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

1. 1

   Obtaining the General Death Statistical Report

   • Death in a hospital or clinic under medical care: When a death occurs in a facility of the Comprehensive Public Health Network (Ministry of Public Health (MSP) or Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS)) or in a private clinic, the attending physician confirms the death and issues the General Death Statistical Report (Informe Estadístico de Defunción General) through the National Vital Data Registration System (REVIT) or on a signed and stamped physical form [1] [4].
   • Death at home from a known illness: If the deceased person was receiving medical follow-up or home palliative care for a diagnosed condition, the attending physician or a doctor from the local Ministry of Public Health (MSP) health center verifies the death at the home and issues the General Death Statistical Report certifying the clinical cause [1] [4].
   • Intervention by the Prosecutor's Office and Legal Medicine for violent or unattended deaths: If a death occurs suddenly without documented medical attendance, in a public space, or under suspicion of violent or accidental causes, ECU 911 must be notified immediately. The National Police (DINASED) and the on-duty prosecutor oversee the removal of the body and transfer to the National Service of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (Servicio Nacional de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses), which issues the forensic death report following the autopsy [1].
   • Verification of identity data: Before accepting the medical report, the family should verify that the full names, national identity card number (cédula de identidad), date and time of death, and marital status of the deceased person match their identity document exactly to avoid later civil registry rectification proceedings [1].
2. 2

   Registering the Death with the Civil Registry of Ecuador

   • Ordinary registration within the first 48 hours: Under the Organic Law on Identity and Civil Data Management, death registration before the Directorate General of Civil Registry, Identification and Certification (Dirección General de Registro Civil, Identificación y Cedulación) must be completed on an ordinary basis within 48 hours of the death or discovery of the body [1].
   • Extraordinary registration after 48 hours: If for justified reasons registration is requested after the 48-hour statutory window has elapsed, it is processed as an extraordinary death registration (inscripción extraordinaria de defunción) before the Directorate General of Civil Registry, Identification and Certification in accordance with its administrative requirements [1].
   • Required documents and issuance of the Death Certificate: The applicant must present their identity card, the General Death Statistical Report (REVIT record or original physical form signed by the physician), and the identity card of the deceased person. In exceptional cases of natural death without medical attendance where no physician practices in the locality, a sworn declaration by two witnesses before a competent authority is required. Once the death is registered (free of charge for the initial burial permit), family members can obtain official Death Certificates (Certificado o Acta de Defunción) at a registry branch or online through the Virtual Civil Registry Agency [1].
3. 3

   Funeral Services, Burial, Cremation, and International Repatriation

   • Burial permit (permiso de inhumación o sepultura): Upon registering the death, the Directorate General of Civil Registry, Identification and Certification issues the burial permit, which is mandatory for the authorized funeral home and the municipal or private cemetery to proceed with burial [1].
   • Specific requirements for cremation: Cremation requires the Death Certificate, sanitary authorization, a written request from the surviving spouse or next of kin within the statutory degree (or a written directive left by the deceased person during life), and, where the Prosecutor's Office intervened due to an accidental or violent death, an explicit prosecutorial order authorizing cremation [1] [4].
   • International repatriation of remains or ashes: When the deceased person or their family resides outside Ecuador and international transport of the casket or urn is required, the funeral home obtains an international sanitary transit permit from the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) and the National Agency for Health Regulation, Control and Surveillance (ARCSA), alongside an embalming certificate (for human remains) or cremation certificate [4].
   • Hague Apostille for documents used abroad: If Ecuadorian death certificates or notarial deeds must be submitted to foreign authorities or banks, they must be apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana, online or at zonal offices) and accompanied by an official translation if required by the destination country [1] [5].
4. 4

