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

1. 1

   Obtain the Medical Notification of Death

   Before civil registration or burial can take place, an authorized physician must establish the cause of death and issue the official medical death notification (Tabligh Wafah) under the supervision of the Ministry of Health [1].

   • Hospital or clinical deaths: When a death occurs in a public, military, or private hospital in Jordan, the attending physician completes the official medical death notification form directly within the facility and transmits the record electronically or in certified paper form for civil registration [1].
   • Deaths at home: If your family member died at home from natural causes, a licensed physician or the local directorate of the Ministry of Health must examine the deceased to verify the cause of death and issue the medical death report before the body is moved to a mortuary [1].
   • Unexplained, sudden, or accidental deaths: If the death was unexpected, occurred outside medical care without a recent attending doctor, or involves suspected trauma, you must notify the Public Security Directorate (police) immediately. The competent public prosecutor refers the case to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine under the Ministry of Health to perform a forensic examination and issue formal burial and registration clearance [1].
2. 2

   Register the Death with the Civil Status and Passports Department

   Once the medical notification is issued, the death must be officially recorded in the national civil registry maintained by the Civil Status and Passports Department [2].

   • Statutory reporting deadlines: Under Jordanian Civil Status Law No. 9 of 2001, a death occurring within Jordan must be reported to any office of the Civil Status and Passports Department within 30 days of the date of death (or within 90 days if the death occurred outside Jordan and is reported through a Jordanian diplomatic mission) [2]. If the statutory deadline is missed, registration requires an administrative or judicial late-registration procedure and payment of a statutory fine [2].
   • Required documentation: The declarant (an ascendant, descendant, spouse, adult relative present at death, or authorized legal representative) must submit the signed hospital or forensic medical death notification alongside the deceased's Jordanian National ID card (Smart ID) and the Family Book (Daftar Al-A'ila) so the civil status record can be updated [2].
   • Issuance of official death certificates: Upon registration, the Civil Status and Passports Department retains the cancelled national ID card, updates the Family Book, and issues official Arabic death certificates (Shahadat Wafah) as well as bilingual or English extracts upon request [2]. Digital verification and certificate requests are also accessible through the Sanad Digital Government Services Portal [3].
3. 3

   Arrange Burial, Funeral Transport, or International Repatriation

   Burial and mortuary arrangements in Jordan are governed by municipal cemetery regulations, religious customs, and public health standards enforced by the Ministry of Health [1].

   • Local burial permits: Present the medical notification or civil death registration receipt to the municipal cemetery authority (such as the Greater Amman Municipality or local municipal council) to obtain the burial permit and allocate a grave plot in an Islamic or Christian cemetery [1] [2]. Note that cremation facilities do not generally operate within Jordan, so local disposition takes place by burial [1].
   • Cross-border repatriation of remains: If the deceased was a foreign national or if the family wishes to repatriate the remains abroad, a licensed funeral and repatriation provider must obtain an embalming certificate, a non-communicable disease clearance, and a corpse transit permit from the Ministry of Health, where the deceased is placed in a hermetically sealed zinc-lined coffin [1].
   • Document authentication and legalization: Because Jordan is not a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, Jordanian death certificates and mortuary permits destined for use abroad must undergo chain legalization - certified first by the Civil Status and Passports Department and the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, and then legalized by the embassy or consulate of the destination country in Amman [2] [3].
4. 4

   Notify Social Security, Pension, Banking, and Tax Authorities

   After obtaining several certified copies of the death certificate, you should notify public institutions and financial providers to stop ongoing obligations and claim survivor entitlements.

   • Funeral grant and survivor pension claims: If the deceased was an insured contributor or pensioner under the Jordanian social insurance scheme, surviving family members should submit the death certificate and inheritance deed to the Social Security Corporation [4]. The Social Security Corporation pays a statutory lump-sum funeral expenses grant (currently 700 JOD) and disburses monthly survivor pensions to eligible beneficiaries (including the surviving spouse, eligible children, and dependent parents or siblings under the Social Security Law) [4].
   • Civil or military retirement pensions: If your family member was a public-sector civil servant or military retiree, file the death certificate with the Ministry of Finance Civil Service Consumer and Retirement Directorate through the Jordanian e-Government Portal to transfer survivor retirement allocations [3] [5].
   • Bank accounts, utilities, and tax clearance: Notify all Jordanian banks where the deceased held accounts; banks freeze sole-name accounts immediately upon notification of death until the court-issued succession deed and tax clearance are presented [5]. You should also check with the Income and Sales Tax Department via the Sanad Digital Government Services Portal to settle any final income tax returns [3].
5. 5

   Administer the Estate and Obtain the Succession Deed

   Transferring bank balances, real estate, vehicles, or company shares in Jordan requires a formal judicial succession deed establishing the legal heirs and their exact statutory shares.

   • Issuance of the Deed of Succession (Hujjat Hasr Irth): For Muslim estates (and where Sharia jurisdiction applies), heirs apply to the competent Sharia Court under the Supreme Judge Department to obtain the official Deed of Succession (Hujjat Hasr Irth) [6]. For Christian communities in Jordan, applications for the succession deed are filed before the respective Ecclesiastical Court of the deceased's denomination, or through the civil courts where applicable [5] [6].
   • Succession tax and real estate transfer: Jordan does not levy a general inheritance tax on estates, though small statutory court fees and real estate registration transfer fees apply when retitling land and apartments at the Department of Lands and Survey [5] [6].
   • Cross-border heirs and powers of attorney: If one or more heirs reside outside Jordan, they do not need to travel in person to attend court or bank release appointments. Instead, an heir abroad can execute a specific Power of Attorney (Wakalah Khasah) before a Jordanian embassy or consulate (or before a foreign notary, legalized through the diplomatic chain and registered with the Jordanian Ministry of Justice) authorizing a representative or lawyer in Jordan to obtain the succession deed from the Supreme Judge Department and distribute estate assets [5] [6].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Ministry of Health - Services and Public Health Directories — Ministry of Health of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
2. [2]
   Civil Status and Passports Department - Vital Registration Services — Civil Status and Passports Department (CSPD)
3. [3]
   Sanad Digital Government Services Portal — Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship
4. [4]
   Social Security Corporation - Survivor Pensions and Funeral Grants — Social Security Corporation (SSC)
5. [5]
   Jordanian e-Government Portal - Government Entities Directory — Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
6. [6]
   Supreme Judge Department - Sharia Courts and Inheritance Deeds — Supreme Judge Department