Death Certificate Process in Pune

DEATH CERTIFICATE PROCESS IN PUNE - Updated in July 2025

The loss of a family member is always a difficult event in one’s life. Handling the immediate aftermath of going through the death certificate is the start point. Many of us do not know how to go about this, finding out only along the way. 

In this post, I will be writing about the process that needs to be followed in case someone passes away. Although this post is only for Pune city, the process would be similar in other cities too.

• Immediate aftermath.
• Doctor’s certificate of death (Yellow Form PMC-4A).
• Intimation to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) at designated centres and obtaining the cremation pass.
• Applying for a formal death certificate (DC) at the Ward office after 3 weeks.

Documents / Information required :

• Doctor’s Signed form (PMC-4A).
• 2 Copies of Aadhaar of the person deceased (Masked Aadhaar, but you should have the full Aadhaar number to enter in the form). 
• 2 Copies of Aadhaar  of the person who will intimate the death to the PMC (Masked Aadhaar)
• Names and Aadhaar numbers of the parents of deceased (if available).

Process. Upon the demise of the person, you should immediately contact a doctor who will confirm the event and will sign the PMC Form 4A (Medical Certification of Cause of Death). Here is a sample. This form requires the doctor to certify that the deceased person was under his treatment, hence you need to connect with someone like a family doctor who knows some history of the patient. Usually, an ECG is also required. Some hospitals provide this service as a paid one, but the regular treating doctor needs to sign the certificate because of the history required. The instructions on the reverse of this form clearly state the requirements and the fact that a cause of death needs to be mentioned.

Speak to the doctor about intimating any agency in case there is any organ donation requested.

With the signed Form 4A, go to the nearest facility that will issue a certificate for cremation / burial (sample of cremation pass is here).

• You need to carry two copies of the (masked) Aadhaar card of the deceased person and also the person who is intimating the death (it can be a relative or friend).
• You do not need to carry any other forms, other than the complete Aadhaar information of the spouse and parents of the deceased person. 
• Ask a friend or relative to confirm that the cremation facility you need to use, is not shut down for maintenance, because this has to be entered in the form at the centre. It is very difficult to amend the information later on. 
• At the centre you have to fill out a form with required information, to include family particulars and other demographic information for the statistics. You need to specify the name of the cremation (crematorium / burial ground) you will be going to; or if you wish to donate the mortal remains for research to a hospital. All this will be entered in the form, and then the cremation pass is issued. Here is a link to the form, to help you know what you need to fill in.

Centres for issuing Cremation Pass.

• Most of the PMC-run hospitals in your vicinity (also called ‘kuti-hospital) have a 24-hour counter for this. One is at Aundh (AIMS hospital premises) and one at Pashan market, Sahdev Eknath Nimhan Kuti Hospital. The links are in the name.
• There is also a Smart City Clinic / Primary Health Care Centre run by PMC on Baner Road, (next to Croma) that operates from 9 AM to 5 PM on weekdays, and upto 1 PM on Saturday. Link is here. Many thanks to the staff at the clinic for giving me a lot of information.

 

Hearse for mortal remains. There are numerous ambulance services available that will provide a hearse to ferry the mortal remains to the crematorium.

Cremation. Proceed to the crematorium with the Cremation pass and wait for your turn. Normally it does not involve too much of a wait, but the authorities do not accept your turn in the queue, until the hearse actually reaches the site. Plan accordingly. There are priests present in the premises who will assist with the last rites for a standard fee. There is no payment to be made just for the cremation, and the crematorium provides a basic bamboo stretcher. Hand over the cremation pass and earthen container to the caretaker. You will be returned the lower part of the cremation pass that is needed for collection of the ashes. Links to the Baner Crematorium, and Vaikunth Crematorium are in the names.

If you need to transport the mortal remains outside the city in a hearse, then the same centre will issue a Permit. Carriage of this permit is essential otherwise you will be detained at some check post or by a patrol. A sample of the Permit is here. 

Mortuary Services. There are times, when you may require mortuary services for preservation, in case cremation has to be delayed until relatives can reach Pune. Some hospitals might provide this on payment as well. While there are many such agencies, we were very satisfied by the service provided by Mr Pramod Kshirsagar, of Gurukrupa Funeral and Mortuary Services on Paud Road, link is in the agency name .

Collection of the Ashes. The next day you (representative) should go to the crematorium with the portion of the cremation pass and collect these. Carry along with you any suitable container like an earthen pot of about 2 to 3 litres capacity with a lid. The crematorium does not provide the container.

Immersion. One of the designated places for immersion of the ashes in Pune is at the RTO end of the Sangam bridge, called 'Sangam Asthi Visarjan', as before, the link is in the name.

Collection of the final Death Certificate. The process takes 21 working days and after that you need to visit the nearest PMC Ward Office. 

• Carry the bottom portion of the cremation pass that was returned to you.
• Two copies of the Aadhaar card of the person visiting the Ward Office for this (masked one is okay).
• Visit the office where the person makes all initial entries in the system. You must check the correctness of information and ensure that the name, address, dates are as per the Aadhaar, including the names of the parents, date, address etc. This is a one-time activity, and you must be 100% sure that the information is correctly fed in. Any error will involve a lot of paperwork and time to correct thereafter. Even a difference in one letter will not be accepted by the bank and other authorities.
• Complete the form for application available in the nearby counter that issues the DC, attach a copy of your Aadhaar and make a payment. The first copy is free of cost, and each additional one costs 10 rupees to be paid in cash. So, of you want 20 copies, carry 200 rupees, and write 21 copies in the form (including the 1st free one) – or you could carry 190 rupees in change and write 20 copies. 

To reiterate, you do not need to print any of the forms given in this blog, they are only for your information. 

I do hope that this post removes your doubts and reduces your running around after the loss of a loved one.