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

1. 1

   Obtaining the Medical Certificate of Death

   • Death in a hospital or healthcare facility: When a death occurs in a hospital or community polyclinic of the National Health System, the attending or on-duty physician verifies the death and issues the Medical Certificate of Death (Certificado Médico de Defunción, official Model 84-01 of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP)) after checking the identity card (Carné de Identidad) of the deceased person [1] [5].
   • Death at home from natural causes: If the death takes place at the family residence, the family doctor (médico de la familia) or the local community polyclinic must be notified immediately. The physician examines the body at the residence, rules out signs of violence, and issues the Medical Certificate of Death specifying the immediate, intervening, and underlying causes of death [1] [5].
   • Medico-legal intervention for violent or unattended deaths: When a death is sudden, violent, accidental, or occurs without prior medical attendance capable of establishing a clinical cause, the physician refrains from signing the standard certificate and notifies the National Revolutionary Police (Policía Nacional Revolucionaria - PNR) and the investigating authority or prosecutor. The body is transferred to the Institute of Legal Medicine (Instituto de Medicina Legal) for a forensic autopsy, after which forensic examiners issue the certificate required for burial [1].
   • Careful verification of identity details: Before leaving the medical facility, the family should verify that the given names, surnames, permanent identity number, marital status, and residential address match the Carné de Identidad exactly, as any discrepancy will require a formal administrative correction proceeding before the civil registry [1] [2].
2. 2

   Registering the Death with the Civil Registry

   • Priority registration within 24 hours: Under the regulations of the Ministry of Justice (MINJUS), the death must be registered at the municipal Civil Registry office (Registro del Estado Civil) where the death occurred or where funeral services are arranged, prior to burial or cremation and generally within the first 24 hours [2] [4].
   • Administrative coordination with the funeral home: In standard Cuban practice, the administrative staff of the municipal funeral service (Servicios Necrológicos) collects the Medical Certificate of Death and the Carné de Identidad of the deceased person (which is retained to record the cancellation in the Identity Card and Address Registry) to enter the death record by volume (tomo) and page (folio) [2] [4].
   • Requesting Official Death Certificates: Once the registry entry is recorded, family members can request as many official extracts or literal Death Certificates (Certificación de Defunción) as needed for pension, banking, and inheritance procedures. Requests can be submitted in person at the municipal Civil Registry or online through the digital portal of the Ministry of Justice (MINJUS) by providing the volume and page of the registration [2] [4].
   • Late registration (inscripción fuera de término): If under exceptional circumstances the death was not registered within the ordinary statutory period, family members must initiate a late registration file before the municipal civil registrar supported by medical and witness evidence [2] [4].
3. 3

   Funeral Services, Burial, Cremation, and International Repatriation

   • Arranging municipal funeral services and the burial permit: With the Medical Certificate of Death and civil registration confirmation, the family coordinates the wake and transport with the municipal Communal Services enterprise (Servicios Comunales / Servicios Necrológicos). The registry issues the burial permit (licencia de enterramiento) required by the municipal cemetery or necropolis [1] [2].
   • Requirements for cremation: Cremation at authorized crematoria requires a written request signed by the closest relative, a copy of the Medical Certificate of Death, confirmation that no medico-legal restriction applies (or explicit authorization from the investigating authority if an inquiry took place), and sanitary clearance [1] [5].
   • International repatriation of remains or ashes: If the deceased person was a foreign national or resided abroad and the family wishes to transport the casket or urn outside Cuba, an international sanitary transit permit issued by the Hygiene and Epidemiology authority of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), an embalming certificate or cremation certificate, and coordination with an authorized international funeral agency and the destination country's consulate are required [2] [5].
   • Legalization of documents for use abroad: Because Cuba is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, death certificates or succession documents intended for legal use in another country must first be legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores - MINREX) through collective law offices (Bufetes Colectivos) or international legal consultancies, and subsequently legalized by the consulate of the destination country in Havana [2] [4].
4. 4

