capital décès (F3005); Code général des collectivités territoriales, art. L2223-27

From official sources, checked October 2026. Laws change; your funeral company and a notaire can confirm them.

Where you are

France has one national law for declaring a death, burial and estates, and this guide describes that national framework. In Alsace-Moselle local law also allows separate confessional cemeteries. For overseas departments we have confirmed only the transport rules (the prefect’s authorisation to move a body to or from mainland France); local cemetery and civil-status procedures there have not been checked yet.

Alsace-Moselle

The steps

1. 1

   Have the death confirmed

   In the first hour · 0 of 5

   A doctor, or another authorised health professional, has to confirm the death and write the death certificate (certificat de décès) before anything else can happen. You need it to declare the death and to arrange the funeral.

   • In a hospital or care home (Ehpad), ask the staff to confirm the death
   • At home, call the family doctor or SOS Médecins
   • If the death was violent, such as an accident or a suicide, call the police or gendarmerie, not a doctor
   • In an emergency, call 15 (SAMU) or 112
   • Tell the staff early that the family needs a quick burial for religious reasons
2. and

   Close the eyes, cover the body, make duʿā

   In the first hour · at the same time as the step above · 0 of 4

   Gently and without hurry. Those present can do this while the calls are made.

   • Close the eyes and the mouth
   • Straighten the arms and legs
   • Cover the body with a clean sheet
   • Pray for them, and say only good
3. 2

   Call the mosque’s funeral service

   In the first few hours · 0 of 3

   Many mosques and Muslim associations help with the washing, the shroud, the prayer and the burial, and know which funeral company (pompes funèbres) to use.

   • Call the mosque’s funeral service or the imam
   • Tell them where the body is and who the next of kin is
   • Agree a time for the ghusl and the janazah prayer
4. 3

   Ask whether the prosecutor is involvedPaperwork

   If the death was sudden or violent · 0 of 4

   If the doctor sees signs of a violent or suspicious death, they tick the box “obstacle médico-légal” on the certificate. The public prosecutor (procureur de la République) then takes charge. The body usually goes to the forensic institute (Institut médico-légal), most often for an autopsy, and there can be no funeral until it is released.

   • Ask the doctor or the police whether the box “obstacle médico-légal” was ticked
   • Ask the prosecutor’s office or the forensic institute, early and in writing, to release the body quickly for religious reasons
   • Ask to see the body before it is placed in the coffin
   • The funeral company will need the police record for burial (procès-verbal aux fins d’inhumation)
5. 4

   Declare the death at the town hallPaperwork

   As soon as possible · 0 of 4

   The death is declared at the town hall (mairie) of the commune where it happened, whatever the nationality of the deceased. A hospital or care home declares it itself. For a death at home there is no legal deadline, but the body cannot be moved until it is done, so do it quickly. The town hall then draws up the death record (acte de décès).

   • Any adult can declare the death, preferably a relative
   • Take your ID, the death certificate and an identity document of the deceased (family record book, ID card or birth certificate)
   • Or let the funeral company declare it for you: they need your written authority (mandat)
   • If the death was in a hospital or care home, ask the staff to confirm they have declared it
6. 5

   Choose the funeral company and the gravePaperwork

   Within the first day · 0 of 4

   You are free to choose any licensed funeral company (pompes funèbres). It collects the body, provides the coffin and handles most of the paperwork. French law requires a coffin for every burial.

   • Ask at least 3 companies for a free written quote (devis)
   • Ask in advance whether the mosque’s team or the family may wash the body at the funeral home
   • Ask for no embalming: it is not compulsory
   • Ask the town hall which long or perpetual graves (concession perpétuelle) it offers
7. and

   Wash and shroud the body

   Within the first day · at the same time as the step above · 0 of 2

   Done by trained Muslims of the same sex, or by the spouse. The funeral service usually provides the cloth.

