What to Do When a French Citizen or Resident Dies in Morocco: 5-Step Official Checklist

1. 1

   Obtain the Medical Death Certificate in Morocco and check repatriation assistance coverage

   The first priority is securing the medical documentation in Morocco and verifying whether an assistance insurer can coordinate the funeral arrangements [1][2]:

   • Medical Death Certificate and judicial clearance: Obtain the medical death certificate (certificat médical de décès) issued by the physician at the hospital or clinic in Morocco (or by the municipal health office physician - bureau communal d'hygiène - if the death occurred at home or in a hotel), accompanied by a medical certificate of non-contagion and non-epidemic (certificat médical de non-contagion et de non-épidémie) [1][2][4]. In the event of a sudden, suspicious, or public-space death, prior authorization from the police and the King's Prosecutor (Procureur du Roi) is mandatory before any removal of the body, burial, or transport [2].
   • Repatriation and funeral assistance coverage: Before signing a contract directly with a funeral company, check immediately whether the deceased person held travel insurance, assistance coverage linked to a bank card, supplementary health insurance (mutuelle), or a funeral pre-planning policy (contrat de prévoyance obsèques) covering international repatriation [1][3]. If active coverage exists, contact the insurer's 24/7 assistance platform first so they can appoint and fund the international funeral operator [1][3].
2. 2

   Declare the death at the Moroccan municipal Civil Registry Office (Bureau d'état civil)

   Under Moroccan civil status law, any death occurring in Morocco must be declared at the Civil Registry Office (Bureau d'état civil) of the municipality or district (commune or arrondissement) where the death occurred within a statutory period of 30 days (and in practice immediately in order to obtain the burial permit or transport authorizations; official guidance and online pre-declaration information are available via the Portail officiel des services consulaires et d'état civil (Maroc) - Official Portal of Consular and Civil Status Services of Morocco) [2][4].

   • Who declares the death and required documents: A family member or the authorized funeral director submits the administrative section of the medical death certificate, the deceased person's French passport (as well as their Moroccan Electronic National Identity Card - Carte Nationale d'Identité Électronique or CNIE - in cases of French-Moroccan dual nationality), and the declarant's identification [2][4].
   • Rules for French-Moroccan dual nationals: If the deceased person held solely French nationality, the death may be declared both with the Moroccan municipality and directly with the French Consulate General [1][2]. If the deceased also held Moroccan nationality, local authorities treat them as a Moroccan citizen on Moroccan soil: registration with the Moroccan municipal civil registry and local administrative authorizations are mandatory for local burial or departure of the remains from Morocco [2][4].
3. 3

   Declare or transcribe the death certificate with the French consular authorities

   Contact the French Consulate General territorially competent for the place of death in Morocco, whose contact details are listed on the portal of the Ambassade de France au Maroc (Embassy of France in Morocco, main switchboard in Rabat +212 5 37 68 97 00) [2]:

   • Consular districts in Morocco and 24/7 support: The Consulat général de France à Casablanca (Consulate General of France in Casablanca) can be reached at +212 5 20 48 00 58 (after-hours emergency duty line +212 6 61 17 83 58, email [email protected]), alongside the French Consulates General in Rabat (+212 5 20 50 31 34), Marrakech (+212 5 25 29 10 19), Tangier (+212 5 31 12 12 12), Agadir (+212 5 25 29 10 29), and Fes [2]. From France, in the event of a major emergency outside opening hours, you can also contact the 24/7 Centre de crise et de soutien (Crisis and Support Centre - CDCS) of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs at +33 1 53 59 11 10 [1][3].
   • Direct consular declaration versus postal transcription: The family or authorized funeral company can declare the death directly at the competent French Consulate General (établissement d'un acte de décès consulaire) by providing the medical death certificate, proof of the deceased person's French nationality (passport, national identity card, or French birth certificate), and proof of their last address [1][2]. If the death was registered solely with the Moroccan municipal Bureau d'état civil without a direct consular declaration, an application for transcription into the French civil registers must be sent by post to the Service central d'état civil (Central Civil Status Service - SCEC, Département Transcription, 11 rue de la Maison Blanche, 44941 Nantes Cedex 9, France) [1][2][3]. The French consular death certificate automatically updates the deceased's French birth record and the national INSEE register [1].
4. 4

   Arrange repatriation to France (laissez-passer mortuaire) or local burial in Morocco

   You may appoint an international funeral operator either in Morocco (by consulting the informational list published by the French Consulate General) or in France (working with a local correspondent in Morocco) [1][2][3]. To locate licensed funeral operators in France, you can consult the Fédération Nationale du Funéraire (National Funeral Federation - FNF, tel. +33 1 55 43 30 00, email [email protected]) [5] or the Fédération Française des Pompes Funèbres (French Federation of Funeral Directors - FFPF, tel. +33 1 46 60 24 24) [6]. Clarvia mentions these professional federations for guidance only and does not endorse, recommend, or rank individual funeral providers.

