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

1. 1

   Obtaining the Medical Death Certificate or Confirmation

   • Death in a public hospital, ISSS hospital, or private clinic: When a death occurs in a hospital of the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud - MINSAL), a hospital of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (Instituto Salvadoreño del Seguro Social - ISSS), or a private clinic, the attending or on-duty physician verifies the death and issues the official medical death certificate (constancia o certificado médico de defunción) stating the clinical causes of death after checking the Unique Identity Document (Documento Único de Identidad - DUI) of the deceased person [3] [6].
   • Death at home under medical supervision: If the deceased person was receiving home medical care or palliative care through the National Integrated Health System (Sistema Nacional Integrado de Salud), the attending physician or a doctor from the corresponding community health unit certifies the natural death and issues the medical death certificate for civil registration [3].
   • Intervention by the Attorney General's Office and Legal Medicine: When a death occurs at home without documented prior medical attendance, in a public place, or under suspicion of a violent, accidental, or sudden undetermined cause, the National Civil Police (Policía Nacional Civil - PNC) and the Attorney General's Office (Fiscalía General de la República - FGR) must be notified immediately. The body is transferred to the Institute of Legal Medicine (Instituto de Medicina Legal, under the Supreme Court of Justice) for a forensic autopsy and issuance of the forensic death certificate [3] [5].
   • Checking identity details for accuracy: Before leaving the medical facility, the family should verify that the given names, surnames, DUI number, family status, and date and time of death match the Documento Único de Identidad exactly to avoid subsequent registry rectification proceedings [1].
2. 2

   Registering the Death with the Family Status Registry and RNPN

   • Statutory 15-business-day deadline at the Municipal Mayor's Office: Under the Transitional Law of the Family Status Registry and Matrimonial Property Regimes, the death must be registered with the Family Status Registry (Registro del Estado Familiar) of the Municipal Mayor's Office (Alcaldía Municipal) where the death occurred or where the deceased person had their last domicile within 15 business days following the death [1].
   • Required documents for registration: The informant (a family member or authorized funeral home representative) must present their own valid DUI, the original DUI of the deceased person, and the original medical or forensic death certificate. In rural natural deaths without medical attendance, the municipal family status registrar verifies the supplementary statutory proofs [1].
   • Obtaining the Official Death Certificate (Certificación de Partida de Defunción): Once the entry is recorded, the Municipal Mayor's Office and the system linked to the National Registry of Natural Persons (RNPN) issue certified copies of the Death Certificate (Certificación de Partida de Defunción) required for burial, pension, banking, and estate procedures, while also cancelling the deceased person's DUI in the National Registry of Natural Persons (RNPN) database [1].
3. 3

   Funeral Services, Burial, Cremation, and International Repatriation

   • Municipal burial permit (boleta de enterramiento): Upon recording the death registration and paying the applicable municipal fee, the Municipal Mayor's Office issues the burial permit required for interment at a municipal, general, or private memorial cemetery [1] [3].
   • Sanitary and legal requirements for cremation: Choosing cremation requires the Death Certificate (Certificación de la Partida de Defunción), the medical certificate confirming natural causes, sanitary authorization from the Ministry of Health (MINSAL), and a written request signed by the closest relative. If the death was subject to prosecutorial or forensic investigation, cremation requires explicit authorization from the Attorney General's Office (Fiscalía General de la República) [3] [5].
   • International repatriation of remains or ashes: When the family needs to transport an embalmed body or an urn with ashes outside El Salvador (or repatriate a Salvadoran national who died abroad), the Environmental Health Directorate of the Ministry of Health (MINSAL) issues the international sanitary transit permit in coordination with an authorized funeral home and the Foreign Service Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores) [3] [4].
   • Hague Apostille for international use: If the Salvadoran Death Certificate or succession deeds must take legal effect abroad, they must be authenticated or apostilled through the Electronic Apostille platform (Apostilla Electrónica) or at regional offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [1] [4].
4. 4

