What should you do first when someone dies at home?
Pause, breathe, and call a doctor. Knowing what to do when someone dies at home begins with one practical step: a doctor must confirm the death and write down its cause before anything else can move forward.
If the death was expected, for example after a long illness or under palliative care, there is no emergency. You have time. Sit with your loved one if you wish. Call the family doctor, the treating physician or the palliative care team who knew them.
If the death was sudden or you are unsure whether your loved one has passed, call 112 at once. Emergency teams can check for signs of life and guide you.
- Note the approximate time you found your loved one or the time they stopped breathing.
- Keep the room calm. Turn off fans that blow directly on them and keep the room cool.
- Find their Aadhaar card, any recent prescriptions, hospital discharge papers and the doctor's phone number.
- Ask one family member to handle calls so others can be present.
Who certifies a death at home in India?
The doctor who attended your loved one during their last illness certifies the death. They fill in the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) on Form 4A, the form used for deaths outside a hospital.
Under Section 10(3) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, the attending doctor must issue this certificate without charging a fee. The registrar keeps the cause of death confidential. It is not printed on the death certificate the family later receives.
If no doctor was treating your loved one, call a local general practitioner or a nearby clinic and explain the situation. A doctor will usually certify only when they are satisfied the death was natural. If they cannot be sure, they will advise you to inform the police.
When do you need to call the police after a death at home?
Call the police on 112 if the death was sudden and unexplained, or followed a fall, accident, burn, poisoning, violence or suspected suicide. In these cases do not move, wash or change the clothes of your loved one until the police arrive.
Police then hold an inquest. Under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which replaced Section 174 of the old CrPC from 1 July 2024, an officer visits, records the apparent cause of death in front of two local witnesses, and sends the report to the magistrate within 24 hours.
The officer may send your loved one for a post-mortem. This is decided by the police or a magistrate, not by the family. Our guide to the post-mortem process in India explains what happens and how long it may take.
Calling the police does not mean anyone is under suspicion. It protects the family. It also creates the official record that banks, insurers and the registrar may later need.
How do you care for your loved one until the farewell?
Keep your loved one in the coolest room of the home, lying flat, with the eyes and mouth gently closed. Once a doctor has certified the death, and only if the police are not involved, the family may begin its own customs.
- Run the air conditioner if you have one and close curtains against the sun.
- Straighten the limbs gently and place a small pillow under the head.
- Do not place ice directly on the skin. If the farewell is more than a few hours away, ask for a cooling box (often called a freezer box) to be brought to the home.
- Remove jewellery you wish to keep and note it down, so nothing is misplaced later.
- If your loved one had pledged their eyes or body, call the eye bank or medical college immediately. Time matters for donation. See eye and body donation in Delhi NCR.
Who should you tell, and in what order?
Tell close family first, then the person who will lead the rites, then the wider circle. One short message, shared by one person, saves everyone repeated calls.
- Spouse, children and siblings, by phone, not text, where possible.
- The family priest, granthi, maulana or pastor, so the time of the rites can be fixed.
- Relatives who must travel. Give them the likely time and place of the farewell.
- The employer of your loved one, and your own, when you are ready.
- Neighbours and the residents' welfare association, who often help with space and parking.
Keep a simple written note of who has been told. In the first hours, it is easy to forget.
How do you start the death certificate after a death at home?
Report the death to the local registrar within 21 days. For a death at home, the law places this duty on the head of the household or the nearest relative present; if no one else is there, the oldest person present reports it.
Registration is free within 21 days. The death is registered where it happened, not where the family lives. In Delhi that is the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the New Delhi Municipal Council or the Delhi Cantonment Board, depending on the area. In Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad, it is the local registrar under the state's rules.
- The MCCD (Form 4A) from the doctor, or police papers if there was an inquest.
- Identity proof of your loved one and of the person reporting.
- The cremation or burial slip, if the rites have already taken place.
Once registered, the registrar must issue the certificate within seven days. Our death certificate guide for Delhi NCR covers portals, late registration and corrections.
What happens in the first 24 hours in different traditions?
Practice varies by family, region and community. What follows is common practice, not a single correct way. Ask your elders or priest what your family does.
- Hindu families often hold the antim sanskar within a day, frequently before the next sunset. Your loved one may be placed on the floor with a lamp and Gangajal. See our Hindu antim sanskar guide.
- Muslim families usually hold the janaza and burial as soon as possible, after the ritual bathing (ghusl). See Muslim funeral and janaza in Delhi NCR.
- Sikh families usually cremate soon, with Gurbani recited at home and the Kirtan Sohila at the cremation ground. See Sikh funeral and Antim Ardas.
- Christian families may hold the funeral after a few days so relatives can travel, which makes cooling arrangements important.
- Jain families usually cremate soon, with a simple and quiet farewell.
Can someone help you with these steps?
Yes. Many families lean on a relative who has done this before. Others call for help so they can stay with the one they've lost.