What to Do When a Citizen of Morocco Dies in France: 5-Step Official Checklist

1. 1

   Medical certification of death and forensic clearance in France

   • Death in a healthcare facility or nursing home (EHPAD): The physician at the hospital or care facility certifies the death and issues the official medical certificate of death (certificat médical de décès, on a Cerfa form or electronically via CertDc), an essential document for declaring the death at the town hall and authorizing any funeral operation [1].
   • Death at home, in a hotel, or in a public place: Immediately call SAMU on 15 or the European emergency number 112 so that a doctor can certify the death [1]. In the event of a sudden, unexplained, or suspicious death, the doctor ticks the forensic hold box (obstacle médico-légal): the police or gendarmerie and the Public Prosecutor (procureur de la République) then intervene to order an examination or autopsy at a forensic medicine institute (institut médico-légal, for example in Paris, Lyon, or Marseille) before issuing the authorization to seal the coffin and the burial permit [1].
2. 2

   Repatriation insurance, licensed funeral operators, and Moroccan consular assistance

   • Checking insurance and provident policies: Before incurring expenses independently, check whether the deceased person held a repatriation insurance policy with a Moroccan or French bank, travel insurance, or a funeral plan, as the assistance organization generally appoints and directly finances the funeral operators [1][2].
   • Appointing funeral operators: The family or insurer appoints a prefecture-licensed funeral operator in France (opérateur funéraire habilité en préfecture), represented nationally by the Fédération Nationale du Funéraire (FNF), which coordinates with an approved funeral and international mortuary transport company in Morocco (for example in Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier, or Marrakesh) [3]. The appointed operator compiles the complete technical, sanitary, and consular file from end to end without the family having to visit each technical office in person.
   • Moroccan consular contact: Contact the territorially competent Consulate General of the Kingdom of Morocco according to the place of death in France (for example in Paris, Colombes, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, or Toulouse), accessible via the consular portal of the Ministère des Affaires étrangères, de la Coopération africaine et des Marocains résidant à l'étranger (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates) [4]. The consulate issues the consular authorization for the transfer of remains and handles the transcription of the death certificate [4].
3. 3

   Declaration of death at the town hall in France and transcription in the Moroccan civil registry

   • Declaration at the town hall in France: The death must be declared within 24 hours (excluding weekends and public holidays) at the town hall (mairie) of the municipality where the death occurred, a formality generally completed by the healthcare facility or the appointed funeral home in accordance with the rules on Service-Public.fr [1]. Request several full copies of the death certificate (copie intégrale de l'acte de décès) as well as multilingual extracts (Form C) [1].
   • Consular transcription and registration in Morocco: For the death to be officially recognized in Morocco, it must be declared and transcribed with the civil status department of the competent Moroccan consulate general in France by presenting the full copy of the French death certificate, the deceased person's Moroccan National Electronic Identity Card (CNIE) or passport, and the Moroccan family record book (livret de famille) [4][5]. National rules governing death certificates and civil registers in Morocco are detailed on the Portail national de l'État civil (National Civil Status Portal, alhalalmadania.ma) [5][6].
4. 4

   International repatriation to Morocco vs. local burial or cremation in France

   • Repatriation of the body to Morocco: For the international transfer of the body from France to Morocco, the French funeral operator obtains the prefectural mortuary laissez-passer order (arrêté préfectoral de laissez-passer mortuaire) from the departmental prefecture, arranges ritual washing where applicable, preservation care (soins de conservation), and placement in a hermetically sealed coffin with a soldered zinc liner (in the presence of an authorized official), and obtains the medical certificate of non-contagion [1][2][4]. The Moroccan consulate then issues the consular mortuary laissez-passer after confirming the burial authorization issued by the local Moroccan authorities (prefecture or province and the municipal hygiene office / bureau municipal d'hygiène of the destination municipality) [4][7].
   • Local burial or cremation in France: If the funeral takes place in France (including in a municipal denominational cemetery section where available), the funeral operator applies for the burial authorization from the mayor of the relevant municipality within the statutory timeframe of 24 hours to 6 working days after death [1].
5. 5

   Survivor benefits, pensions, taxes, and estate settlement in Morocco and France

   • Social security, pensions, and succession in Morocco: Under the Franco-Moroccan bilateral social security agreement explained by Cleiss, eligible survivors of an insured person or private-sector pensioner affiliated with the National Social Security Fund (Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale - CNSS, call center at +212 80 20 30 100 or 3939) can apply for the death grant (allocation au décès, within 9 months following the death, form ref. 317-1-01) as well as the survivors' pension (within 12 months to retain retroactive effect from the date of death), or contact the Moroccan Pension Fund (Caisse Marocaine des Retraites - CMR) for the public sector [8]. To unblock bank accounts and settle the estate in Morocco, heirs have a deed of heirship (acte d'hérédité / iratha) drawn up before two adouls (certified by the notarial judge) or instruct a Moroccan notary, using the civil status extracts obtained via the Portail national de l'État civil [5][6].
   • Benefits, pensions, and succession in France: If the deceased person resided, worked, or received a pension in France, report the death to the Caisse primaire d'assurance maladie (via the Ameli.fr portal) to apply, where applicable, for the lump-sum death benefit (capital décès, form Cerfa S3180, with a 1-month priority period for total dependents and a general deadline of 2 years) [9]. Also notify L'Assurance Retraite (on 3960 or +33 9 71 10 39 60 from abroad) and the supplementary fund Agirc-Arrco to claim a survivor's pension (pension de réversion), which benefits from the coordination rules of the Franco-Moroccan convention managed with Cleiss [8][10]. Finally, if the deceased person owned property or bank accounts in France, contact a notarial office through Notaires de France to draw up the deed of heirship (acte de notoriété) and file the inheritance tax declaration within 6 months following a death occurring in metropolitan France [11].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Declaration of death at the town hall, death certificate, and administrative formalities — Service-Public.fr
2. [2]
   Death abroad and formalities for the international transport of mortal remains — Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères (France Diplomatie)
3. [3]
   Missions of the Fédération Nationale du Funéraire — Fédération Nationale du Funéraire (FNF)
4. [4]
   Online consular services and consular appointments for Moroccans residing abroad — Ministère des Affaires étrangères, de la Coopération africaine et des Marocains résidant à l'étranger
5. [5]
   Moroccan civil status guide: declaration and registration of death — Portail national de l'État civil (Ministère de l'Intérieur du Maroc)
6. [6]
   Issuance of copies and extracts of civil status records in Morocco — Portail national de l'État civil (alhalalmadania.ma)
7. [7]
   Civil status, death, and burial or transfer formalities in Morocco — Ambassade et consulats de France au Maroc
8. [8]
   General Social Security Convention between France and Morocco (death grants and survivors' pensions) — Centre des Liaisons Européennes et Internationales de Sécurité Sociale (Cleiss)
9. [9]
   Death of a relative: applying for the lump-sum death benefit (capital décès) from the CPAM — Assurance Maladie (Ameli.fr)
10. [10]
    Widowhood and bereavement: administrative formalities and survivor's pension (retraite de réversion) — L'Assurance Retraite
11. [11]
    Settlement of estates by a notary in France — Notaires de France