What to Do When Someone Dies in Algeria: 5-Step Official Checklist

1. 1

   Medical certification of death and issuance of the medical death certificate

   Any civil registration or burial procedure in Algeria must begin with the formal confirmation of death by an authorized physician within the healthcare system supervised by the Ministry of Health [1] [6].

   • Death in a public or private hospital: If your family member passes away in a hospital or clinic, the attending doctor or head of department conducts the clinical examination and issues the medical death certificate [6]. The body is then transferred to the hospital mortuary pending completion of civil registry formalities [1] [6].
   • Death occurring at home: When a death takes place at the family home, you must call a physician (treating doctor, public health physician, or sworn municipal doctor) to confirm the death on site and complete the medical certificate attesting to a natural cause of death [1] [6].
   • Suspicious, violent, or public-place death: In the event of an accident, violent death, or medically suspicious cause, the physician notes a medico-legal obstacle and notifies the security services (National Police or National Gendarmerie) as well as the Public Prosecutor under the Ministry of Justice [5] [6]. The body is transferred to the forensic medicine department, and burial may only be authorized after a burial permit is issued by the prosecutor's office [5].
2. 2

   Civil death declaration at the municipality and obtaining the death record

   With the medical death certificate, you must declare the death before the civil registrar of the Municipal People's Assembly (APC) or the administrative annex of the place where the death occurred, under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior, Local Authorities and National Planning [1] [2].

   • Statutory declaration deadlines in Algeria: Under Algerian civil status law, the declaration must be made within 24 hours of death in northern provinces (wilayas), whereas this deadline is extended to 20 days in southern provinces [2]. If the statutory deadline is exceeded, the civil registrar can no longer record the death directly, and a declaratory judgment of death must be requested from the competent court under the Ministry of Justice [2] [5].
   • Authorized informants and supporting documents: The declaration is made by a relative of the deceased or by any person possessing complete and accurate information regarding the deceased's civil status [1] [2]. You must present the medical death certificate, the family book or birth record of the deceased, the deceased's national identity document, and the informant's identity document [1] [2].
   • Issuance of death extracts and digital civil registry portal: The civil registrar immediately draws up the death record and updates the family book [1] [2]. Once recorded in the automated national civil register, secure death certificate extracts can also be obtained online through the electronic portal of the Ministry of the Interior, Local Authorities and National Planning [1].
3. 3

   Funeral arrangements, burial permit, and international repatriation

   Burial or transportation of mortal remains is strictly regulated by municipal and health authorities in Algeria [1] [2] [6].

   • Municipal burial permit: Following registration of the death in the civil registry, the president of the Municipal People's Assembly (or the delegated civil registrar) issues the burial permit free of charge, authorizing interment in the municipal cemetery [1] [2].
   • Transport of remains between municipalities or provinces: If burial is to take place in a municipality other than the place of death, a special transport authorization for mortal remains is issued by the competent municipal or provincial (wilaya) authorities after verifying the medical certificate of non-contagiousness prepared in accordance with Ministry of Health rules [2] [6].
   • International repatriation to or from abroad: When an Algerian national dies abroad and is to be buried in Algeria, transcription of the death record and consular transport authorization are handled by the territorially competent Algerian diplomatic or consular mission [1] [2]. Conversely, if the remains of a deceased person must be transported from Algeria to another country, a provincial exit permit for mortal remains, a hermetic coffin sealing certificate, and a sanitary certificate are required in coordination with the consulate of the destination country [2] [6].
4. 4

   Notifications to social security funds, pension institutions, and banks

   Once several official copies of the death certificate have been obtained, surviving family members must notify Algerian social security and financial institutions to claim their entitlements [3] [4].

   • Social security death grant: If your family member was an employee or pensioner, eligible survivors (surviving spouse, dependent children, or dependent ascendants) may file a claim for the lump-sum death grant with the National Social Insurance Fund for Salaried Workers [3]. For self-employed workers, artisans, or merchants, claims regarding death benefits and accrued rights are filed with the National Social Security Fund for Non-Salaried Workers [4].
   • Survivor's pension (reversion pension): To apply for a survivor's pension for the surviving spouse and eligible dependents, submit a complete application file (death certificate, family civil status sheet, birth certificates) to the provincial agency of the National Retirement Fund for the salaried scheme, or to the National Social Security Fund for Non-Salaried Workers for independent professions [3] [4].
   • Bank accounts, Algérie Poste, and insurance policies: Promptly notify commercial banks and Algérie Poste (for postal checking accounts) of your relative's passing. Individual accounts held by the deceased are frozen upon receipt of the death certificate until the notarial certificate of heirship and a power of attorney or division agreement among the heirs are presented [5].
5. 5

   Opening the succession, certificate of heirship (Frédha), and tax declaration

   In Algeria, succession is governed by the Family Code and the Civil Code under the supervision of the courts and public officers under the Ministry of Justice [5].

   • Drawing up the Frédha (notarial certificate of heirship): The first notarial step is to have a certificate of hereditary entitlement, known as the "Frédha", prepared by a civil-law notary in Algeria [5]. In the presence of adult witnesses and upon presentation of the family book, the death certificate, and the heirs' civil status records, the notary officially establishes the list of legal heirs and the share allocated to each [1] [5].
   • Estate tax declaration: The heirs (or their instructed notary) must file the estate declaration with the registration and stamp duty office of the tax administration at the deceased's place of residence within the statutory period (generally six months when the death occurred in Algeria, or one year if it occurred abroad) in order to settle any applicable registration duties [5].
   • Division of assets and heirs residing abroad: Where the estate includes real property or bank funds, the notary prepares the deed of amicable liquidation and division, or, failing agreement among the heirs, judicial division is brought before the family affairs section of the court under the Ministry of Justice [5]. When an heir resides abroad, they may execute a special power of attorney at the Algerian consulate in their country of residence or before a foreign notary (duly legalized) to be represented in the estate proceedings in Algeria [2] [5].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Death Certificate and Electronic Civil Registry Service — Ministère de l'Intérieur, des Collectivités Locales et de l'Aménagement du Territoire
2. [2]
   Civil Status: Procedures and Statutory Reporting Deadlines in Algeria — Ministère de l'Intérieur, des Collectivités Locales et de l'Aménagement du Territoire
3. [3]
   Social Insurance Benefits and Death Grant (CNAS) — Caisse Nationale des Assurances Sociales des Travailleurs Salariés
4. [4]
   Retirement and Survivor Pensions for Non-Salaried Workers (CASNOS) — Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale des Non-Salariés
5. [5]
   Judicial Services, Judicial Civil Status, and Notarial Practice — Ministère de la Justice - République Algérienne Démocratique et Populaire
6. [6]
   Healthcare Organization and Hospital Facilities in Algeria — Ministère de la Santé