   • Repatriation of the body to France: Because cremation is not practiced in Morocco, repatriating the body in a hermetically sealed coffin to France is required if the deceased wished to be cremated [2]. The funeral operator completes the technical formalities with the authorities of both countries: obtaining transit authorization from the Moroccan prefectural or provincial authorities, placing the body in a sealed metal-lined hermetic coffin, obtaining the laissez-passer mortuaire (autorisation consulaire de transport de corps) from the French Consulate General in Morocco upon presentation of the death certificate and sanitary certificates, and transmitting the file to the town hall (mairie) of the receiving municipality in France to authorize burial or cremation [1][2][3].
   • Local burial in Morocco: The local funeral company requests the burial permit (permis d'inhumer) from the municipal health office (bureau communal d'hygiène) and Moroccan municipal authorities upon presentation of the medical certificate and the Moroccan death certificate [4].
5. 5

   Complete post-death administrative formalities in France (CPAM, pensions, banks, and taxes)

   Using full copies (copies intégrales) of the French consular death certificate (or, pending transcription, the Moroccan death certificate accompanied by a sworn translation), initiate the post-death procedures in France [1]:

   • Health insurance and pension funds: Report the death to the Assurance Maladie (French Health Insurance / CPAM, tel. 3646 from France or via the ameli account) to close the file, return the carte Vitale, and check eligibility for a lump-sum death benefit (capital décès) [8]. Notify the Assurance Retraite (National Old-Age Insurance Fund, tel. 3960 from France or +33 9 71 10 39 60 from abroad) as well as supplementary pension schemes (such as Agirc-Arrco); if there is a surviving spouse or eligible former spouse, a single online application can be used to claim a survivor's pension (pension de réversion) across both basic and supplementary schemes [7].
   • Bank accounts in France: Send the death certificate to the deceased person's French banks. The bank freezes individual accounts, but French law allows funeral expenses to be debited directly from the deceased's accounts upon presentation of the funeral company's invoice, up to the statutory cap (adjusted annually, approximately EUR 5,910) [1].
   • Notarial estate settlement and 12-month tax deadline: Contact a notary (notaire) in France to draw up the certificate of inheritance (acte de notoriété) and settle the estate [1]. Under Article 641 of the French General Tax Code (Code général des impôts), when a death occurs outside France (in Morocco), heirs have 12 months from the date of death (instead of 6 months for a death in metropolitan France) to file the inheritance tax return (déclaration de succession) with the Direction générale des Finances publiques (Directorate General of Public Finances) [9].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Death of a Relative Abroad: Formalities, Repatriation, and Death Certificate Transcription — Direction de l'information légale et administrative (Service-Public.fr)
2. [2]
   France in Morocco - Civil Status, Death Declaration, Transcription, and Consulates General — Ambassade de France au Maroc
3. [3]
   Death Abroad, Crisis and Support Centre (CDCS), and Central Civil Status Service (SCEC) — Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères (France Diplomatie)
4. [4]
   Consular and Civil Status Services of the Kingdom of Morocco - Death Declaration — Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, de la Coopération Africaine et des Marocains Résidant à l'Étranger (consulat.ma)
5. [5]
   National Funeral Federation (Fédération Nationale du Funéraire - FNF) - Contact and Family Guidance — Fédération Nationale du Funéraire
6. [6]
   French Federation of Funeral Directors (Fédération Française des Pompes Funèbres - FFPF) - Directory and Contact — Fédération Française des Pompes Funèbres
7. [7]
   Reporting the Death of a Relative and Applying for a Survivor's Pension (Pension de réversion) — L'Assurance Retraite
8. [8]
   Reporting the Death of a Relative and Applying for the Lump-Sum Death Benefit (Capital décès) — L'Assurance Maladie (ameli.fr)
9. [9]
   Inheritance Tax Return: Filing Deadlines (6 Months in France, 12 Months Outside France - Article 641 CGI) — Direction générale des Finances publiques (impots.gouv.fr)