Aim. For the purpose of ensuring the reliability of national mortality statistics, the present regulations set out to generalize current information on the preparation of primary medical documentation on the basis of requirements for filing death certificates, ICD-10 rules and recommendations by the Russian Ministry of Health.

Material and methods. Existing requirements for filing death certificates, ICD-10 rules updated by WHO in 1996–2019 and recommendations by the Russian Ministry of Health were analysed.

Results. The preparation of primary medical documentation, formulation of the concluding clinical, pathological, anatomical and forensic post-mortem diagnosis, issuance of death certificates, selection and coding of the primary cause of death should be carried out in accordance with the unified ICD-10 rules. Postmortem diagnosis should correspond to Volume 3 of ICD-10.

Due to the pandemic of a new coronavirus infection, referred to as COVID-19, in 2019, WHO introduced changes to the ICD-10. COVID-19 was included in ICD-10 chapter XXII and received the codes of U07.1 and U07.2. COVID-19-accosiated deaths were divided into those where COVID-19 is determined to be the primary cause of death and those where COVID-19 falls into the category “other” causes.

COVID-19 with fatal complications is most frequently selected as the primary cause of death in acute conditions, with concurrent chronic diseases (cancer, diabetes, chronic forms of ischemic and cerebrovascular diseases, etc.) being indicated as “other” causes of death in Part II of the death certificate. In the presence of trauma, poisoning, bleeding and conditions requiring emergency medical care, these conditions are selected as the primary cause of death, with COVID-19 being recorded in part II of the certificate.

Conclusion. To provide reliable statistical information about mortality rates, executive authorities require the primary medical documentation filed in strict accordance with established rules.