By law, the funeral must be arranged within 96 hours of notification of death. If no one comes forward, the municipality will arrange the burial. The rules are laid down in the Funeral Act, which regulates who can arrange a funeral, how long the remains can be kept, when cremation is possible, how exhumation takes place and what happens if there is no one to pay for the funeral.
The Law on Funerals precisely defines the basic terms. “Burial” means either the placing of human remains in a grave or tomb in a burial ground or their cremation in a crematorium.
The law distinguishes:
All remains must be treated with dignity and in such a way as not to endanger public health or public order. The law prohibits, for example, the unauthorised opening of a coffin, urn or grave.
This means that burial is not just a family affair – it is a strictly regulated legal process.
One of the most common questions asked by the bereaved is how long after the death is the funeral. The law sets out a key deadline: if no one arranges a funeral within 96 hours of notification of death, the municipality in whose territory the death occurred or the body was found must arrange the burial.
This does not mean that the burial must take place exactly within 96 hours. The time limit refers to the arrangement of the funeral. If the family or other authorised person applies and arranges the funeral within this time, the municipality no longer intervenes.
The law further addresses the disposition of the body:
The body must be stored in a refrigerated facility with a temperature of 0 to +5 °C. However, if the time until burial exceeds 1 week or the condition of the body so requires, in a freezer below -10 °C.
When a family asks how long a funeral takes, they don’t usually mean the legal code. They mean the last moment of saying goodbye – how much time they will have to take a breath, to lay a flower, to say goodbye. But the law understands the question differently. It does not specify whether the ceremony should last half an hour or an hour. It leaves the length of the funeral farewell to the family and to the agreement of the funeral service or crematorium.
The law focuses on something else – on dignity, hygiene and safety. It regulates the conditions under which a body can be displayed, how long it can be displayed for and when more stringent preservation conditions must be provided.
An unpreserved body can be displayed in an open coffin for a maximum of one week after death. If the body is preserved, this period may be exceeded. In certain situations it is necessary to use freezing equipment, particularly if the time to burial would exceed one week or the condition of the body so requires.
From a legal point of view, therefore, the question of ‘how long does burial take’ really means something else: how long can the remains be preserved before burial, under what hygienic conditions, when refrigeration or freezing is necessary and when all legal obligations must be met.
The ceremony itself – the moment of silence, music and last words – remains primarily a human affair. Its form and length are decided by the bereaved together with the funeral director and the funeral service or crematorium operator.
When a loved one dies, a person must be found to take responsibility for the final farewell. This is the funeral director. This can be a natural or legal person – in simple terms, the person who arranges the burial within 96 hours of the death being reported. It is this step that is crucial. If no one comes forward within the legal time limit, the obligation to arrange the burial passes to the municipality.
The funeral director is not just the organiser of the ceremony. It is the person who enters into legal relations with the funeral service, crematorium or undertaker. The funeral service can only take possession of the body if the death is duly documented by a certificate of examination of the deceased. In addition, in cases where the death is the subject of criminal proceedings, the consent of the public prosecutor is required. Without these documents, the body cannot be disposed of.
The executor is also entitled to have the relevant documents issued. If the body is cremated, the crematorium operator must issue a cremation certificate with the prescribed particulars. In the case of burial in a grave or tomb, the undertaker shall issue a burial certificate and keep the statutory records. These documents are important not only for the family but also for other legal acts, for example in inheritance proceedings.
The role of the funeral director thus combines the human dimension of the last farewell with the responsibility for fulfilling all legal obligations. It is the person who stands between the family and the system – which is why it is important to know what rights and responsibilities come with this role.
Tip: Few things can divide a family like money. Inheritance is often a sensitive subject. And the situation is all the more complicated if the testator has children from multiple marriages. Read on to find out what the offspring of a first marriage are entitled to.
The law obliges operators of crematoria and burial grounds to keep records of burials or cremations and to issue relevant documents. In practice, the possibility of issuing a certificate of attendance at a funeral stems from this recording obligation.
