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

1. 1

   Medical Verification of Death and Issuance of the Medical Certificate

   • Death in a hospital or at home under medical supervision: When a death occurs in a public hospital, private clinic, or at home under clinical supervision, the attending physician licensed under the Ministry of Public Health and Population (Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population) verifies the death and issues the official medical certificate of death stating the full identity of the deceased person, the date and time, and the clinical cause of death [1] [5].
   • Death in a public place, without medical attendance, or under suspicious circumstances: If the death occurs suddenly without recent medical care, as a result of an accident, or under suspicious circumstances, no private physician may immediately issue a certificate for burial [5]. You must notify the territorially competent Justice of the Peace (juge de paix) under the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Ministère de la Justice et de la Sécurité Publique) as well as the Haitian National Police so that an official report of death (procès-verbal de constat de décès) can be drawn up and, where required, a forensic examination ordered at the Institute of Forensic Medicine prior to civil registration [5].
   • Documents to present to the physician or Justice of the Peace clerk: The family must provide the National Identification Card (CIN), Tax Identification Number (NIF), or passport of the deceased person together with the identification documents of the declaring relatives [1] [5].
2. 2

   Declaring the Death at the Civil Registry and Obtaining National Archives Extracts

   • Declaration before the competent Civil Status Officer: Under the provisions of the Haitian Civil Code supervised by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Ministère de la Justice et de la Sécurité Publique), the declaration of death must be made before the Civil Status Officer (officier de l'état civil) of the municipality or communal section where the death took place, ideally within the statutory period prior to burial [1] [5]. The declarant appears accompanied by two adult witnesses holding valid National Identification Cards, together with the medical certificate of death or the official report of the Justice of the Peace [1] [5].
   • If the statutory declaration deadline has passed: When a death could not be registered within the statutory period before the Civil Status Officer, the next of kin must petition the competent Court of First Instance (Tribunal de Première Instance) under the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Ministère de la Justice et de la Sécurité Publique) for a declaratory judgment of death (jugement déclaratif de décès) authorizing late transcription into the civil status registers [5].
   • Obtaining an official extract of the death certificate from the National Archives of Haiti: Once the record is drawn up by the Civil Status Officer and the registers are transferred, it is essential to request several official extracts of the death certificate (extrait d'acte de décès) issued by the National Archives of Haiti (Archives Nationales d'Haïti), which are required for banking procedures, pension claims, and estate settlement in Haiti or through a consular representation such as the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in Canada (Ambassade de la République d'Haïti au Canada) [1] [4].
3. 3

   Funeral Arrangements, Burial Permits, and International Repatriation

   • Licensed funeral home and municipal burial permit: Upon presentation of the death certificate issued by the Civil Status Officer and the medical certificate, the municipal administration (mairie) issues the burial permit or cremation authorization enabling the licensed funeral provider to arrange the service at a municipal or private cemetery [1] [5].
   • International repatriation of remains or ashes: If the deceased person is to be repatriated abroad or if family members reside outside Haiti, international transfer requires a sanitary certificate of non-contagion and hermetic coffin sealing issued by the competent services of the Ministry of Public Health and Population, a mortuary transit permit, and coordination with the relevant consular section, such as the civil status section of the Embassy of France in Haiti or the diplomatic mission of the destination country [4] [6].
   • Chain legalization of Haitian public documents: Because Haiti is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, any Haitian death certificate or public record intended for legal use abroad must undergo chain legalization: certification by the National Archives of Haiti or the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of First Instance, legalization by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, and final legalization by the foreign consulate or by a Haitian diplomatic mission such as the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in Washington (Ambassade de la République d'Haïti à Washington) [1] [4] [6].
4. 4

   Notifying ONA, Pension Funds, Banks, and Insurance Providers

   • Survivor pensions and funeral allowances before ONA: If your family member was an insured private-sector employee or pensioner, eligible survivors -an unremarried surviving spouse or recognized partner and minor or dependent children- must notify the National Old-Age Insurance Office (Office National d'Assurance-Vieillesse) to apply for the funeral allowance and survivor pension (réversibilité de pension) [2]. If the deceased person was a civil servant of the Haitian state, applications for a civil survivor pension are filed with the Civil Pension Directorate of the Ministry of Economy and Finance [2] [5].
   • Notifying commercial banks and insurance companies: You should promptly notify commercial banks operating in Haiti as well as insurance providers by submitting the death certificate and the official extract from the National Archives of Haiti to freeze automatic debits, identify estate accounts, and claim life insurance proceeds [1] [2].
5. 5

   Opening and Settling the Estate Before a Notary and Tax Compliance

   • Role of the public notary and the Court of First Instance: Under Haitian law, estate settlement opens at the place of the deceased person's last domicile before a commissioned public notary within the jurisdiction of the Court of First Instance supervised by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Ministère de la Justice et de la Sécurité Publique) [4] [5]. The notary checks for any existing will, draws up the affidavit of heirship (acte de notoriété) in the presence of witnesses based on civil status extracts from the National Archives of Haiti, and prepares the inventory of movable and immovable estate property [1] [4] [5].
   • Tax declarations before the General Directorate of Taxes (DGI): The heirs and the officiating notary must file estate tax declarations and pay registration and succession transfer duties before the General Directorate of Taxes (Direction Générale des Impôts), as well as complete land registry transcription formalities for real property [4] [5].
   • Coordinating with heirs residing abroad (consular power of attorney): When an heir resides outside Haiti and cannot travel in person to sign succession or banking instruments, they may execute a consular power of attorney (mandat consulaire) before a Haitian diplomatic mission, such as the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in Washington (Ambassade de la République d'Haïti à Washington) or the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in Canada (Ambassade de la République d'Haïti au Canada), appointing an attorney-in-fact in Haiti identified by their NIF tax number and National Identification Card [1] [3] [4].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Civil Status Records: Death Certificates and National Archives Searches — Ambassade de la République d'Haïti au Canada
2. [2]
   Social Security Benefits: Old-Age, Disability, and Survivor Pensions — Office National d'Assurance-Vieillesse (ONA)
3. [3]
   Consular Power of Attorney (Mandat) for Legal and Estate Procedures in Haiti — Ambassade de la République d'Haïti à Washington
4. [4]
   Legalization of Haitian Documents and Civil Status Procedures — Ambassade de la République d'Haïti à Washington
5. [5]
   Legal Services, Civil Status, and National Courts — Ministère de la Justice et de la Sécurité Publique (MJSP)
6. [6]
   Civil Status, Death Declarations, and Consular Coordination in Haiti — Ambassade de France en Haïti