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

1. 1

   Medical Verification of Death and Issuance of the Medical Death Declaration (DO)

   Before any removal of the body, burial, or civil registry filing can take place, a physician must issue the official Medical Death Declaration (Declaração de Óbito - DO), a three-copy medical form standardized by the Ministry of Health (Ministério da Saúde) [1]:

   • Death in a hospital or healthcare facility: The attending or on-duty physician verifies the death and completes the Declaração de Óbito (DO) directly [1].
   • Natural death at home: If the deceased person was under regular medical care, contact the attending physician to issue the DO. If there was no recent medical supervision, call the Mobile Emergency Care Service (Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência - SAMU) on 192; after initial verification, the body is referred to the municipal or state Death Verification Service (Serviço de Verificação de Óbito - SVO), or assessed by a public health physician where no SVO exists, to issue the DO [1].
   • Death in a public place or violent, accidental, or suspicious death: Call the Military Police (Polícia Militar) immediately on 190 (and SAMU on 192 if needed) and do not disturb the scene. A Police Report (Boletim de Ocorrência - BO) must be filed at the Civil Police Station (Delegacia de Polícia Civil), which orders removal and autopsy by the Forensic Medical Institute (Instituto Médico Legal - IML), the sole authority authorized to issue the DO in such cases [1].
2. 2

   Checking Funeral Plans and Appointing a Licensed Funeral Service

   Before contracting services independently, review any existing funeral coverage and confirm burial or cremation requirements [1]:

   • Funeral insurance or pre-need plans: Check whether the deceased person held life insurance with funeral assistance or a pre-arranged funeral plan (plano funerário), confirming coverage for transport, coffin, and burial with the insurer or employer [1].
   • Municipal or licensed funeral provider and cremation rules: Contact the municipal funeral service (serviço funerário municipal) of the local city hall (prefeitura) or appoint a licensed funeral company (represented at industry level by bodies such as the Associação Brasileira de Empresas e Diretores do Setor Funerário - ABREDIF) [1]. In Brazil, burial typically takes place between 24 and 36 hours after death. If cremation is chosen, the law requires the Declaração de Óbito to be signed by two physicians (or one forensic pathologist) and, in cases of violent death handled by the IML, express judicial authorization is required [1]. Clarvia provides public references for orientation only and does not endorse or rank commercial providers.
3. 3

   Civil Registration at the Cartório and Issuance of the Death Certificate

   With the signed medical Declaração de Óbito (DO) in hand, a close relative or authorized representative (often assisted by the funeral service) must appear before the Civil Registry Office of Natural Persons (Cartório de Registro Civil das Pessoas Naturais) for the district where the death occurred or where the deceased person resided, whose services are integrated nationwide through the Portal Oficial do Registro Civil (ARPEN Brasil) (Official Civil Registry Portal) [1]:

   • Statutory deadlines and free issuance: Under the Public Registries Law (Lei de Registros Públicos, Law No. 6.015/1973), death registration must be completed prior to burial, within the ordinary deadline of 24 hours after death or, where impossible, within up to 15 days (extended to up to 3 months in locations more than 30 km from the registry office) [1]. Both the death registration and the first copy of the Civil Death Certificate (Certidão de Óbito), as well as the Burial Permit (Guia de Sepultamento), are free of charge by law for all citizens [1].
   • Required documents: Original Declaração de Óbito (DO) signed by the physician, official identity card (RG/CIN), taxpayer registry number (CPF), Birth or Marriage Certificate, voter registration card (título de eleitor), and INSS/PIS/PASEP registration number or Employment Record Card (Carteira de Trabalho) of the deceased person, together with the declarant's identification document [1].
   • Automatic notifications and use abroad: The Cartório de Registro Civil electronically notifies the Federal Revenue Service (Receita Federal, updating the CPF status to Titular Falecido / Deceased Holder), the INSS, and the Electoral Justice (Justiça Eleitoral) [1][2]. If the Certidão de Óbito must take legal effect outside Brazil, request a Hague Apostille (Apostila da Haia) at an authorized notary/registry office regulated by the Conselho Nacional de Justiça (CNJ) (National Council of Justice), or consular registration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministério das Relações Exteriores - Itamaraty) where a consular post is involved [4][5].
4. 4

