Obtain the medical death certificate (Certificado Médico de Defunción)

Why it matters

This doctor-signed certificate is the first document. Everything else — funeral, registry, banks, inheritance — flows from it.

How to do it

1. A doctor issues it: in hospital, the ward doctor; at home, the attending doctor or emergency services (112).
2. If the death was sudden, unattended, or possibly non-natural, the court/forensic doctor (médico forense) is involved and there may be an autopsy first.
3. The funeral home (funeraria) will need this to proceed.

This unlocks

• Engage a funeral home (funeraria) — they handle most of the paperwork
• Register the death at the Civil Registry (Registro Civil) — within 24h