Although the law does not explicitly name this document as a separate type of certificate, the funeral service operator, crematorium or burial ground operator will normally issue it to you on request. Most often people need it for their employer.
Under employment law, an employee is entitled to time off work when a loved one dies.
Typically, these situations are:
The decisive factor is therefore not just “emotional closeness” but a legally defined relationship or cohabitation.
However, your employer may require proof that you actually attended the funeral. In this case, you can simply ask for confirmation directly when arranging the funeral or after the ceremony.
Practical tips:
If you know you will need time off work, inform your employer as soon as possible and ask if they will require proof of attendance. Some employers do not require it, others do.
Ask for a receipt as soon as the funeral is arranged. You will avoid having to trace the documents later, when it may be administratively more difficult to get it.
Make sure the receipt includes at least the operator’s identification, the date and location of the funeral, and your name. This is usually sufficient for the employer.
Confirmation of attendance at a funeral can also be important in other situations – for example, when requesting an excused absence from school, proving a claim for time off work with the authorities or dealing with insurance claims.
In an emotionally challenging situation after the death of a loved one, paperwork is often the last thing you have the energy to do. Still, it pays to think about these practical steps so that you are not surprised by unpleasant complications at work or school later.
A very sensitive and often painful situation for the bereaved occurs when no one comes forward to take responsibility for arranging the funeral after the death. The law sets a clear limit – if no one arranges the funeral within 96 hours of the notification of death, the obligation to arrange the burial passes to the municipality in whose territory the death occurred or the body was found. The same procedure occurs if the identity of the deceased cannot be established within one week of the discovery of the death.
The municipality does not act as a family or as a volunteer at such a time. It acts in a delegated capacity, i.e. as the executor of a legal obligation. It must arrange for burial ‘in a decent manner according to local custom’. This means a dignified farewell in accordance with the normal practice in the locality, not a showy ceremony, but not an anonymous or undignified treatment of the body.
If the municipality decides to cremate, its obligation does not end there. The provision of burial includes the deposit of the urn containing the human remains in a public burial ground. It is therefore not just the act of cremation itself, but the complete process leading to the dignified interment of the remains.
The costs incurred by the municipality are not automatically “written off”. The municipality has the right to claim them in the succession proceedings as a claim against the estate. In other words, if the deceased left an estate, the cost of the burial can be paid from it. If the estate proceedings are discontinued, for example, because of lack of capacity, or if the Czech courts do not have jurisdiction to hear the case, the municipality may file a claim for reimbursement with the Ministry.
In common parlance, these cases are called “social burial“. The law itself does not use this term; it speaks of the provision of decent burial by the municipality. However, behind this technical designation there are often difficult human stories – loneliness, broken family relationships or situations where loved ones have found themselves without resources. The legislation is intended to ensure that even in such cases the deceased is not left without a dignified send-off.
Tip: Civil law affects our lives more than most people realise. It deals with property, liabilities, inheritance and personal protection. Learn where it affects you without you possibly knowing it.
Burial is not the end of the story. Even after the family says goodbye, precise rules come into play to ensure the dignity of the final resting place and the protection of public health. The law therefore lays down specific technical requirements for graves and the treatment of human remains.
The grave must have a certain minimum depth. For adults and children over ten years of age, this is at least 1.5 metres, and for younger children at least 1.2 metres. This is not a formality – these parameters are related to hygiene and health requirements as well as groundwater protection. In addition, the bottom of the grave must be above the level of fluctuations in the water table and there must be a minimum spacing between graves.
A very important concept is the so-called ‘ spawning period’. This is the minimum period of time for which unburied human remains must be placed in the grave. The law stipulates that this period must not be less than ten years. The operator of the burial ground may set a longer period, taking into account local conditions and the composition of the soil. The purpose of this regulation is to ensure that graves are not disturbed before natural decomposition is complete.
