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

1. 1

   Medical Certification of Death in Morocco

   • Death in a hospital or private clinic: When the deceased dies in a public hospital (University Hospital Center - CHU, regional, or provincial hospital) or in a private clinic in Morocco, the attending hospital physician confirms the death and issues the official Medical Death Certificate (certificat médical de décès) stating the natural cause of death, accompanied by a medical certificate of non-contagion [1].
   • Death at home from natural causes: If the death occurs at the family residence, the family must contact the treating physician or notify the physician of the Municipal Hygiene Office (Bureau communal d'hygiène - BCH) of the competent municipality or district (arrondissement) [1]. The municipal physician visits the home to perform an external examination of the body, verify the absence of suspicious circumstances, and issue the Medical Death Certificate required for civil registration and the burial permit [1].
   • Sudden, suspicious, violent, or public-place death: In the event of an unexplained sudden death, accident, or death in a public place, do not move the body and immediately call the National Police (Sûreté nationale at 19 in urban areas) or the Royal Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie royale at 177 in rural areas), as well as Civil Protection (Protection civile at 15) [1]. The King's Prosecutor (Procureur du Roi) at the competent court orders an investigation and, where required, transfer to the medico-legal morgue for an autopsy; no burial or transport of the body may proceed without prior written clearance from the Public Prosecutor's Office [1].
2. 2

   Declaring the Death to the Moroccan Civil Registry and Obtaining Official Certificates

   • Competent Civil Registry Office and 30-day statutory deadline: Under Moroccan civil status legislation as detailed on the National Civil Registration Portal (Portail national de l'état civil - alhalalmadania.ma), every death occurring in Morocco must be declared to the civil status officer (officier de l'état civil) of the municipality or district where the death took place within a statutory period of thirty (30) days from the date of death [1]. Families may also initiate an electronic pre-declaration on the National Civil Registration Portal before submitting the physical supporting documents at the municipal registry office [1].
   • Authorized declarants and required documents: The declaration is filed by the deceased's relatives (according to the statutory order of priority set by the Civil Status Law) or an authorized agent, presenting the original Medical Death Certificate (and the King's Prosecutor clearance in medico-legal cases), the deceased's Electronic National Identity Card (Carte Nationale d'Identité Électronique - CNIE), family record book (livret de famille), or birth certificate, together with the declarant's identity document [1]. If the 30-day statutory deadline is exceeded, the death can only be registered pursuant to a declaratory judgment of death issued by the competent Court of First Instance [1].
   • Obtaining full copies and extracts of the death certificate: Upon recording the declaration, the civil registrar issues the burial permit along with initial extracts and full copies (copies intégrales) of the official Death Certificate [1][2]. Additional official copies can be requested at the municipal civil registry or ordered online through the document delivery service of the National Civil Registration Portal [2].
3. 3

   Funeral Arrangements, Burial Permits, and Transport or Repatriation Rules

   • Burial permit and local interment in Morocco: Upon presentation of the Medical Death Certificate and the municipal civil registry filing, the Municipal Hygiene Office and the civil registrar issue the burial permit (permis d'inhumer) authorizing ritual washing or funeral preparation and burial in the designated municipal or confessional cemetery [1]. Because cremation is not practiced in Morocco, families whose family member wished to be cremated must arrange international repatriation of the body to a country with an authorized crematorium [5][6].
   • Inter-city transport of human remains within Morocco: If burial is to take place in a municipality or province different from the place of death, a special corpse transport authorization must be obtained from the local administrative authorities (prefecture, province, or pachalik of the place of death) based on the medical non-contagion certificate, and transport must be carried out in a licensed mortuary ambulance [1].
   • International repatriation and consular or Apostille formalities: When the deceased is a foreign national or when human remains must cross an international border, an international funeral operator obtains the prefectoral or provincial exit or entry permit, the sanitary certificate confirming placement in a hermetically sealed casket, and the consular mortuary laissez-passer in accordance with the procedures of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates and the Consulat.ma portal [5][6]. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates operates a social assistance program that covers the cost of repatriating to Morocco the remains of Moroccan citizens who die abroad in vulnerable financial circumstances [5]. When a Moroccan Death Certificate must be used in another country, a Hague Apostille is issued free of charge by the competent provincial, prefectoral, or judicial authorities in Morocco [6].
4. 4