   Social Security (IESS), Funeral Allowance, Banks, and Insurance

   • Funeral allowance (auxilio de funerales) and survivor pension (montepío) through IESS: If the deceased person was an active contributor (with at least 60 monthly contributions or within the coverage protection period) or a retirement or disability pensioner of the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS), survivors may claim the funeral expense benefit and apply for the monthly survivor pension (pensión de montepío for widowhood and orphanhood) through the institutional online portal [2].
   • Eligible beneficiaries and requirements for montepío: Those entitled to a survivor pension include the surviving spouse or legally recognized common-law partner (unión de hecho), children under age 18, children of any age incapacitated for work, and, in their absence, economically dependent parents of the deceased person. Applications are submitted online to the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) together with the Death Certificate, marriage or common-law union certificates, updated identity cards of the beneficiaries, and an active Ecuadorian bank account certificate [2].
   • Release of Reserve Funds (Fondos de Reserva) and Severance (Cesantía): Beneficiaries should also check with the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) and its bank (BIESS) for any accumulated balances in the Reserve Funds and individual Severance account, as well as credit life insurance (seguro de desgravamen) cancelling outstanding mortgage or unsecured loans [2].
   • Notifying banks, cooperatives, and private insurers: With the Death Certificate, the family should notify banks and savings cooperatives supervised by the Superintendency of Banks or SEPS to freeze individual accounts, trigger credit life insurance on loans or credit cards, and claim private life insurance policies or the public traffic accident protection benefit (SPPAT) if the death resulted from a road accident [2] [3].
5. 5

   Estate Administration, Effective Possession, and Inheritance Tax in Ecuador

   • Effective Possession of Assets (Posesión Efectiva) before a Notary: In Ecuador, to initiate estate administration in intestate succession or as the standard preliminary step, the heirs (surviving spouse, children, ascendants, or collateral relatives under the Civil Code order of succession) appear before a Public Notary supervised by the Council of the Judiciary (Consejo de la Judicatura) to execute a public deed of Effective Possession of the assets left by the deceased person, without prejudice to third-party rights [3] [5].
   • Testamentary succession and solemn inventory: If the deceased person executed an open or sealed will, notarial or judicial probate proceedings apply. Whenever minor children or persons under guardianship are among the heirs, Ecuadorian law requires appointing a special guardian (curador especial) and conducting a solemn inventory of assets to protect their hereditary share [3] [5].
   • Inheritance Tax Declaration before the Internal Revenue Service (SRI): Before registering the transfer of real estate or vehicles, or releasing frozen bank funds, each heir must file the Inheritance, Legacies, and Donations Tax Return (Formulario 108) with the Internal Revenue Service (Servicio de Rentas Internas - SRI) within six months of the death, obtaining the inheritance tax clearance, exemption, or statute-of-limitations certificate [3].
   • Registration in the Property Registry and coordination from abroad: Once the notarial deed of Effective Possession and the SRI tax certificate are obtained, the Effective Possession (and subsequent extrajudicial or judicial partition deed) must be registered with the cantonal Property Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) for real estate or the Mercantile Registry (Registro Mercantil) for company shares. Heirs residing abroad may act through a special power of attorney executed before an Ecuadorian consulate or before a foreign notary with a Hague Apostille [3] [5].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Ordinary and Extraordinary Registration of Death with Medical Attendance — Dirección General de Registro Civil, Identificación y Cedulación - Portal Único de Trámites Ciudadanos (gob.ec)
2. [2]
   Survivor Pension Application (Montepío) for Widowhood, Orphanhood, International Agreements, and Parents — Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social (IESS) - Portal Único de Trámites Ciudadanos (gob.ec)
3. [3]
   Registration of Effective Possession (Posesión Efectiva) and Estate Tax Requirements — Portal Único de Trámites Ciudadanos del Estado Ecuatoriano (gob.ec)
4. [4]
   Specialized Palliative Care Services and Public Health Network — Ministerio de Salud Pública del Ecuador (MSP)
5. [5]
   Judicial Procedures and Directory of the Notarial Service — Consejo de la Judicatura - Portal Único de Trámites Ciudadanos (gob.ec)