Registering a death
Effective April 20 2020, registering a death can only be done electronically . Funeral operators must e-mail the following documents to deathregistration@ottawa.ca:
- Statement of Death
- Medical Certificate of Death
There may only be one registration per e-mail and funeral operators must include a contact number in the body of each e-mail.
Once e-mailed, funeral operators have 5 business days to drop off hard copies at the exterior drop box located at 580 Terry Fox Drive.
Documentation will be processed on the next business day.
What is a death registration?
A death registration is a permanent, legal record of death. A funeral director or family member is authorized to complete the Statement of Death. A physician or coroner present at the time of death will complete the Medical Certificate of Death, which contains details about the cause of death. The funeral director usually handles this process on behalf of the deceased person's family.
Requirements
Both the Statement of Death and the Medical Certificate of Death are necessary to obtain a burial permit. Once registered, a Burial Permit and Acknowledgement of Death Registration form will be issued.
The fee to register a death in the City of Ottawa is $49.11 (2022). All death registration fees will be billed monthly, with no opportunity to pay directly.
After-hours
All burial permits are handled through the Client Service Centres. However, where the immediate issuance of a burial permit is required due to an emergency, religious beliefs or other similar reasons, death registrations and burial permits may be obtained after-hours by following the same process notes above. e-mailing deathregistration@ottawa.ca. The 3-1-1 Contact Centre will be monitoring this e-mail box after-hours.
Special circumstances
- If a death occurred in Ontario but the burial or disposition of remains is to take place outside the province, you must still obtain an Ontario burial permit.
- If a death occurred outside Ontario but the burial or disposition of remains is to take place within Ontario, you must obtain a permit from the appropriate jurisdiction for burial, transit or removal.
For more information, please call 3-1-1 and choose option 6.