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

1. 1

   Obtaining the Medical Certificate of Death or Forensic Report

   • Death in a public hospital, social security facility, or private clinic: When a death occurs from natural causes inside a hospital within the network of the Ministry of Health of Honduras (Secretaría de Salud de Honduras - SESAL), a social security medical facility, or a private clinic, the attending or on-duty physician issues the official medical certificate of death (constancia médica de defunción) on the authorised statistical and civil registry form [1] [2].
   • Natural death at home: If the deceased person was receiving home medical care for a diagnosed chronic illness, the licensed attending physician may issue the medical death certificate; if there was no recent medical attendance at home, family members must notify the municipal public health centre or local authorities for official verification [1] [2].
   • Violent, accidental, sudden, or clinically undetermined death: If the death occurs in a public place, in a traffic accident, with signs of violence, or without a prior medical diagnosis, the Public Prosecutor's Office (Ministerio Público - MP) and the Directorate General of Forensic Medicine (Dirección General de Medicina Forense) must intervene to conduct the official removal of the body, perform the medico-legal autopsy at the judicial morgue, and issue the forensic death certificate required for civil registration [1] [5].
2. 2

   Registering the Death with the National Registry of Persons (RNP)

   • Competent authority and free registration: Every death occurring in Honduran territory must be registered with the Municipal Civil Registry of the municipality where the death occurred or where the deceased person had their last residence, an office under the National Registry of Persons (Registro Nacional de las Personas - RNP), or at the auxiliary registry desks located in major public hospitals [1]. Initial registration within the statutory period is free of charge [1].
   • Statutory registration deadlines: Under the National Registry of Persons Law (Decree 62-2004), there is an ordinary deadline of up to six months to register a death without late penalties or administrative omission proceedings; however, in practice registration must be completed immediately (within the first 24 to 48 hours) to obtain burial or cremation permits and claim urgent benefits [1].
   • Documentary requirements and obtaining the Death Certificate: The declarant must present the original medical or forensic certificate of death, the National Identification Document (Documento Nacional de Identificación - DNI) of the deceased person, the valid DNI of the declarant, and, where required by the municipal office, the details or presence of two qualified witnesses [1]. Once the entry is recorded, it is advisable to request several certified copies of the Death Record (Certificación de Acta de Defunción) or check its availability through the official RNP platform for banking, pension, and inheritance procedures [1].
3. 3

   Funeral Services, Burial or Cremation Health Permits, and International Repatriation

   • Burial in municipal or private cemeteries: With the medical death certificate and proof of registration before the National Registry of Persons, an authorised funeral home obtains the burial permit from the relevant Municipality (Municipal Justice Department or Cemetery Administration) or private cemetery, complying with the sanitary rules of the Ministry of Health of Honduras (generally requiring burial between 24 and 36 hours after death, unless embalming is performed) [1] [2].
   • Health and legal requirements for cremation: To opt for cremation, written authorisation from the closest surviving family member, a medical certificate of natural death, and a sanitary permit are required; if the Directorate General of Forensic Medicine of the Public Prosecutor's Office intervened due to an accidental or violent death, express authorisation from the competent prosecutor confirming that no further forensic examinations are required is mandatory [2] [5].
   • Authentication, Hague Apostille, and international repatriation: If the body or ashes must be transferred outside Honduras, or if civil registry certificates must be sent to heirs abroad, the certificate issued by the National Registry of Persons must first be authenticated by the General Secretariat of the RNP and subsequently apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (SRECI) using the TGR-1 payment receipt from the Ministry of Finance and the Single Procedures Portal of the Directorate of Results-Based Management (Dirección de Gestión por Resultados - DIGER), alongside the embalming certificate and international sanitary transit permit issued by the health authority [2] [4].
4. 4

   Notifying Social Security (IHSS), Pension Institutes, Banks, and Insurers

   • Funeral grant and survivor pension at the IHSS: If the deceased person was an active contributor, retiree, or pensioner of the Honduran Social Security Institute (Instituto Hondureño de Seguridad Social - IHSS), family members or the person who paid the funeral expenses may claim the Funeral Grant (Ayuda de Funeral) within one year from the date of death by submitting the original RNP Death Certificate and the original invoice meeting SAR tax requirements [3]. In addition, the surviving spouse or domestic partner, minor or disabled children, and dependent parents may apply for a widowhood, orphanhood, or ascendant pension under the Disability, Old Age, and Death (IVM) regime [3].
   • Public pension institutes and private pension funds: When your family member contributed to a public or professional pension institute (such as INJUPEMP for executive branch employees, INPREMA for teachers, IPM, or INJUPEM) or to the Private Contributions Regime (RAP), the death should be reported to claim the funeral allowance, group life insurance, and applicable survivor pensions [3].
   • Bank accounts and private insurance policies: Beneficiaries expressly designated on savings accounts, term deposits, or life insurance policies at institutions supervised by the National Commission of Banks and Insurance (CNBS) may claim funds directly by presenting the Death Certificate and their DNI; accounts without a registered beneficiary remain frozen until a declaration of heirs is presented [3] [5].
5. 5

   Estate Administration and Succession Proceedings in Honduras

   • Testate or intestate succession (notarial or judicial route): Under the Civil Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, and the Notarial Code of Honduras, a Declaration of Heirs (Declaratoria de Herederos, whether intestate or executing a will) may be processed extrajudicially before a Notary authorised by the Comptroller of the Notariat provided there is full agreement among the heirs and no minors have conflicting interests, or judicially before the competent Civil District Court (Juzgado de Letras de lo Civil) of the Judicial Branch of Honduras (Poder Judicial de Honduras) [5].
   • Prosecutor's opinion, publication of edicts, and final resolution: Both in court and before a notary, the procedure requires proving the death and kinship through certificates from the National Registry of Persons, obtaining the mandatory opinion of the Public Prosecutor's Office, and publishing the notice or edict of the declaration in a newspaper of national circulation before the resolution becomes final [1] [5].
   • Registration of title transfer with the Property Institute (IP) and foreign assets: Once the declaration of heirs is final and the statutory notice is published, the court judgment or public deed of transfer of ownership (tradición de dominio) is registered with the Real Estate and Commercial Registry of the Property Institute (Instituto de la Propiedad - IP) upon payment of applicable registration fees and municipal taxes; if heirs reside abroad, their powers of attorney must be executed before a Honduran consulate or before a foreign notary with a Hague Apostille [4] [5].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Institutional Portal of the National Registry of Persons (RNP) — Registro Nacional de las Personas de Honduras
2. [2]
   Institutional Information of the Ministry of Health of Honduras (SESAL) — Secretaría de Salud de Honduras
3. [3]
   Services and Benefits Portal of the Honduran Social Security Institute (IHSS) — Instituto Hondureño de Seguridad Social
4. [4]
   Single Procedures Portal - Legalisation and Apostille Before Foreign Affairs — Dirección de Gestión por Resultados (DIGER) - Gobierno de Honduras
5. [5]
   Electronic Judicial Documentation and Information Centre (CEDIJ) - Constitutional and Civil Framework — Poder Judicial de Honduras