In which situation would a death certificate not contain a body?

A death certificate serves as an official document that records the occurrence of a person's death. It is typically issued by a medical professional or an appropriate authority after examining the situation surrounding the death. In cases of presumptive death, which occurs when a person is declared dead due to the absence of evidence of life over a specified period, the body is not present because it may be missing or not recoverable. This situation aligns with legal standards that can allow for a declaration of death, even in the absence of a body, given the circumstances that lead to that conclusion, such as missing persons presumed dead after a certain amount of time.

In contrast, a body lost at sea may eventually be found, while cremation means there is an irreversible alteration of the remains but does not mean the absence of a death certificate. Lastly, a body found after a long time would still allow for the issuance of a death certificate once the details of death are established, making those scenarios distinct from presumptive death.