What to Do When Someone Dies in Greece as an English Speaker

Greece enforces a strict 24-hour death registration deadline, banks freeze accounts the moment they learn of a death, and a prosecutor can order a mandatory autopsy that no embassy has authority to override. If you are dealing with a death in Greece right now, here is the exact sequence of steps you need to follow.

The First 6 Hours: Medical Certification and Police

Your immediate priority is securing the Medical Death Report (Iatrikí Vevaíosi Thanátou).

Hospital death: The attending physician or ward office drafts, signs, and seals the report confirming time, place, and cause of death. The body transfers to the hospital morgue automatically.

Death at home, hotel, or public space: Call emergency services (EKAB, dial 166) or the family physician to confirm the death. If no treating doctor has seen the deceased recently, or if the death was sudden, you must call the local police (Astynomía). Police will secure the scene, notify the duty public prosecutor, and order the body transferred to a state forensic morgue for autopsy.

Sudden or unexplained deaths: Under Greek criminal procedure, any sudden, violent, or unexplained death of a foreign national triggers a mandatory forensic autopsy. Neither the US Embassy nor the British Consulate can block a prosecutor-ordered autopsy, even on religious grounds.

While waiting for the medical report, contact your travel or expat insurer's 24-hour emergency line. Standard policies appoint a local assistance firm that selects an authorized Greek funeral director and guarantees payment for morgue and repatriation fees. If there is no insurance, you must personally engage a local funeral director — Greek hospitals will not release remains directly to private individuals.

Hours 6–24: Death Registration at the Lixiarchio

Under Law 344/1976, the death must be registered at the municipal Civil Registry Office (Lixiarchío) within 24 hours of the medical certificate being issued. Missing this window triggers late penalties (€30 for days 11–90, €60 after day 90), and severely delayed filings require a court order that halts all funeral and repatriation arrangements.

Your funeral director typically handles this filing. The registry requires:

• Signed medical death report
• Original passport of the deceased
• Passport or ID of the declarant
• The deceased's Greek tax number (AFM) and social security number (AMKA), if available

The registry issues certified copies of the official Greek Death Certificate (Lixiarkhikí Práxi Thanátou) bearing the blue municipal stamp. Request at least five copies — banks, embassies, insurers, and courts each require originals.

Hours 24–72: Consulate, Translation, and Key Decisions

Contact your embassy. Call the American Citizen Services unit at the US Embassy in Athens or the British Consular Services team. Consulates cancel the deceased's passport, halt federal pensions, and initiate the Consular Report of Death Abroad (CRDA). They do not fund burials, cremation, or repatriation.

Get certified translations. All Greek registry documents are issued exclusively in Greek. Upload the blue-stamped death certificate to the gov.gr translation portal for assignment to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs certified translator. If the document is destined for a Hague Convention country (US, UK, Australia), you need an Apostille stamp from the regional Apokendroméni Dioíkisi before translation.

Make the burial vs. repatriation decision. Local burial in Greece costs €1,500–€3,000 in Athens but comes with mandatory exhumation after three years. Repatriating remains to the US or UK costs €4,000–€5,500 including embalming, zinc-lined transit coffin, and air freight. Cremation at Greece's sole crematorium in Ritsona costs €800–€1,600, but remains must be transported from wherever the death occurred.

The First Week: Financial and Legal Stabilization

Bank accounts freeze immediately upon notification. If the deceased held a sole account, those funds are locked until probate completes — typically six to twelve months. Joint accounts under Law 5638/1932 with a survivorship clause pass automatically to the surviving holder, bypassing probate entirely.

Any Power of Attorney held by the deceased terminates at death. Using it afterward is a criminal offense under Article 223 of the Greek Civil Code.

Notify the Greek tax authority (AADE) to deactivate the deceased's tax number. While AADE receives automatic notification from the Citizens' Registry since September 2020, heirs must still file the deceased's final income tax return up to the date of death.

Critical Deadlines You Cannot Miss

The 2026 inheritance law reform (Law 5303/2026) provides major relief for deaths occurring after September 16, 2026 — creditors can only pursue inherited estate assets, not your personal wealth — but you still must navigate the administrative process correctly to maintain that protection.

Our Greece Expat Death Administration Guide walks through every deadline, document, and agency interaction in chronological order, with printable checklists and an emergency contact directory covering US, UK, and Australian consular services.

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