What to Do When Someone Dies in Central African Republic: 5-Step Official Checklist

1. 1

   Medical certification of death and issuance of the medical certificate

   • Death occurring in a hospital facility: When your family member dies in a public hospital (such as the Community Hospital or the Friendship Hospital in Bangui), a regional hospital center, or a clinic accredited by the Ministry of Health and Population (Ministère de la Santé et de la Population), the attending or on-duty physician immediately performs the clinical examination and issues the official medical certificate of death [1] [5]. This medical document confirms the date, time, and natural cause of death and is mandatory both for hospital mortuary admission and for civil registration [1] [3].
   • Death occurring at home: If the death occurs at the family residence, a sworn physician must be called or the deceased must be transferred to the nearest public healthcare facility so that an authorized practitioner can issue the medical certificate of death [1] [5]. In provincial localities where no physician is immediately accessible, the village or neighborhood chief (chef de village or chef de quartier) records the statements of two adult witnesses to enable registration at the municipal civil status center [3].
   • Forensic and judicial intervention for suspicious deaths: In the event of a violent, accidental, public-road, or unexplained death, the police or gendarmerie and the Public Prosecutor (Procureur de la République) under the Ministry of Justice, Promotion of Human Rights and Good Governance (Ministère de la Justice, de la Promotion des Droits Humains et de la Bonne Gouvernance) must be notified without delay [2] [3]. No burial or removal of the body may take place before the forensic examination is completed and a judicial burial authorization is issued [2].
2. 2

   Civil registration of death and obtaining official death certificates

   • Territorial competence and statutory deadline (Family Code): Pursuant to Law No. 97.013 of 11 November 1997 enacting the Family Code of the Central African Republic (Code de la famille), every death must be declared before the civil registrar (officier de l'état civil) of the city hall (mairie) or civil status center of the place where the death occurred within the statutory period of one month [2] [3].
   • Declarants, witnesses, and supporting documents: The declaration is completed by the surviving spouse, an adult ascendant or descendant, a close relative, or any person possessing accurate civil status information regarding the deceased, in the presence of two adult witnesses holding valid identity documents [3]. You must submit the medical certificate of death together with the deceased person's national identity card, passport, birth certificate, or family record book (livret de famille) [3].
   • Certified copies and late registration by court judgment: The civil registrar enters the death in the official registers and issues full copies (copies intégrales) or certified extracts of the death certificate [3]. If the statutory deadline has passed, the civil registrar can no longer record the death directly and the family must petition the competent High Court (Tribunal de Grande Instance), operating under the Ministry of Justice, Promotion of Human Rights and Good Governance, to obtain a declaratory judgment of death (jugement supplétif d'acte de décès) [2] [3]. Where the deceased also held foreign nationality, consular transcription of the Central African death certificate must be completed with the relevant embassy in accordance with procedures of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères) or the home country's consular service [6].
3. 3

   Funeral arrangements, burial permits, and international repatriation

   • Municipal burial permit and public health rules: Burial in an authorized municipal cemetery requires an administrative burial permit (permis d'inhumer) issued by the municipal authority upon presentation of the medical certificate and official civil death certificate [1] [3]. Burial remains the standard form of disposition in the Central African Republic in the absence of widespread public cremation facilities [1] [5].
   • Mortuary preservation and domestic transport: Keeping the deceased in a refrigerated hospital mortuary and transporting the body to an interior prefecture require a medical certificate of non-contagion together with an administrative transport permit issued by the competent authorities [1] [5].
   • International repatriation of remains: For cross-border repatriation of the body from or to the Central African Republic, the family and funeral operator must assemble the official death certificate legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a medical certificate of non-epidemic and non-contagion certified by the Ministry of Health and Population, an official report confirming placement in a hermetically sealed zinc-lined coffin, and a consular mortuary laissez-passer [1] [6].
4. 4

   Social security (CNSS), public pensions, banks, and insurance notifications

   • Salaried workers and pensioners registered with the CNSS: If your family member contributed to or received a pension under the general social security scheme, surviving dependents are legally required to notify the National Social Security Fund (Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale) promptly in order to stop any undue pension payments and claim survivor benefits (surviving spouse reversion pension and orphan allowances) [4]. The claim file requires the official application form, a certified copy of the death certificate, the civil marriage certificate, birth certificates and school attendance certificates for dependent minor children, and the family record book or social security registration records [3] [4].
   • Civil servants and state employees: For public-sector employees governed by the Central African civil service, claims for the death grant (capital-décès) and survivor pension are submitted to the Directorate General of the Civil Service and the competent departments of the Ministry of Finance, supported by certified civil status documents and the cessation-of-payment certificate [2] [4].
   • Commercial banks and insurance companies: We advise promptly notifying all commercial banks where your family member held accounts by submitting a certified copy of the death certificate. This step places a protective freeze on individual accounts pending presentation of formal inheritance deeds and allows beneficiaries to claim any life insurance or death-benefit payouts [2] [3].
5. 5

   Opening and settling the estate and succession

   • Statutory inheritance under the Family Code: In the Central African Republic, estate succession is governed by Law No. 97.013 enacting the Family Code (Code de la famille), which establishes the statutory order of heirs (descendants, surviving spouse, ascendants, and collateral relatives) and protects the inheritance rights of the surviving widow or widower and orphans against unlawful customary dispossession [2] [3]. Heirs must instruct a notary or petition the competent High Court (Tribunal de Grande Instance) to formalize the family council minutes (procès-verbal du conseil de famille), deed of notoriety, or judgment of heirship (jugement d'hérédité) [2] [3].
   • Tax declarations and land-title transfers: Transferring registered land titles (titres fonciers), real property, or bank assets requires completing registration formalities and paying inheritance transfer duties (droits de mutation par décès) with the Directorate General of Taxes and State Lands (Direction Générale des Impôts et des Domaines) prior to final distribution of the estate [2] [3].
   • Cross-border coordination for foreign heirs or assets: When an heir resides outside the Central African Republic or the estate includes assets located abroad, an authentic power of attorney executed before a notary or competent consular authority (following cross-border legalization standards noted by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs) enables a local representative to act on behalf of the non-resident heir before Central African courts, notaries, and banks [2] [6].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Official Portal of the Ministry of Health and Population of the Central African Republic — Ministère de la Santé et de la Population (RCA)
2. [2]
   Official Portal of the Ministry of Justice, Promotion of Human Rights and Good Governance — Ministère de la Justice (RCA)
3. [3]
   Central African Republic - Law No. 97.013 of 11 November 1997 enacting the Family Code (civil status, filiation, and succession) — Organisation internationale du Travail (NATLEX)
4. [4]
   Social Security Benefits, Pensions, and Survivor Claim Procedures in the Central African Republic — Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale (CNSS RCA)
5. [5]
   Health System Organization and Country Profile of the Central African Republic — Organisation mondiale de la Santé - Bureau régional pour l'Afrique
6. [6]
   Country Dossier and Consular Relations with the Central African Republic — Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères