For the moment you find yourself in charge of the unthinkable. In order, with reasons.
Call 911 unless the death was expected and under hospice care — in that case, call the hospice nurse line instead, and they will handle pronouncement. For unexpected deaths, responders and usually the medical examiner or coroner will attend; the scene may be treated as investigative until they release it, so touch and move nothing, keep others (and pets) out of the room, and expect questions about medications and medical history — gathering the person's medication bottles for responders is genuinely helpful. The body will be taken by the coroner, medical examiner, or a funeral home; you do not need to have chosen a funeral home in this hour.
Notify immediate family — in person or by voice, not text, where possible. Locate documents when you can: ID, any advance directive, will, and insurance papers. If the death was unattended for some time, or involved trauma, do not attempt to clean anything: once the scene is released, a professional biohazard company handles the affected area (our unattended death guide explains why this is remediation, not cleaning, and who pays covers insurance and victim funds). Secure the home — locks, valuables, pets rehomed temporarily — especially if it will sit empty.
The funeral home guides disposition decisions and typically orders death certificates — get 10+ certified copies; banks, insurers, and agencies each want originals. Notify the person's employer, Social Security (the funeral home often files this), landlord if renting, and utility companies as relevant. If you are the executor or next of kin, do not rush to distribute or discard belongings — the estate process governs that, and grief-hasty decisions are the ones people report regretting. There is no prize for speed in any of this; the only clock that matters early is scene remediation, and a professional crew can usually start within hours of the scene's release.
If the person was on hospice, call the hospice first — they manage pronouncement and next steps without emergency response. If not on hospice, call 911 even for an apparently natural expected death.
Whenever the body was undiscovered for more than a few hours, whenever trauma or significant fluids are involved, and for any scene that authorities investigated. A peaceful attended death typically needs no remediation at all.
The medical examiner/coroner (for investigated deaths) or the funeral home you choose (for released or expected deaths). Transport by family is not standard practice and in many places not lawful without authorization.