What should you do in the first hour after a death?
Pause, then call a doctor. Knowing what to do in the first 24 hours after a death starts here: a doctor confirms the death and writes down its cause, and almost everything else follows from that one certificate.
If the death was expected, there is no emergency. You have time to sit with your loved one. If it was sudden, or you are unsure they have passed, call 112 first.
112
Emergency number to call if the death is sudden, unexplained or follows an injury
India’s all-in-one emergency number
4–6 hrs
Window for eye donation after death, so call the eye bank early
AIIMS eye bank FAQs
24 hrs
Within which police send an inquest report to the magistrate
BNSS s.194
21 days
To report the death to the local registrar
RBD Act, 1969
7 days
For the registrar to issue the certificate after registration
RBD (Amendment) Act, 2023
The first 24 hours, hour by hour
The hours below are a gentle guide, not a rule. Some steps happen together, some take longer, and every family moves at its own pace.
Hour 0 to Hour 24
- Hour 0
Pause, then call a doctor
For an expected death, call the treating doctor, family physician or palliative care team. Note the approximate time your loved one stopped breathing.
- Hour 0
If the death was sudden: 112 first
Call the police if the death was unexplained or followed a fall, accident, burn, poisoning or violence. Do not move, wash or change anything until they arrive.
- Within the first hour
Eye donation, if wished
Call an eye bank at once, such as the National Eye Bank at AIIMS (011-26593060). Close the eyelids, cover them with damp cotton, switch off the fan and raise the head slightly.
- Hour 1
In hospital: ask two questions
Ask the ward in-charge whether this is a medico-legal case and what the release steps are. At AIIMS New Delhi, families seeking quick release in a non-MLC case are advised to take their loved one within about an hour; otherwise they may be moved to the mortuary.
- Hours 1–3
The doctor's certificate
The doctor issues the MCCD: Form 4 in hospital, Form 4A at home. It is free. Since 2023, hospitals must give a copy to the nearest relative.
- Hours 1–3
Tell family, then whoever leads the rites
Spouse, children and siblings first, by phone. Then the priest, granthi, maulana or pastor, so a time can be fixed. Let one person handle the calls.
- Hours 2–6
Keep your loved one cool
Use the coolest room, lying flat, with the air conditioner on and curtains closed. Never place ice directly on the skin. If the farewell is hours away, ask for a freezer box.
- Hours 2–8
Hospital release
Collect the death summary, your MCCD copy, the release slip and the final bill. In a medico-legal case, release waits for police papers and any post-mortem, which often takes most of a day.
- Hours 4–12
Choose the place of farewell
Confirm timings with the cremation ground or burial ground. Carry the doctor's certificate and identity proof. Our guide to cremation in Delhi compares electric, CNG and wood.
- Hours 6–24
The rites, in your family's tradition
Many Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Jain families hold the farewell within a day. Christian families may wait longer so relatives can travel. Keep the cremation slip safely.
- Hour 24
Registration has begun
A hospital reports the death itself. For a death at home, the head of the household or nearest relative reports it to the registrar where it happened, within 21 days.
How is a death at home different from a death in hospital?
The steps are the same in spirit, but who does them changes. At home, the family carries more of the paperwork. In hospital, the institution carries most of it.
Home and hospital, side by side
At home
Delhi NCR, common practice
- CertifiesThe doctor who attended the last illness
- FormMCCD Form 4A, free of charge
- PoliceOnly if sudden, unexplained or after an injury
- CoolingCoolest room; a freezer box if the farewell is hours away
- RegistersHead of household or nearest relative, within 21 days
In hospital
Delhi NCR, common practice
- CertifiesThe treating doctor
- FormMCCD Form 4, with a copy to the nearest relative
- PoliceIn an MLC, the police decide when release happens
- CoolingHospital mortuary, if the family is not ready yet
- RegistersThe hospital reports to the registrar where it stands
Read the full guides for a death at home and a death in hospital.
When are the police involved, and what happens then?
Only when the death was sudden, unexplained or caused by injury. Calling them does not mean anyone is under suspicion. It creates the official record that banks, insurers and the registrar may later need.
If the death is sudden or unexplained
- 1
Call 112Family
Say what happened and where. Leave your loved one as they are.
- 2
InquestPolice
An officer records the apparent cause of death before two local witnesses, under Section 194 BNSS, and sends the report to the magistrate within 24 hours.
- 3
Post-mortem, if orderedGovernment doctor
Decided by the police or a magistrate, not the family. Two relatives are often asked to identify your loved one. See the post-mortem process.
- 4
Release and papersPolice and mortuary
Your loved one is released with police clearance. Keep these papers with the mortuary's release slip; the crematorium may ask for them.
What happens to the rites in the first day?
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.
Swipe sideways to see the full table →
| Faith | Common practice in the first day | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Hindu | Antim sanskar often within a day, frequently before the next sunset | Hindu antim sanskar |
| Muslim | Ghusl, then the janaza and burial as soon as possible | Janaza in Delhi NCR |
| Sikh | Cremation soon, Gurbani at home and the Kirtan Sohila at the cremation ground | Sikh funeral and Antim Ardas |
| Jain | Cremation soon, with a simple and quiet farewell | Jain funeral rites |
| Christian | The funeral may be held after a few days, so cooling matters | Christian funeral |
Source: Eternal Repos guides; practice varies by family
Which documents should you keep together from day one?
Keep one folder, with originals and a few photocopies. Crematoria, the registrar, banks and insurers will ask for the same papers again and again.
- The MCCD: Form 4 from the hospital or Form 4A from the doctor at home.
- The hospital's death summary, release slip, final bill and receipts.
- Police and post-mortem papers, if there was an inquest.
- Aadhaar or another identity proof of your loved one.
- Identity and address proof of the person reporting the death.
- The cremation or burial slip.
- The exact name and address of the place of death, which decides the registrar.
“No one should say goodbye alone.”
— Eternal Repos