   Social Security (ISSS), Pensions (ISP / AFP), Banks, and Insurance

   • Funeral expense benefit through ISSS and ISP: If the deceased person was an active contributor or pensioner of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS), the person who paid the funeral expenses can claim the funeral allowance (auxilio de sepelio) by presenting the original invoices and the death certificate [6]. Similarly, the Salvadoran Institute of Pensions (ISP) and the Pension Fund Administrators (AFP Confía or AFP Crecer) grant a funeral expense benefit for deceased contributors or pensioners, which before the Salvadoran Institute of Pensions (ISP) must be claimed within 60 calendar days of the death [2].
   • Survivor pensions (pensión por sobrevivencia) through ISP or AFP: Eligible beneficiaries for a monthly survivor pension include the surviving spouse or declared non-matrimonial partner (conviviente), children under age 18 (or up to age 24 if studying, or of any age if certified with a disability), and economically dependent parents of the deceased person. Claims are filed with the Salvadoran Institute of Pensions (ISP) or the relevant AFP by submitting the death certificate, marriage or birth certificates of the beneficiaries, and the employment history record [2].
   • Direct beneficiary designations on bank accounts: Under El Salvador's Banking Law (Ley de Bancos), account holders designate direct beneficiaries on deposit accounts; upon the account holder's death, the bank releases the funds directly to the registered beneficiaries (in the percentages assigned) upon presentation of the Death Certificate (Certificación de la Partida de Defunción), without waiting for inheritance acceptance proceedings unless no beneficiaries were designated or a judicial dispute arises [2] [5].
   • Life insurance claims and credit life insurance (seguro de deuda): The family should notify private insurers and any banks or cooperatives where the deceased person held mortgages, personal loans, or credit cards to activate life insurance policies and credit life insurance coverage [2].
5. 5

   Estate Administration and Acceptance of Inheritance in El Salvador

   • Notariat Section and Will Registry report: To initiate inheritance acceptance proceedings (diligencias de aceptación de herencia, whether testamentary or intestate), the officiating notary or Civil and Mercantile Court requests an official report from the Senior Clerk's Office (Oficialía Mayor) and the Notariat Section (Sección del Notariado) of the Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia) to confirm whether the deceased person executed an open or sealed will and whether any other party has already opened succession proceedings [5].
   • Notarial or judicial acceptance of inheritance: Under the Law on Notarial Exercise of Voluntary Jurisdiction, if all heirs are legal adults, have full legal capacity, and act by mutual agreement without dispute, they may process the acceptance of inheritance before a Salvadoran notary authorized by the Supreme Court of Justice (a streamlined path involving an interim declaration, publication of legal notices, and a final declaration of heirs). If any heir is a minor or legally incapacitated, or if there is a dispute among claimants, the estate must be processed judicially before the competent Civil and Mercantile Court [5].
   • Transfer by inheritance at the National Registry Center (CNR): Once the final resolution declaring the heirs is protocolized by deed and published as required by law, the certified deed (testimonio) and prior property titles are filed with the Real Property and Mortgage Registry of the National Registry Center (Centro Nacional de Registros - CNR) (and with SERTRACEN for motor vehicles) to register ownership transfer by inheritance (traspaso por herencia) upon payment of registry fees [5].
   • Heirs residing abroad: Heirs living outside El Salvador may execute a general judicial power of attorney with a special clause (to accept or renounce inheritance) before a Salvadoran consulate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before a Salvadoran notary abroad, or before a foreign notary with a Hague Apostille [4] [5].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Certification of Family Status Registry Records in El Salvador — Registro Nacional de las Personas Naturales (RNPN)
2. [2]
   Survivor Pension and Funeral Expense Benefit Services and Requirements — Instituto Salvadoreño de Pensiones (ISP)
3. [3]
   Technical Guidelines for Palliative Care and Medical Certification in the National Integrated Health System — Ministerio de Salud de El Salvador (MINSAL)
4. [4]
   Apostille, Authentication, and Consular Assistance Services — Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de El Salvador
5. [5]
   Official Portal of the Supreme Court of Justice: Notariat Section and Civil Jurisdiction — Corte Suprema de Justicia de El Salvador
6. [6]
   Official Portal of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute: Cash Benefits and Healthcare — Instituto Salvadoreño del Seguro Social (ISSS)