Palm Beach County, step by step
What happens after an unexpected death at home
Most people go through this once in a lifetime and nobody explains it beforehand. Here is the usual order of events in and around Boca Raton, with the offices involved and their numbers.
From the first call to the last form
- 1
Call 911 and touch nothing
Even when it is plain that the person has died, dial 911. Florida law makes it everyone's duty to report a death that was violent, accidental, sudden or without a doctor in attendance, to police or the medical examiner (section 406.12). Investigators need the room as it was found, so leave the person and the things around them where they are.
Wait in another room or outside. If a pet is in the room, bring it out and close the door.
- 2
Officers arrive, then an investigator
Patrol officers secure the home. An investigator from the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office follows. Between them they will ask about the person's health, medicines and last days. Have the name of the family doctor ready if there is one.
- 3
The medical examiner takes the person into care
The Medical Examiner Office is at 3126 Gun Club Road in West Palm Beach. Its investigators work 24 hours a day, and its front office answers 561-688-4575 on weekdays from 8 to 5.
Not every case leads to an autopsy. The office says one is not normally done when the death appears to be from natural causes.
- 4
You choose a funeral home
This falls to the legal next of kin. The funeral home or cremation service collects the person from the medical examiner, generally the same day or the day after. The office does not hold viewings and does not charge families for its work, apart from small fees for report copies or cremation approvals (office FAQ).
- 5
The home is released to you
An officer will say when they are done. Ask for the case number and where any property they took will be held. The medical examiner's office generally does not keep belongings. The police agency does.
- 6
Cleanup, if the room needs it
A peaceful death found quickly may need nothing more than laundering. If time passed, or there was bleeding, the room needs a biohazard company. The pages on unattended deaths and blood cleanup explain why.
- 7
Death certificates
Certified copies can be ordered from the Department of Health in Palm Beach County: online, by mail, or in person. The nearest counter to Boca Raton is the Delray Beach Health Center, 225 S. Congress Avenue, open weekdays 8 to 4:30 and closing at noon on the first Thursday of the month. Bring photo ID. A copy that shows the cause of death is issued only to family or a legal representative.
Offices you may need
For anything urgent, 911. These are for the days after.
Boca Raton Police
Non-emergency calls, for addresses inside the city
561-368-6201
Boca Raton Police records
Report copies and lost or found property, at 100 NW Boca Raton Boulevard
561-338-1234
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
Non-emergency calls, for unincorporated addresses
561-688-3400
Palm Beach County Medical Examiner
Questions about a specific case, weekdays 8 to 5
561-688-4575
Palm Beach County Victim Services
South county office in Delray Beach, after a crime
561-274-1500
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text at any hour
988
More from each office: Boca Raton Police, Sheriff, Medical Examiner, Victim Services, 988 Lifeline.
How long the answers take
A cause of death is sometimes clear within a day. When laboratory tests are needed it is not. The medical examiner's office says an autopsy report typically becomes available to request within twelve weeks of the examination, and that complicated cases run longer.
None of that holds up the funeral, and none of it holds up cleaning the home once the police have released it.
Questions families ask in the first week
Can we see him before the funeral home collects him?
Not at the medical examiner's office. It does not allow viewings and directs families to arrange them through the funeral home. An autopsy does not rule out an open casket.
The death was expected and hospice was involved. Is it the same?
No. An expected death under a doctor's or hospice's care is usually certified by them, without police or the medical examiner. Ring the hospice nurse first and follow their instructions.
Who lets the cleanup company in if we are not in Florida?
Anyone you authorize: a neighbor, the building manager, a friend with a key. Give the company that person's name and number, and ask for the written scope to be emailed to you.
Boca Raton and nearby
Nobody in the family has to clean this room
Wait until the officers and the medical examiner's investigator have finished. Shut the door on the room, let the air conditioning run, and pick up the phone once you feel able to talk it through.
Ready when the home is yours again
One number reaches an independent biohazard cleanup company working in south Palm Beach County. Describe the room in your own words. Hiring them is up to you.
Call (728) 500-1824Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Your call may be recorded. The referral disclosure and privacy policy explain why.