Key Points

Latest Official Documents

• Electronic certification is mandatory for all deaths occurring in healthcare facilities as of June 1, 2022 (see Decree of February 28, 2022)

• Under certain conditions, a state-certified nurse may issue death certificates (see Article 56 of Law No. 2025-199 of February 28, 2025)

• As of January 1, 2025, the neonatal certificate has been replaced by the infant certificate, which is to be used for deaths occurring up to 364 days of life (see Order of May 29, 2024)

Status as of 2024

• 30% of deaths certified electronically (49% in France) in 2024

• Electronic certification is well established in private healthcare facilities (74%) and nursing homes (76%); it needs to be expanded in public healthcare facilities (30%)

• Electronic certification of deaths remains limited in home settings (31%) and in public spaces (4%) and could be facilitated by connecting municipalities to the HuBEE portal

Use of data

Electronic certification data can be used for surveillance:

• to measure the impact of epidemics such as COVID-19 or the flu

• to identify unusual trends in certain causes of death