Death registration
How to register a death in Portugal through the Espaço Óbito system at hospitals or at the Conservatória do Registo Civil.
Deadline: 48 hours
A death must be registered within 48 hours of occurring. In most hospitals, the Espaço Óbito (Death Space) service allows you to complete registration on-site, simplifying the process significantly.
What is Espaço Óbito?
The Espaço Óbito is a one-stop service available at most Portuguese hospitals (and some health centers) that combines several administrative steps into a single location. When a death occurs at the hospital, the Espaço Óbito allows the family to:
- • Register the death (registo de óbito)
- • Obtain the death certificate (certidão de óbito)
- • Notify Finanças (Autoridade Tributária) automatically
- • Cancel the deceased's Cartão de Cidadão
- • Begin the process of notifying other entities
This service operates during hospital administrative hours and is provided by the IRN (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado).
Registration process
Option A: Espaço Óbito (at the hospital)
- 1. The doctor completes the death verification (Certificado de Óbito)
- 2. Go to the Espaço Óbito desk at the hospital
- 3. Bring the deceased's Cartão de Cidadão and your own ID
- 4. The registration is processed electronically
- 5. You receive the official death certificate
- 6. Finanças is notified automatically
Option B: Conservatória do Registo Civil
- 1. Visit the Conservatória in the area where the death occurred
- 2. Bring: death verification certificate, deceased's Cartão de Cidadão, your ID
- 3. The registrar processes the death registration
- 4. You receive the official death certificate (certidão de óbito)
- 5. You will need to notify Finanças separately
Documents needed
- • Death verification certificate (Certificado de Verificação de Óbito) - issued by the doctor
- • Deceased's Cartão de Cidadão (or Bilhete de Identidade and NIF card)
- • Your own Cartão de Cidadão (the person declaring the death)
- • Marriage certificate (if the deceased was married, this may be accessed electronically)
After registration
Request multiple copies
Request at least 5-10 certified copies of the death certificate (certidão de óbito). You will need them for banks, insurance companies, Segurança Social, Finanças, the inheritance process, and other entities. Additional copies can be requested later but it saves time to get them during registration.
Special situations
- Death abroad: Must be registered at the Portuguese consulate in that country, or at the Conservatória dos Registos Centrais in Lisbon upon return
- Death at home: Call 112 first. After the doctor certifies the death, you must register at the Conservatória (Espaço Óbito is only at hospitals)
- Suspicious death: If the police or INML (forensic services) are involved, the registration may be delayed until the investigation is complete