What to do
The bureau only receives the bodies of patients who died from illness in Minsk hospitals. For inquiries, please call the information desk (8-017-396-76-80, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.) or the dispatch center (8-017-354-14-73, open 24 hours). You will be informed whether the deceased's body has been delivered to the morgue (paperwork at the hospital and transporting the body to the morgue takes time).
The information desk will also answer questions about when to apply for a medical death certificate, the documents required to obtain one, and questions about funeral services, body storage periods, and other matters.
In cases of death from injury or poisoning, or death at home of unknown cause, the body is transported to the morgues of the Minsk Department of Medical Forensic Examinations (https://sudexpert.gov.by/ru/gorod-minsk-structure.html).
ATTENTION: The decision to order an autopsy or release the body without one is solely the responsibility of the hospital administration where the patient died. In certain cases, as defined by Article 32 of the Healthcare Law, an autopsy is mandatory. Any questions regarding the ordering or cancellation of an autopsy should be addressed exclusively to the administration of the hospital where the death occurred (the deputy chief physician for medical care, the chief physician, or the inpatient duty officer (on weekends and holidays)). The pathology bureau cannot order or cancel an autopsy!
The sequence of stages when a loved one dies:
Obtaining a medical certificate of death (death certificate)
Documents required to obtain a medical death certificate:
- the deceased's passport,
- the applicant's passport (the person responsible for the burial).
A medical death certificate is required to register the death with the Civil Registry Office. It can also be used to allocate a burial plot.
Reasons for issuing a medical death certificate ("death certificate"):
- If the hospital administration decides to release the body without an autopsy, the medical death certificate will be issued based on the information in the medical record (the medical history that is delivered to the morgue along with the deceased's body).
- If a postmortem examination is scheduled, the pathologist will issue the medical death certificate after the autopsy.
In what cases is an autopsy mandatory:
- Infectious diseases or suspected infectious diseases, with the exception of confirmed active tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus infection;
- Unclear diagnosis of the disease that caused death;
- Deaths during and after surgery, blood transfusions, anaphylactic shock, or instrumental examinations;
- Stillbirths and deaths of children under one year of age;
- Deaths of pregnant women, women in labor, and women in childbirth;
- Inpatient stays in healthcare facilities for less than one day;
- Day care stays in healthcare facilities;
- Conflict situations during the provision of medical care.
Death Registration:
According to Article 219 of the Marriage and Family Code of the Republic of Belarus, death registration is performed by the civil registry office (civil registry offices, village (settlement) executive committees):
- At the last place of residence,
- At the place of death,
- At the place where the deceased was discovered,
- At the place of burial of the deceased
- Or at the location of the organization that issued the medical certificate of death (stillbirth).
- In Minsk, death certificates of the established form are issued by the civil registry office at 12 Olshevskogo Street.
An application for death registration must be submitted no later than seven days from the date of death or discovery of the deceased. The civil registry office registers the death on the same day.
An application for death registration may be submitted to the civil registry office by relatives, employees of the organization managing the housing stock, the administration of a healthcare organization, another organization at the place of death or where the deceased was discovered, or other individuals. Thus, the solution of this issue can be entrusted to any trusted person.
To register a death, the following documents are required:
- Application (written at the Civil Registry Office)
- Passport or other identity document of the deceased (if available)
- Passport or other identity document of the applicant
- Medical death (stillbirth) certificate
In certain cases, in addition to the above, the following documents may be required to register a death:
- A document from the specialized organization that performed the burial of the deceased – if the death is registered at the deceased's burial place;
- The deceased's military ID – if the death of military personnel is registered.
If the deceased is a foreign citizen whose passport information is in a foreign language, a translation of the passport into one of the official languages of the Republic of Belarus (Russian or Belarusian) with a notarized signature of the translator is required to register their death. This procedure also applies to the identity document of the applicant (foreign citizen).