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

1. 1

   Medical certification of death and issuance of the medical certificate

   • Death in a healthcare facility: When a death occurs in a national hospital (such as the National Hospital of Niamey or the General Referral Hospital), a regional hospital, a district hospital, or an integrated health centre (CSI) in Niger, a licensed physician or sworn healthcare officer immediately performs the clinical examination and issues the medical certificate of death together with the health notification in accordance with public health procedures coordinated with the World Health Organization [1] [5].
   • Death at home: If your family member passes away at home, the family must contact the competent local integrated health centre or municipal medical service so that a practitioner can examine the body, confirm that the death resulted from natural causes, and issue the medical death attestation required for civil registration [1] [5].
   • 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) operating under the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of Niger must be notified immediately [4]. No burial or removal of the body may take place before the forensic examination is completed and the prosecutor issues the formal burial clearance [4].
2. 2

   Civil registration of death with the competent civil registrar

   • Civil registration centres and statutory deadlines: In accordance with the legislation governing civil registration in Niger (Law No. 2019-29), every death occurring on national territory must be declared at the main or secondary civil registration centre of the municipality (mairie or communal district) where the death took place within the prescribed statutory period [1] [4].
   • Authorised declarants and required documents: The declaration is made by the surviving spouse, an ascendant, an adult descendant, a close relative, or any person who was present at the death, upon presentation of the medical certificate of death, the birth certificate or national identity card of the deceased person, and the identity documents of the declarant and witnesses [1] [2].
   • Official death certificate and late registration judgment: The civil registrar records the death in the official register and issues certified full copies and extracts of the death certificate [1]. Where a death was not declared within the statutory deadline, registration requires a declaratory or supplementary judgment of death issued by the competent court operating under the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of Niger [4]. Where the death involves a Nigerien national abroad or requires consular formalities, coordination takes place with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Nigeriens Abroad [2].
3. 3

   Funeral arrangements, burial permits, and international repatriation

   • Burial permit and municipal public health rules: Burial in a municipal or community cemetery in Niger requires a prior burial permit (permis d'inhumer) issued by the municipal authority upon presentation of the medical certificate of death confirming the absence of forensic obstacles or epidemic risks [1] [5].
   • Local funeral practices: In Niger, burial is the general funeral practice and is carried out promptly in compliance with public hygiene rules and local religious customs [5]. Because cremation is not practised on national territory due to the absence of crematoria, any wish for cremation requires international repatriation of the remains [2].
   • Mortuary transport and international repatriation: If the remains of your family member must be transported to another country or repatriated to Niger from abroad, the family or funeral operator must obtain an administrative mortuary transport permit, a medical certificate of non-contagion, and an official coffin-sealing report confirming placement in a hermetically sealed coffin under the supervision of border health and police services, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Nigeriens Abroad and the relevant consulate [2] [5].
4. 4

   Social security (CNSS), Ministry of Finance, bank, and insurance notifications

   • Private-sector salaried workers (CNSS): If the deceased person was a salaried employee or pensioner affiliated with the National Social Security Fund of Niger (CNSS), the surviving dependants must report the death to claim survivor pensions (for the surviving spouse and dependent orphans) or a survivor allowance together with the funeral-expense grant [3].
   • Civil servants and state employees: Where your family member was a civil servant or retired state official, the claim file for the lump-sum death grant (capital décès) and survivor pension is submitted to the competent departments of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of the Niger [1]. The official claim dossier requires the death certificate, the certificate of inheritance supported by the family council minutes, the marriage certificate, a certificate of non-divorce and non-remarriage, the birth certificates of dependent orphans, and school attendance or life certificates [1].
   • Banks and insurance companies: Heirs must notify commercial banks in Niger where the deceased person held accounts so that individual balances are frozen pending production of the certificate of inheritance, and notify insurance companies to claim any life or credit insurance benefits [1] [4].
5. 5

   Opening and settling the estate in Niger

   • Family council and certificate of inheritance: In Niger, settling the estate begins with convening the family council (conseil de famille), which draws up official minutes identifying all legal heirs and appointing the family representative or estate administrator; this record is required to obtain the official certificate of inheritance (certificat d'hérédité) approved by the judicial authority under the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of Niger [1] [4].
   • Legal pluralism and role of the notary: Depending on the personal status of the deceased person, intestate succession is governed by customary law, Islamic succession rules, or written civil law under the supervision of the competent civil court [4]. A Nigerien civil-law notary must be instructed whenever the estate includes registered real estate (titres fonciers or registered transfer deeds) or a formal will [4].
   • Estate tax formalities and cross-border coordination: Heirs must complete the required tax declarations and register property transfers with the tax administration operating under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of the Niger [1]. If an heir resides outside Niger or if assets are located abroad, the death certificate and certificate of inheritance must be legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Nigeriens Abroad and the relevant diplomatic mission [2] [4].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Administrative Procedures: Application File for Death Grants and Survivor Pensions — Ministère des Finances de la République du Niger
2. [2]
   User Services, Consular Formalities, and Document Legalisation Procedures — Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, de la Coopération et des Nigériens à l'Extérieur
3. [3]
   The Nigerien Social Security System (CNSS - Survivor Pensions and Benefits) — Centre des Liaisons Européennes et Internationales de Sécurité Sociale (CLEISS)
4. [4]
   Official Portal of the Ministry of Justice and Courts of the Republic of the Niger — Ministère de la Justice et des Droits de l'Homme du Niger
5. [5]
   Niger: Country Health Profile and World Health Organization Coordination — Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS)