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

1. 1

   Obtain Medical Certification of the Cause of Death

   • Hospital or health center deaths: When your family member dies in a tertiary hospital in Male' (such as Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, ADK Hospital, or Tree Top Hospital), a regional or atoll hospital, or an island health center regulated by the Ministry of Health, the attending physician examines the body and issues the official Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (commonly referred to in Dhivehi as the Maru Form) [1, 2]. You should present the deceased's Maldivian National Identity Card (or passport for a foreign national) so that personal particulars match civil registry records [2, 3].
   • Deaths at home or on outer islands: If the death occurs at a private residence, aboard a vessel, or on an island or resort outside a hospital setting, you must immediately notify the nearest health facility or island health center and the local Island Council or City Council so a licensed medical officer can attend, verify the death, and issue the medical certification [1, 2].
   • Sudden, unexplained, or unnatural deaths: If the death is sudden, accidental, suspicious, or occurs without recent medical attendance, the Maldives Police Service must be notified immediately before the body is moved [2]. Police officers and medical examiners regulated under the Ministry of Health conduct an investigation and forensic or medico-legal assessment before releasing the body and issuing the medical death form required for burial and civil registration [1, 2].
2. 2

   Register the Death and Obtain Official Death Certificates

   • Local council notification and statutory registration window: Under the Births and Deaths Registration Act of the Maldives, every death must be reported to the relevant local council - the Male' City Council (or other City Council) or the respective Island Council where the death occurred - using the hospital-issued Medical Certificate of Cause of Death and the deceased's National Identity Card [1, 3]. While immediate reporting is required prior to burial clearance, formal civil registration and certificate applications are typically lodged within seven days of the death [1].
   • Digital application via oneGov and the Department of National Registration: Official Death Certificates are requested online through the central government service portal oneGov (using an eFaas digital identity login) or through the local council and the Department of National Registration [1, 3] [3]. The application requires the completed Death Registration Form, the medical death notification form stamped by the hospital or health center, and the identity details of both the deceased and the applicant [1].
   • Verification of civil status and national identity records: Once the local council verifies the death record, the central civil database maintained by the Department of National Registration is updated to cancel the deceased's National Identity Card, and certified copies of the Death Certificate (in Dhivehi and English where required for legal or cross-border use) are issued within approximately three working days [1, 3].
3. 3

   Arrange Burial, Mortuary Services, or International Repatriation

   • Islamic burial and municipal cemetery coordination: For Maldivian citizens and Muslim residents, funeral rites (Janaaza), ritual washing (Ghusl), shrouding (Kafan), funeral prayer, and burial at designated municipal cemeteries (such as the Aasaharaa cemetery complex in Male' or the local island cemetery) are coordinated directly through the City Council or Island Council Funeral Services unit immediately upon presentation of the stamped medical death form [1, 2]. Cremation facilities are not operated domestically in the Maldives.
   • Resort, foreign national, or international repatriation procedures: When a foreign national dies in the Maldives or when a family wishes to repatriate remains abroad for burial or cremation, the hospital mortuary, the Ministry of Health, the Maldives Police Service, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinate the mortuary preservation, embalming or zinc-lined coffin sealing, infection-free certificate, and no-objection clearance for air cargo export [2].
   • Consular legalization and authentication of documents: Because the Maldives is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, Maldivian Death Certificates, medical cause-of-death reports, and court documents intended for use in a foreign jurisdiction must be issued or translated in English and authenticated through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Male', followed by consular legalization at the relevant foreign embassy or high commission [1, 3].
4. 4

   Notify Pension, Social Protection, Tax, and Banking Institutions

   • Maldives Pension Administration Office notification and RSA distribution: You should notify the Maldives Pension Administration Office promptly if the deceased contributed to the Maldives Retirement Pension Scheme (MRPS) or received the Basic Pension [4]. When an MRPS member dies before or during retirement, the accumulated balance in their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) is payable to their legal heirs; claimants submit the Death Certificate, the Family Court inheritance judgment, and heir identity documents via the pension portal or client services counter [4].
   • National Social Protection Agency and Aasandha health coverage: Contact the National Social Protection Agency to cease any ongoing disability allowance, single-parent support, or medical welfare benefits and to check whether surviving dependents qualify for statutory social protection allowances [5]. The deceased's public health insurance enrollment with Aasandha Company is terminated automatically once the Department of National Registration updates the civil death database [3, 5].
   • Banks, employers, and the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority: Present certified copies of the Death Certificate to Maldivian commercial banks (such as Bank of Maldives or Maldives Islamic Bank) to freeze individual accounts and obtain date-of-death balance statements for the court estate inventory. If the deceased owned a registered business, rental property, or held tax obligations, the legal representative should also notify the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) and settle any final employer wages or civil service benefits.
5. 5

   Administer the Estate and Complete Family Court Succession (*Varoosaa*)

   • Filing an inheritance (Tharika / Varoosaa) case at the Family Court: In the Maldives, succession and estate distribution are governed by Islamic Sharia principles and administered by the Family Court of the Maldives in Male' or the respective Island Magistrate Court [6]. The family or an heir must file a formal petition to confirm legal heirs (Varoosaa Sabithukurun) and administer the estate (Tharika), attaching the official Death Certificate, National Identity Cards of all potential heirs, marriage or birth certificates, and a schedule of known assets and liabilities [1, 6].
   • Settlement of debts, wills (Wasiyyath), and statutory shares: Under Maldivian succession rules, funeral expenses and verified debts of the deceased (including housing loans, unpaid taxes, or personal liabilities) are settled first from the gross estate, followed by any valid bequest (Wasiyyath, which may not exceed one-third of the net estate to non-heirs without the consent of legal heirs), before the Family Court of the Maldives calculates and orders the distribution of the remaining estate and Maldives Pension Administration Office balances among the Quranic heirs [4, 6].
   • Property transfers and cross-border heirs: Once the court issues the final inheritance decree, heirs present the judgment to banks, the Maldives Pension Administration Office, the Ministry of Housing/Land Registry, or transport authorities to transfer land plots, vessels, and bank funds into the heirs' names [4, 6]. If an heir resides outside the Maldives or if assets are held abroad, the heir may appoint a representative via a power of attorney recognized by the court, and foreign-used decrees must undergo consular legalization [6].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Death Certificate Request - Service Guidelines — oneGov - Government of Maldives
2. [2]
   Ministry of Health - Public Health and Medical Services — Ministry of Health, Republic of Maldives
3. [3]
   Department of National Registration - Official Portal — Department of National Registration, Republic of Maldives
4. [4]
   Client Services & Maldives Retirement Pension Scheme (MRPS) — Maldives Pension Administration Office
5. [5]
   National Social Protection Agency - Welfare and Disability Programs — National Social Protection Agency (NSPA)
6. [6]
   Family Court of the Maldives - Official Portal — Family Court of the Maldives