Transportation of a dead body to another country (laissez-passer for a corpse) - application

German version

General information

Dead bodies may only be transported by authorised funeral parlours. The application for a laissez-passer for a corpse must be made by an authorised funeral parlour.

Data protection

For information on data protection and your data protection rights as an individual please visit: Data Protection Notice (German)

Requirements

All required documents must be sent to the Hygiene Centre of the Public Health Services of the City of Vienna (Municipal Department 15) in electronic form in advance.

Deadlines

An appointment must be made by phone with the on-call service of the Hygiene Centre of the Public Health Services of the City of Vienna (Municipal Department 15).

Contact

Hygiene Centre of the City of Vienna
1110 Vienna, Rappachgasse 40
Phone: +43 1 4000-87880 or -87890
E-mail: totenbeschau@ma15.wien.gv.at

Office hours: Monday to Friday 7 am to 3 pm
Exceptions: Closed on public holidays; opening hours on Good Friday, 24 and 31 December from 7.30 am to 12 noon

Authentication and signature

Authentication or signature of the application is not required.

Documents required

  • Copy of the attestation of death
  • Application in writing to the Hygiene Centre of the Public Health Services of the City of Vienna (Municipal Department 15) by the funeral parlour containing the following information:
    • First and last name of the deceased
    • Age of the deceased
    • Place, date and cause of death
    • Place of departure
    • Destination
    • Type of coffin
    • Means of transport
  • Documentation proving the authorisation of the funeral parlour, e.g., extract from the business register (to be provided on request of the Hygiene Centre)

Type and format of the evidence to be submitted:
You can find more information about bringing in documents at: Contact the City of Vienna (German)

Fees

The fees are due after the procedure has been concluded and amount to: Laissez-passer for a corpse: EUR 106.62

Cash payment is not possible. The fees must be paid by the funeral parlour by payment form.

For any questions regarding payment, please contact the competent accounting department (Buchhaltungsabteilung 40) (German) of Municipal Department 6 - Accounting Services, Duties and Charges.

Form

Online application: Transportation of a dead body to another country (German)

Further information

The public health authority is authorised to inspect the coffin to ensure it is properly sealed. To facilitate this, the hearse must be driven to the Hygiene Centre of the City of Vienna, where the coffin must be sealed in the presence of an employee of the Hygiene Centre at an appointed time.

An appointment for this must be made by phone with the on-call service of Municipal Department 15 (phone number see above), preferably during the office hours from 7 am to 3 pm. When making the appointment, the number of coffins to be sealed must be indicated.

In order to facilitate fast and smooth processing, please send the necessary documents in advance to the Hygiene Centre of the Public Health Services of the City of Vienna (Municipal Department 15) in electronic format. See Documents required.

After the documents have been inspected in accordance with the legal provisions, the laissez-passer for a corpse is issued.

The laissez-passer for a corpse can only be issued after the coffin has been sealed properly at the Hygiene Centre of the Public Health Services of the City of Vienna (Municipal Department 15).

  • Some countries require an apostille or diplomatic certification to accompany the laissez-passer: List of these countries (German)
  • If an apostille (German) is required, you can get it at
    Chief Executive Office - Geschäftsbereich Recht
    1010 Vienna, City Hall, City Information Centre, Stiege 7, Ground Floor (Entrance Friedrich-Schmidt-Platz 1)
    Monday to Friday 8 am to 12.30 pm
  • If super legalisation (diplomatic certification) (German) is required,
    the laissez-passer must first be certified at
    MA 15, Division for Medical Crisis Management
    and then once more at the Chief Executive Office - Geschäftsbereich Recht. It must additionally be certified by the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  • Some countries require an apostille for Austrian documents even though Austria does not require an apostille for documents issued in those countries.
  • There are costs associated with the issuing of the apostille and diplomatic certification.

Means of redress or appeal

An appeal is possible against rulings issued by an authority and shall be filed by the party within a 4 weeks term with the authority that issued the ruling of first instance (against rulings without investigation procedure within a two weeks term). The term starts with the receipt of the written copy of the ruling, in the case of oral pronouncement simultaneously with it.

The appeal shall indicate the ruling it contests, the authority that issued the ruling and contain a motion of appeal with the reasons. No more appeal is admissible if the party expressly waived the right of appeal after receipt or pronouncement of the ruling.

Each ruling contains instructions on the right to appeal and indicates the authority and the deadline for submission of such appeal.

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Last update

27. November 2024

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