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

1. 1

   Obtain Medical Certification of Death

   • Hospital or medical facility deaths: When your family member dies in a public referral hospital, regional health centre, or private clinic overseen by the Ministry of Health under the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini, the attending medical practitioner examines the deceased and issues the official Medical Notification of Death (Confirmation of Death) [1][5]. You will need to present the deceased's Eswatini Personal Identity Number (PIN) card or passport so hospital records match civil registry files [1][5].
   • Deaths at home or in the community: If a natural death occurs at home, the family must notify both the local traditional authority (the Chief's runner, umgijimi, or Indvuna at the local Umphakatsi) and the Royal Eswatini Police Service [1][5]. The local traditional authority issues a confirmation letter verifying the community death, and the body is transferred to an accredited mortuary where a medical officer completes the death notification form [1][5].
   • Unnatural, sudden, or unexplained deaths: If the death is sudden, accidental, or lacks recent medical attendance, the Royal Eswatini Police Service must be called to the scene before the remains are moved [5]. A police dossier is opened and a state pathologist conducts a medico-legal post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death before releasing the body and issuing the medical clearance required for civil registration [5].
2. 2

   Register the Death with the Civil Registry

   • Issuing authority and statutory timeframe: All deaths occurring in Eswatini must be registered with the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs, accessible through regional service centres of the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini in Mbabane, Manzini, Nhlangano, and Siteki [1][5]. Under the Births, Marriages and Deaths Registration Act, notification should be completed promptly - typically within 30 days of death - prior to final burial or repatriation [1][5].
   • Required documentation: An informant (next of kin, surviving spouse, adult relative, or authorised funeral representative) must submit the original Medical Notification of Death, the deceased's national identity card (or passport for foreign nationals), the informant's identity document, and, for rural or community deaths, the supporting confirmation letter from the traditional authority or police report [1][5].
   • Official Death Certificate (Form BMD-7): Once the entry is recorded in the National Population Register, the Ministry of Home Affairs surrenders the deceased's national ID card and issues the official computerised Death Certificate (Form BMD-7) and a Burial Order [1][5]. It is advisable to request several certified copies at the regional office, as pension administrators, banks, and the courts each require certified originals [1][2].
3. 3

   Arrange Burial, Cremation, or International Repatriation

   • Local burial or cremation: A licensed funeral parlour in Eswatini can only release remains for interment or cremation after receiving the official Burial Order and Death Certificate [1][5]. Burials in urban municipal cemeteries require a municipal grave permit, whereas burials on Swazi Nation Land are coordinated with the local Chiefdom (Umphakatsi) alongside the civil Burial Order [1][5].
   • Cross-border repatriation of remains: If your family member's remains are to be repatriated out of Eswatini (for example, to South Africa, Mozambique, or overseas), the licensed funeral director must secure an embalming certificate, a non-infectious disease clearance from an environmental health officer of the Ministry of Health, a sealing certificate for a zinc-lined or hermetically sealed coffin, and a Removal/Export Permit from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Royal Eswatini Police Service [1][4][5].
   • Consular notifications and Apostille legalisation: When the deceased is a foreign national or when Eswatini death certificates must be presented in another jurisdiction, the relevant foreign diplomatic mission or the Kingdom of Eswatini High Commission can assist with consular mortuary transit documentation [4][5]. Because Eswatini is a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, official Death Certificates and court documents intended for use in another Apostille country should be legalised with an Apostille certificate through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation or the Registrar of the High Court [1][2].
4. 4

   Notify Social Security, Pension Funds, Tax, and Financial Institutions

   • Private-sector provident fund claims: If the deceased was employed in the private or formal non-governmental sector, survivors should submit a Survivor's Benefit and Funeral Grant claim to the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF), known locally as Lidlelantfongeni [3]. Claims require the certified Death Certificate, certified ID copies of the deceased and claimants, marriage certificate or children's birth certificates, employer confirmation, and beneficiary bank details [3].
   • Public-sector pension and death benefits: If your family member was a civil servant, teacher, or uniformed officer, the family must notify the Public Service Pensions Fund (PSPF) to stop salary or retirement annuity overpayments and claim the statutory death gratuity, funeral benefit, and surviving spouse and dependents' pensions [1][3].
   • Tax, banking, and insurance notifications: Present the certified Death Certificate to commercial banks in Eswatini to freeze individual accounts and verify whether a credit life or funeral insurance policy is attached to any account or loan [2][5]. The estate representative must also notify the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) to reconcile final income tax liabilities and obtain tax clearance before final estate distribution [1][2].
5. 5

   Administer the Estate and Succession

   • Reporting to the Master of the High Court: Under Eswatini's Administration of Estates Act, every deceased estate must be reported to the Master of the High Court within 14 days of the date of death [2]. Reporting is completed at the Master's Office in Mbabane or regional sub-offices by filing a Death Notice, a preliminary Inventory of Assets and Liabilities, the original Death Certificate, marriage certificate, and the original Last Will and Testament (if the deceased died testate) [2].
   • Appointment of an Executor and dual legal system: Following a next-of-kin meeting convened before the Master of the High Court, the Master issues Letters of Administration (or Letters of Executorship) authorising the executor to collect assets, advertise for debtors and creditors in the Government Gazette and local newspapers, and lodge a Liquidation and Distribution Account [2]. Eswatini operates a dual legal framework in which civil or Roman-Dutch common law estates are administered under statutory probate rules, while certain customary property on Swazi Nation Land is addressed in coordination with family councils and traditional authorities under the supervision of the Master's Office [1][2].
   • Cross-border heirs and foreign assets: If an heir resides outside Eswatini or if the estate includes assets in South Africa or another foreign jurisdiction, foreign grants of probate must be resealed or recognised through the High Court of Eswatini, and powers of attorney signed abroad must carry an Apostille or consular authentication [1][2][5].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini - Ministries and Civil Registration Services — Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini
2. [2]
   Office of the Master of the High Court - Administration of Estates — Judiciary of Eswatini
3. [3]
   Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) - Mandate and Member Benefits — Eswatini National Provident Fund
4. [4]
   Repatriation of Remains - Official Consular Requirements — Kingdom of Eswatini High Commission
5. [5]
   What to Do After a British Person Dies in Eswatini — Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office