In a typical double beta decay, two neutrons in the nucleus are converted to protons, and two electrons and two electron antineutrinos are emitted. The process can be thought as two simultaneous beta minus decays. In order for (double) beta decay to be possible, the final nucleus must have a larger binding energy than the original nucleus. For some nuclei, such as germanium-76, the isobar one atomic number higher (arsenic-76) has a smaller binding energy, preventing single beta decay. However, the isobar with atomic number two higher, selenium-76, has a larger binding energy, so double beta decay is allowed.
The emission spectrum of the two electrons can be computed in a similar way to beta emission spectrum using Fermi's golden rule. The differential rate is given by
where the subscripts refer to each electron,  is kinetic energy,  is total energy,  is the Fermi function with Z the charge of the final-state nucleus,  is momentum,  is velocity in units of ,  is the angle between the electrons, and  is the Q value of the decay.
For some nuclei, the process occurs as conversion of two protons to neutrons, emitting two electron neutrinos and absorbing two orbital electrons (double electron capture). If the mass difference between the parent and daughter atoms is more than 1.022 MeV/c (two electron masses), another decay is accessible, capture of one orbital electron and emission of one positron. When the mass difference is more than 2.044 MeV/c (four electron masses), emission of two positrons is possible. These theoretical decay branches have not been observed.