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

1. 1

   Medical certification of death and issuance of the medical certificate

   • Death in a healthcare facility: When your family member dies in a university hospital, a referral health centre, or an accredited private clinic in Mali, a licensed physician or authorised healthcare officer operating under the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Mali immediately performs the clinical examination and issues both the medical certificate of death and the administrative declaration slip [2] [5].
   • Death at home: If the death occurs at a private residence, the family must contact a sworn physician or the local community or referral health centre so that a practitioner can examine the body, confirm that the death resulted from natural causes, and issue the medical death certificate required for civil registration [1] [2].
   • Forensic or judicial intervention: In the event of a violent, suspicious, unexplained, or public-road death, the national police or gendarmerie and the public prosecutor at the Court of First Instance (Tribunal de Grande Instance) must be notified immediately [1]. No burial, embalming, or removal of the body may take place until the forensic examination or autopsy ordered by the judicial authorities is completed and the prosecutor issues the formal burial clearance [1].
2. 2

   Civil registration of death and obtaining official death certificates

   • Competent civil registry and statutory deadline: Under the Personal and Family Code published by the General Secretariat of the Government of Mali, every death occurring on national territory must be declared within a statutory period of thirty clear days at the main or secondary civil registration centre of the municipality (mairie) where the death took place [1].
   • Authorised declarants and required documents: The declaration is made by the surviving spouse, an ascendant, an adult descendant, a close relative, or any person holding accurate civil status information regarding the deceased person, in the presence of two adult witnesses [1]. You must present the medical certificate of death, the deceased person's birth certificate or biometric national identity card (or NINA card), and the identity documents of the declarant and witnesses [1].
   • Official extracts and late registration: The civil registrar records the death in the official municipal register and issues several certified full copies and extracts of the death certificate [1]. If the thirty-day legal deadline has expired, the municipality cannot register the death directly; the family must petition the competent civil court for a supplementary judgment of death registration (jugement supplétif d'acte de décès) [1]. Where the deceased person was a foreign or dual national, consular registration or transcription can also be completed with the relevant diplomatic mission, such as the Embassy of France in Mali [4].
3. 3

   Funeral arrangements, burial permits, and international repatriation

   • Burial permit and public health rules: Burial in a municipal or confessional cemetery requires a prior burial permit (permis d'inhumer) issued free of charge by the municipal civil registrar upon presentation of the medical certificate of death confirming the absence of forensic obstacles or epidemic risks [1] [2].
   • Local funeral practices: In Mali, burial is the standard funeral practice and is carried out in compliance with municipal hygiene standards supervised by the local commune and the technical services of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Mali [2] [5]. Because cremation facilities do not exist in Mali, any wish for cremation requires international repatriation of the remains [4].
   • Mortuary transport and international repatriation: If the remains of your family member must be repatriated abroad or transported into Mali from another country, the funeral operator must obtain an official mortuary transport authorisation from the Malian administrative and health authorities, a medical certificate of non-contagion, and an official coffin-sealing report confirming placement in a hermetically sealed zinc-lined coffin inspected by border health and police authorities [2] [4]. The competent consular mission, such as the Embassy of France in Mali, then issues the consular mortuary transit authorisation [4].
4. 4

   Social security, pension funds, banks, and insurance notifications

   • Salaried workers and private-sector pension claims: If the deceased person was a private-sector employee or contractual worker affiliated with the National Institute of Social Welfare (INPS), the surviving dependants must notify the institution to claim survivor benefits (widow or widower reversion pension and orphan allowances) [3]. The claim file requires the official death certificate, marriage certificate, birth certificates of dependent children, certificates of life and non-remarriage, and the court certificate of inheritance [3].
   • Civil servants and mandatory health insurance: Where the deceased person was a state or local government civil servant, claims for the lump-sum death grant (capital décès) and survivor pension are filed with the Malian Social Security Fund (CMSS), while updates to Mandatory Health Insurance (AMO) coverage for surviving family members are coordinated with the National Health Insurance Fund (CANAM) under the framework documented with the National Institute of Social Welfare (INPS) [3].
   • Banks and insurance policies: Heirs must submit an official copy of the death certificate to all Malian banks where the deceased person held individual accounts or credit facilities so that individual accounts are frozen pending estate settlement, and notify life or credit insurance companies to trigger policy payouts [1] [3].
5. 5

   Opening and settling the estate in Mali

   • Applicable succession law and legal pluralism: Pursuant to Law No. 2011-087 of 30 December 2011 enacting the Personal and Family Code published by the General Secretariat of the Government of Mali, the estate opens at the deceased person's last permanent domicile [1]. Malian law recognises legal pluralism in succession, allowing intestate inheritance to be governed either by the written statutory rules of the Code, customary rules, or religious succession rules applicable to the deceased person, unless a valid will specifies otherwise [1].
   • Certificate of inheritance and notarial administration: To establish legal standing as heirs, the family petitions the civil court of the place where the succession opened to obtain a judgment of inheritance (jugement d'hérédité) following a family council meeting or customary inquiry, or instructs a Malian civil-law notary whenever the estate includes registered real estate (titres fonciers) or a formal will [1].
   • Inheritance tax deadlines and cross-border coordination: Heirs must file the estate tax declaration with the Directorate General of Taxes (Direction Générale des Impôts) within six months of a death occurring in Mali (or within twelve months if the death occurred abroad) to pay registration and transfer duties before any division or property title transfer [1]. Where an heir resides abroad or assets are located outside Mali, civil status records and the judgment of inheritance must be legalised by the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the relevant embassy or consulate [1] [4].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Consolidated Codes and Law No. 2011-087 enacting the Personal and Family Code — Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement du Mali (SGG)
2. [2]
   Official Health Documentation and National Public Health Policies — Ministère de la Santé et du Développement Social du Mali
3. [3]
   The Malian Social Security System (INPS, CMSS, CANAM - Survivors and Death Benefits) — Centre des Liaisons Européennes et Internationales de Sécurité Sociale (CLEISS)
4. [4]
   Death Registration, Transcription, and International Repatriation in Mali — Ambassade de France au Mali
5. [5]
   Mali: Country Health Profile and World Health Organization Coordination — Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS)