Death Certificates for the Transportation and Disposition of Human Remains
There are three types of death certificates issued here in the province of Ontario:
1) Form 31 – “Death Certificate;
2) Form 15 – “Statement of Death”;
3) Form 16, “Medical Certificate of Death”.
- Form 31 contains the deceased’s barest information: Name, sex, age at death, date of death, etc. The form itself is easily identifiable because it’s green in colour.
It is important to note that Form 31 (the “green form”) is the only death certificate that may be ordered online but it does not include the medical cause of death. To order forms 15 and 16, the one that includes the cause of death, it is necessary to apply in person.
For more information with regard to this, you may go to https://www.ontario.ca/page/get-or-replace-an-ontario-death-certificate#section-0
- Forms 15 and 16 are always issued together, they can be considered as one document; but still, one is called “Form 15” and the other “Form 16”.
The first of these, Form 15, contains the deceased’s detailed personal information as well as the information of the funeral home. The second, Form 16, contains the medical causes of death.
The funeral home responsible for processing the deceased’s body may also issue its own death certificate. Some people can become confused and think this is the death certificate to be presented overseas for the legal procedures associated with the deceased’s estate. This is not the case: it will either be Form 31 or Forms 15 and 16.
Which one of the 3 is required in the country of the body’s destination varies from country to country and the institutions of that country. If in doubt, contact the country’s consulate or embassy.
The best source of information as to all the documents required for the transportation and disposition of the deceased’s remains and estate is the funeral home which processed the remains.
The funeral home will often take care of apostilling of the death certificates and transportation documents.
What is apostilling?
An apostille is a seal from the government of Canada, or the province, which certifies the authenticity of the documents used for the transportation of the remains outside of Canada or used for any legal procedure regarding the deceased’s estate.
However, if family members need to do the apostilling of any of the documents themselves, they only need to take the original death certificate to the (in Ontario) Official Documents Services office which is a branch of the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement of Ontario.
At this office, it is simply a matter of handing the documents to the attending person and they will be returned apostilled within a matter of minutes. There is a fee which is relatively minimal.
Notarized Copies and Translations
There are a few countries which require notarized copies to be made of the death certificates. If this is the case, you can take them to any notary and ask to have them notarized. Then, take them to the ODS (Office of Documents Services) to have them apostilled instead of the originals.
If the country of destination is not officially English, you will be required to translate the documents into the country’s official language. The translation will also have to be apostilled and to that end, ensure the translation has been issued by an official translator AND notarized. It is the translator’s responsibility to notarize their own translation.
At Whiteside Translations and Legalizations, we would be pleased to provide you with an official translation into Spanish. As well, while it isn’t difficult to apostille a document, you may not have the time, or you may live too far away from the ODS to do the procedure yourself. We are available to do this for you.
Jonathan Whiteside
(647) 573 4831 
Spanish and English Translator in Toronto
whiteside777@gmail.com
Whiteside Translations and Legalizations
1281 Weston Rd.
Toronto, ON
M6M 4R2
Con gusto le podemos ayudar a traducir sus documentos de defunción. Déjenos saber si tiene preguntas.
