Überführungserlaubnis erhalten

• International Convention on the Transport of Corpses of 10 February 1937 (RGBl. 1938 II p. 199) with the exception of the transport of corpses within border areas (so-called Berlin Convention).

The transfer of deceased persons within Germany is subject to national law. Even if a deceased person is taken from or abroad, one speaks of a transfer.

In general, transfer means the removal of a deceased person from one place to another after the death has been established and certified. The transfer can therefore concern the transfer of the deceased from the place of death or discovery to a public mortuary, to the premises of the funeral home or to the crematorium (so-called intermediate transfer). With a few exceptions, transfers of deceased persons in Germany are not subject to any special transfer permit.

Reasons for an international transfer can be, for example, that travellers die on holiday and have to be transferred for burial or that people with a migration background want to be buried in their original home country.

The carriage of deceased persons may be carried out by air, sea or land in accordance with the applicable regulations.

A transfer is only possible after the clear determination of the death and the issuance of the death certificate by a doctor.

Depending on the type of burial, place of death and place of transfer, the procedure and number of transfer trips differ. The fees therefore depend on the individual case and cannot be quantified here. In addition to the fees, the conditions for the transfer are to be inquired at the respective funeral or transfer company.

For corpses that are to be transferred to places outside the Federal Republic of Germany, the local regulatory authority of the place of death issues a mortuary passport. In the case of transfers within the Federal Republic of Germany, a mortuary passport must be issued if this is prescribed by law.

In principle, the transfer must begin no later than 36 hours after death.

Please contact the local regulatory authority, registry office, undertaker and transfer company.