   Claiming the INSS Survivor Pension, Funeral Allowance, and FGTS/PIS Withdrawals

   Once the Certidão de Óbito has been issued, surviving dependents and family members should review social security and labor entitlements [2]:

   • Survivor Pension (Pensão por Morte - INSS): Legal dependents of a person insured under the General Social Security Regime (spouse or domestic partner in a stable union, children under age 21 or with a qualifying disability, or parents and siblings who prove financial dependence) can apply for the Pensão por Morte through the Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social (INSS) (National Institute of Social Security) directly via the Meu INSS digital platform (on the gov.br portal) or by calling 135 [2]. The pension is payable retroactively from the date of death if claimed within 90 days of death (or within 180 days for children under age 16); after that deadline, payments run from the application date [2].
   • FGTS, PIS/PASEP, and municipal funeral assistance: Using the Certidão de Óbito and the certificate of eligible survivor pension dependents issued by the INSS (or a judicial warrant / extrajudicial inventory deed), survivors can request withdrawal of FGTS severance fund balances and PIS/PASEP quotas at Caixa Econômica Federal or Banco do Brasil, as well as municipal funeral assistance (auxílio-funeral via CRAS) for low-income families [2][3].
5. 5

   Estate Inventory (Extrajudicial or Judicial), 2-Month Deadline (ITCMD), Banks, and Income Tax

   Transferring legal title to estate assets, bank accounts, vehicles, and real property requires completing the formal estate inventory and partition process (inventário e partilha) [3][4]:

   • 2-month (60-day) deadline and state inheritance tax (ITCMD): Under Article 611 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Código de Processo Civil), inventory proceedings must be opened within 2 months (60 days) from the date of death; late filing subjects heirs to a tax penalty on the state Inheritance and Gift Tax (Imposto sobre Transmissão Causa Mortis e Doação - ITCMD), whose rate and tax return follow the rules of the relevant State Secretariat of Finance (Secretaria da Fazenda) [3].
   • Extrajudicial Inventory at a Notary Office vs. Judicial Probate: Where all heirs are in agreement and assisted by a mandatory lawyer (advogado) or public defender (defensor público), the inventory can be completed rapidly by public deed (escritura pública) at any Notary Office (Cartório de Notas) or online via the e-Notariado platform, following the guidelines of the Colégio Notarial do Brasil (CNB) (Notarial College of Brazil) and updated rules of the Conselho Nacional de Justiça (CNJ) (which now allow extrajudicial inventory even where there is a will or minor heirs, provided forced heirship shares are respected and the Public Prosecutor's Office issues a favorable opinion) [3][4]. If there is a dispute among the heirs, the inventory must proceed through the state courts (Poder Judiciário) [3].
   • Banks, insurers, and Federal Revenue Service (Receita Federal): Notify banks of the death (individual account withdrawals are frozen until the notarial inventory deed, court partition order, or judicial warrant is presented) and submit any life insurance claims within the statutory limitation period [3]. Finally, the estate administrator (inventariante) must file the Final Estate Income Tax Return (Declaração Final de Espólio de Imposto de Renda) with the Receita Federal once the partition is completed [3].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   CNJ Service: What Are the Legal Procedures After a Person's Death (Civil Registration and Death Certificate) — Conselho Nacional de Justiça (CNJ)
2. [2]
   Apply for Urban Survivor Pension (Pensão por Morte Urbana - INSS) — Portal Gov.br - Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social (INSS)
3. [3]
   Notarial Services: Extrajudicial Estate Inventory and Partition (Inventário e Partilha Extrajudicial) — Colégio Notarial do Brasil - Conselho Federal (CNB/CF)
4. [4]
   Hague Apostille at Notary Offices (Apostilamento de Haia nos Cartórios de Notas) — Colégio Notarial do Brasil - Conselho Federal (CNB/CF)
5. [5]
   Hague Apostille: Regulations and Authorized Registry and Notary Offices — Conselho Nacional de Justiça (CNJ)