Death certificates - inspection, provision of information

Information for relatives

The Health Department can provide information on the cause of death from death certificates and any autopsy reports to close relatives, such as spouses, children or parents of deceased persons, provided that a justified interest can be shown.

In principle, the information is provided in writing; in individual cases, a personal request for information can be made to the public health officer.

Copies of death certificates and/or autopsy reports will be issued exclusively for the purpose of clarifying questions of insurance law (proof required).

Information for research projects

If data from death certificates are required for a scientific research project, copies can only be issued in anonymised or pseudonymised form.

If you need to draw conclusions about individual deaths in order to evaluate the data, the Thuringian Ministry of Health must determine that there is a public interest in your research project. For this purpose, the Thuringian State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information must be involved. For this purpose, you should submit an application in advance to the:

Thuringian State Administration Office
Department 550
Jorge-Semprún-Platz 4
99423 Weimar

Inquiries for relatives

• Identity card
• Proof of relationship (marriage certificate, birth certificate)
• in the case of insurance-related claims: written proof of the insurance company's interest in the death certificate

Research project

• Confirmation from the higher health authority that the research project is in the public interest and that the transfer of data is unobjectionable from a data protection point of view.

Fees are charged on the basis of the Thuringian Administrative Costs Act (ThürVwKostG) in conjunction with the respective administrative cost regulations.

Please note that payments to the Health Department can only be made by EC or credit card.

• § 15 Para. 4 Thuringian Funeral Law