Exhumation – the removal of human remains from the grave – is possible, but certainly not at any time and without restriction. If the cremation period has not yet expired, the consent of the regional health station or a decision by the law enforcement authorities is required. Even after this time has elapsed, it is not a purely private decision of the family; exhumation is subject to rules and must be carried out in accordance with the rules of the burial ground and under the conditions laid down.
The operator of the burial ground is also obliged to keep detailed records of each burial. It shall record details of the deceased, the place of burial, the date of burial and other facts relating to the burial site. These records are important not only for the cemetery administration, but also for the survivors, for example when dealing with the lease of a grave site, the renewal of a lease or when requesting an exhumation.
A grave is therefore not only a place of remembrance, but also a legally regulated space. If a dispute arises over a grave space, exhumation or the length of a lease, a sensitive family issue can quickly become a legal problem that requires careful consideration of all the circumstances.
A funeral is not only an emotional family event but also a strictly regulated legal process governed by the Funeral Act. The funeral must be arranged within 96 hours of notification of the death, otherwise its arrangements pass to the municipality, which is obliged to provide a dignified burial according to local custom; this applies even if the identity of the deceased cannot be established. The law defines precisely what a burial is, who the funeral director is and what his/her rights and duties are – it is the funeral director who arranges the burial, negotiates with the funeral service or crematorium and takes over the necessary documents for cremation or burial. The legislation also lays down the conditions for the preservation of the body, its display, the need for refrigeration or freezing, and also deals with situations where the costs of the burial are not paid by anyone; the municipality can then claim them in the succession proceedings. The length of the funeral ceremony itself is not specified by law, but the hygiene and technical conditions are strictly regulated. The rules also apply to graves, the minimum cremation period, exhumation and the registration of burials. The practice also includes the issuing of a certificate of attendance at the funeral, which may be important, for example, for employers when taking time off work. If a dispute arises between survivors over the form of burial, payment of costs, grave space or exhumation, a sensitive personal situation can quickly turn into a legal problem requiring professional resolution.
Yes, a person can express wishes during his or her lifetime about how he or she wants to be buried – for example, whether he or she wants to be cremated or put in a grave. Such a wish can be stated, for example, in a will, in a separate declaration or in a contract with a funeral director. However, the law does not explicitly set out a formal procedure for how such a wish should be made.
The law works with the concept of a funeral director – i.e. a person who arranges the funeral within 96 hours of notification of the death. It is this person who has the final say in deciding the form of the ceremony and the manner of burial. If several relatives come forward at the same time and a dispute arises between them, the situation can escalate into a legal conflict. In such a case, it may be necessary to go to court, especially when it comes to the protection of personality rights or respect for the expressed wishes of the deceased.
The person who arranges the funeral as a narrator usually enters into a contract with the funeral service and undertakes to pay the costs. These costs can then be claimed in the succession proceedings as a debt of the estate. However, if no one arranges the funeral, the municipality will arrange it. The latter has the right to recover the costs from the deceased’s estate. Refusing to pay is therefore not a simple solution – it is always necessary to assess the specific situation, in particular whether there are assets in the estate.
If the municipality arranges for burial by cremation, it is also part of its obligation to deposit the urn in a public burial ground. In other cases, it depends on the agreement with the crematorium and the funeral director. If the family does not take possession of the urn within the agreed period, it may be deposited in the manner specified by the undertaker or according to the agreed conditions.
Leave of absence for the death of a loved one is regulated by labour law as other important personal obstacles to work. If the legal conditions are met, the employer cannot arbitrarily refuse leave. However, it may require proof of attendance at the funeral, typically in the form of a certificate issued by a funeral service or crematorium.
Our team of experienced attorneys will help you solve any legal issue. Within 24 hours we’ll evaluate your situation and suggest a step-by-step solution, including all costs. The price for this proposal is only CZK 690, and this is refunded to you when you order service from us.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 10 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
In person and online. Just choose the appropriate service or opt for an independent consultation when you are unsure.