   Social Security, Survivor Pensions, Banks, and Insurance

   • Survivor pension claims under Social Security: Under Law 105 on Social Security, a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner (unión de hecho afectiva), children under age 17 (or adult children unable to work), and economically dependent parents may apply for provisional and permanent survivor pensions (pensión por causa de muerte) at the municipal branch of the National Social Security Institute (Instituto Nacional de Seguridad Social - INASS), under the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS) [3].
   • Immediate provisional pension processing: If the deceased person was actively employed, the workplace processes the employment termination and initial pension file; if the deceased person was already retired or receiving a pension, the family applies directly to the municipal INASS office with the Death Certificate, the beneficiaries' identity cards, and marriage or birth certificates proving kinship [3].
   • Notifying banks (BPA, BANDEC, Banco Metropolitano): Family members must present the Death Certificate at the bank branches where the deceased person held savings accounts, checking accounts, or term deposits to freeze unauthorized transactions, cancel magnetic payment cards, and request balance statements for estate distribution or payment to designated beneficiaries [2] [4].
   • Insurance policies and household utilities: If life or property insurance policies were held with the National Insurance Enterprise (Empresa de Seguros Nacionales - ESEN), the claim must be filed with the Death Certificate. Additionally, the family should update the household ration registry at the OFICODA, as well as electricity (UNE), gas, and telecommunications (ETECSA) contracts [2].
5. 5

   Estate Administration and Succession in Cuba

   • Certificates from the Registry of Last Wills and Declarations of Heirs: To open the succession process, interested parties must request (directly or through an attorney at the National Organization of Collective Law Offices - Organización Nacional de Bufetes Colectivos) certificates from the Registry of Last Wills (Registro de Actos de Última Voluntad) and the Registry of Declarations of Heirs (Registro de Declaratorias de Herederos) of the Ministry of Justice (MINJUS), confirming whether the deceased person executed a will or died intestate [2] [4].
   • Testamentary succession or Notarial Declaration of Heirs: If a valid will exists, the heirs appear before a State Notary (Notaría Estatal) of the Ministry of Justice (MINJUS) to execute the public deed of acceptance and distribution of the estate. If there is no will, a Notarial Act of Declaration of Heirs (Acta de Declaratoria de Herederos) is processed by submitting the Death Certificate, birth and marriage certificates (or registered domestic partnership certificate under the Family Code), and two qualified witnesses [2] [4].
   • Payment of Estate and Property Transfer Tax: Once assets (housing, land plots, vehicles, bank accounts) are adjudicated, each heir must declare and pay the inheritance tax at the municipal branch of the National Tax Administration Office (Oficina Nacional de Administración Tributaria - ONAT) within the statutory period, which is mandatory before registering updated ownership in the Property Registry or Vehicle Registry [2] [4].
   • Heirs residing abroad: When one or more heirs live outside Cuba, they may be represented through a special power of attorney executed before a Cuban consulate abroad (or before a foreign notary and duly legalized up to the Cuban consulate and MINREX) or retain legal counsel through Bufetes Colectivos or an international legal consultancy [2] [4].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Instructions for Completing the Medical Certificate of Death (Model 84-01) — Ministerio de Salud Pública de Cuba - Dirección Nacional de Registros Médicos y Estadísticas de Salud
2. [2]
   Citizen Services and Procedures: Civil Registry, Notaries, and Legalization — Presidencia y Gobierno de la República de Cuba
3. [3]
   Social Security Procedures and Survivor Pensions — Ministerio de Trabajo y Seguridad Social (MTSS)
4. [4]
   Official Portal of the Ministry of Justice: Civil Registry and Notarial Services — Ministerio de Justicia de la República de Cuba (MINJUS)
5. [5]
   Official Portal of the Ministry of Public Health — Ministerio de Salud Pública de la República de Cuba (MINSAP)