Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

Service includes:

• limited general information about the deceased
• certifying the cause and manner of death in accordance with the Fatality Inquiries Act
• assisting and educating Albertans in times of grief
• proof of death documentation

Service may provide an investigation when a death is:

• unexplained
• unexpected, when the deceased was in apparent good health
• the result of violence, accident, or suicide
• due to pregnancy
• possibly the result of improper or negligent treatment by any person
• during an operative procedure, within 10 days after an operative procedure, or associated with anesthesia
• from poisoning, including alcohol or drugs
• of an individual not under the care of a physician
• from any disease, ill-health, injury, or any toxic substance introduced as a direct result of the deceased's employment or occupation
• while the individual is detained in a correctional institution or in custody
• of a 'formal patient' under the Mental Health Act, in any facility
• of any child under the director's guardianship or custody
• out of province, but a body is brought into Alberta for ultimate disposal
• known or believed to have occurred in Alberta and no body has been located
• of an unidentified person

• family members of the deceased

• contact local police to report an unexpected death at home
• applications for death documents found on website

Death documentation has associated fees.

Closed statutory holidays.