   Social Security (CNSS, CMR), Banking, and Insurance Notifications

   • Death grant from the National Social Security Fund (CNSS): If the deceased was an active private-sector employee or pensioner affiliated with the National Social Security Fund (Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale - CNSS), eligible beneficiaries (surviving spouse, descendants, or ascendants, or otherwise the person who paid the funeral expenses) may claim the lump-sum death grant (allocation au décès) [3]. The application must be filed at a branch of the National Social Security Fund or through the Maasancnss portal within a strict deadline of nine (9) months from the date of death [3].
   • Survivor pension (CNSS and public-sector pension funds): The surviving spouse and dependent children of a private-sector insured worker or pensioner may apply for a survivor pension (pension de survivants) from the National Social Security Fund within twelve (12) months of the death in order to receive retroactive payments from the day following the death (if filed after 12 months, retroactivity is capped at the 12 months preceding the claim, subject to a five-year limitation period) [4]. If your family member was a civil servant or public-sector employee, equivalent death benefit and survivor pension claims are filed with the Moroccan Pension Fund (Caisse Marocaine des Retraites - CMR) or the Collective Retirement Allowance Scheme (Régime Collectif d'Allocation de Retraite - RCAR).
   • Notifying banks and insurance companies in Morocco: Promptly submit an official extract or full copy of the Death Certificate to Moroccan banks where the deceased held accounts so that individual accounts are placed under protective freeze pending estate settlement, standing direct debits are stopped, and any life insurance policies or mortgage borrower death insurance policies (assurance décès-emprunteur) are triggered [2].
5. 5

   Opening and Settling the Estate (Adoulaire or Notarial Certificate of Inheritance)

   • Executing the Certificate of Inheritance (Iratha) before adouls or a notary: To settle an estate in Morocco under the Moroccan Family Code (Moudawana), the heirs have an official Certificate of Inheritance (Iratha or acte adoulaire d'hérédité) drawn up before two sworn adouls within the jurisdiction of the competent Family Court, presenting the Death Certificate, the heirs' identity cards and civil status certificates obtained via the National Civil Registration Portal, and the testimony of twelve witnesses confirming the family tree and legal heirs [1][2]. The instrument drawn up by the adouls is then homologated by the notarization judge at the Court of First Instance (for non-Muslim or foreign estates governed by foreign national law, a certificate of inheritance or deed of notoriety may be prepared with a modern notary) [6].
   • Unfreezing bank accounts, land registry transfer (ANCFCC), and succession taxation: Once the homologated Certificate of Inheritance and any partition agreement or joint power of attorney among co-heirs are presented, banks release and distribute the deceased's account balances. For registered real property in Morocco, the Certificate of Inheritance must be recorded on the property title deeds with the National Agency for Land Conservation, Cadastre and Cartography (ANCFCC), subject to statutory land registration fees (Moroccan tax law does not levy a general progressive inheritance tax on direct-line successions).
   • Cross-border coordination for heirs or assets located abroad: If one or more heirs reside outside Morocco, they may appoint a representative in Morocco by executing a special power of attorney (Wakala) either before the notarial and adoulaire services of a Moroccan consulate abroad via the Consulat.ma portal or before a foreign notary with a Hague Apostille [6].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Moroccan Civil Status Guide: Death Declaration and Registration — Portail national de l'état civil (Ministère de l'Intérieur du Maroc)
2. [2]
   Issuance of Full Copies and Extracts of Civil Status Certificates in Morocco — Portail national de l'état civil (alhalalmadania.ma)
3. [3]
   Death Grant (Allocation au décès): Eligibility, Deadlines, and Required Documents — Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale (CNSS)
4. [4]
   Survivor Pension (Pension de survivants): Beneficiaries, Procedures, and Deadlines — Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale (CNSS)
5. [5]
   Social Support Program and Repatriation of Deceased Remains — Ministère des Affaires étrangères, de la Coopération africaine et des Marocains résidant à l'étranger
6. [6]
   Official Portal of Consular and Civil Status Services of the Kingdom of Morocco — Ministère des Affaires étrangères, de la Coopération africaine et des Marocains résidant à l'étranger (Consulat.ma)