   • Confirm who will wash
   • Confirm the kafan is ready

   How the washing and shroud are done

8. 6

   The janazah prayer and the burial

   As soon as possible · 0 of 4

   The prayer is often held after one of the daily prayers, and the burial follows straight after.

   • Tell family and community the time of the prayer
   • Confirm the grave in a Muslim cemetery or Muslim section
   • Plan the burial for at least 24 hours after the death
   • Ask the town hall the price and length of the grave (concession)

   How to pray the janazah prayer

9. and

   If the burial will be abroadPaperwork

   Before the coffin is closed · at the same time as the step above · 0 of 4

   Some families bury their dead in another country, for example in North Africa (the Maghreb), Türkiye or West Africa. The funeral company does the paperwork. The family pays the cost, so check any insurance first.

   • Tell the funeral company early that the burial will be abroad
   • Call the consulate of the country early: it sets its own documents and conditions
   • Ask the consulate whether it requires embalming
   • Check repatriation insurance, bank-card insurance, home insurance and any funeral contract
10. 7

    Get copies of the death recordPaperwork

    In the first week · 0 of 2

    Banks, insurers and pension funds will each want a copy of the death record (acte de décès).

    • Ask the town hall where the death happened, or of the last home, for copies
    • Or ask online or by post
11. 8

    Pay the funeral costs and list every debt

    In the first weeks · 0 of 4

    The funeral is paid from the estate first, then the debts. Nothing is inherited until both are settled.

    • Pay the funeral costs from the estate
    • Ask the bank to pay the funeral bill from the deceased’s account
    • List loans, bills and money owed to family
    • Ask a scholar about any unpaid zakat
12. and

    Find the will, and claim the death benefitPaperwork

    In the first weeks · at the same time as the step above · 0 of 4

    A notaire, a public legal officer, usually settles the estate. Tell the health insurance fund (CPAM, or MSA for farm workers) and the pension funds.

    • Check papers at home, email, and with any notaire
    • Ask the notaire to search the national register of wills (FCDDV)
    • If the deceased was working or on certain benefits, claim the death benefit (capital décès) with form S3180
    • Secure the house and car, and keep the phone line active for sign-in codes
13. 9

    Settle and divide the estatePaperwork

    In the months after · 0 of 4

    French law reserves part of every estate to the children, in equal shares for sons and daughters. Dividing by the Islamic shares therefore often needs the heirs to agree. Ask the notaire early how this can be done.

    • See a notaire if the estate needs one
    • Close accounts and cancel subscriptions
    • Pay any bequest, up to one third, to people who are not heirs
    • Divide the rest by the fixed shares

    See how the estate divides

14. 10

    Look after the family

    Four months and ten days · 0 of 3

    A woman keeps the prescribed mourning (iḥdād: setting aside adornment and perfume) for no more than three days for any death, except for her husband: then four months and ten days, the length of her ʿiddah, or until she gives birth if she is pregnant.

    • Bring food and help with the household
    • Help the widow with errands and appointments
    • Make duʿā for the one who has died

    What to say and do when you visit

15. 11

    Write your own Islamic will

    For those left behind · 0 of 4

    Without a valid will, French law decides who inherits, not the fixed shares, and sons and daughters inherit equally. An Islamic will in France is an ordinary French will that directs the estate by the shares, within the part the law leaves free.

    • Write it entirely by hand, date it with the day, month and year, and sign it; or make it before a notaire
    • Each spouse makes their own will: two people cannot share one
    • Leave it with a notaire so it is recorded in the national register
    • Ask a notaire how the children’s reserved share affects the Islamic shares

    Work out the Islamic shares to take to a notaire

Settling things after the funeral? Keep track of every task, and who is doing it.

General guidance, not a fatwa or legal advice. French law on registering a death, burial and estates is national, with a local difference in Alsace-Moselle; your funeral company and a notaire can confirm them. All sources

Last reviewed October 2026. Something wrong? Tell us