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

1. 1

   Obtain Medical Certification of Death or Police Forensic Clearance

   • Hospital or clinical deaths: When a death occurs in a public teaching hospital, state hospital, or licensed private clinic operating under the Federal Ministry of Health and supported by the World Health Organization Country Office for Sudan [3] [4], the attending physician examines the deceased and issues the official Medical Notification of Death (Ikhbar Wafah) and Medical Certificate of Cause of Death [2] [3].
   • Deaths at home from natural causes: If your family member died at home in an urban quarter or rural locality, obtain an administrative attestation from the local Popular Committee (Lajna Sha'biya) or locality administrator confirming the identity and residence of the deceased, and bring a government medical officer from the nearest public health centre to verify natural causes and issue the medical death notification [2] [5].
   • Unexpected, accidental, or unexplained deaths: Under Sudan's Criminal Procedure Act 1991, any sudden, unnatural, violent, or unattended death must be reported immediately to the Sudan Police Force before the body is moved [6]. The police open an investigation file, refer the body to a forensic mortuary (Mashraha) for a medico-legal autopsy ordered by the Public Prosecution, and issue a formal police burial and release permit once forensic clearance is complete [6].
2. 2

   Register the Death with the Civil Registry Authority of Sudan

   • Competent authority and statutory deadline: Under the Sudanese Civil Registry Act 2011, all deaths occurring in Sudan must be registered with the Civil Registry Authority of Sudan (under the Ministry of Interior) [2] [5]. Statutory rules require reporting a death within 15 days of occurrence at the local civil registry office (with administrative late-registration procedures available through a locality committee or court attestation where conflict or displacement delayed filing) [2] [5].
   • Required documents for registration: An adult surviving relative, spouse, or authorized representative must present: (a) the hospital Medical Notification of Death or police prosecutor clearance, (b) the deceased's Sudanese National Number (Al-Raqam Al-Watani) or National Identity Card and passport, and (c) the informant's valid National Identity Card and two witnesses where required for community deaths [2] [5].
   • Obtaining official Death Certificates: Upon registration, the Civil Registry Authority of Sudan records the death against the deceased's National Number in the central civil register and issues the official Death Certificate (Shahadat Wafah) [2]. It is advisable to request several certified copies immediately, as courts, pension funds, and commercial banks require original stamped certificates [2] [5].
3. 3

   Arrange Burial, Cremation, or International Repatriation

   • Local burial procedures: Present the Medical Notification of Death or civil registration certificate (and police release order, if applicable) to the municipal public health office and cemetery administration to obtain a local burial permit [3] [6]. In accordance with local custom and public health practice in Sudan, interment typically takes place within 24 hours of death [6]. Dedicated cremation facilities are generally unavailable in Sudan, and families seeking cremation usually arrange international transport of remains [6].
   • Mortuary preparation and international repatriation: If your family member was a foreign national or if the remains must be repatriated abroad, the body must be prepared and embalmed at an authorized hospital mortuary [6]. The funeral representative must obtain: (a) an official Death Certificate from the Civil Registry Authority of Sudan [2], (b) an Embalming Certificate and a Non-Contagious Disease and Public Health Transit Permit from the Federal Ministry of Health [3] [4], (c) a coffin-sealing certificate inspected by port health and customs officials (such as at Port Sudan New International Airport or Khartoum), and (d) a consular mortuary transit permit from the destination country's diplomatic mission [6].
   • Consular legalization (non-Hague Apostille jurisdiction): Sudan is not a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. Any Sudanese Death Certificate, medical record, or court succession decree intended for use abroad must be authenticated first by the issuing authority, then legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Sudan, and finally legalized by the embassy or consulate of the destination country [6].
4. 4

   Notify Social Insurance, Pension Funds, Tax, and Banking Authorities

   • Private-sector survivor pension and death benefits: If the deceased was employed in the formal private sector or state-owned enterprises, notify the National Social Insurance Fund under the Social Insurance Act 1990 (as amended in 2016) [1]. When an insured contributor dies (having met the qualifying contribution months or dying as a result of work injury), eligible survivors - including the widow or widower, dependent sons under age 18 (or up to age 26 if full-time students, or without age limit if permanently disabled), unmarried daughters, and dependent parents - are entitled to a monthly survivor pension calculated as a statutory percentage of the deceased's insured earnings, split according to the statutory Sharia inheritance schedule [1].
   • Public-sector civil service pensions: If your family member was a federal or state civil servant, public teacher, or government pensioner, notify the National Pensions and Social Insurance Fund (Public Sector Pensions Administration) to claim the public-service survivor pension and any accrued terminal gratuity [1].
   • Identity cancellation, tax, and banking closure: Surrender the deceased's passport and National Identity Card to the Civil Registry Authority of Sudan for cancellation [2], notify the Sudan Taxation Chamber regarding any sole-proprietorship or property tax accounts, and present the Death Certificate to Sudanese commercial banks so sole accounts are frozen pending a court succession order [5].
5. 5

   Administer the Estate, Succession Decree, and Cross-Border Probate

   • Personal Status Court succession decree (Ishhad Shar'i): In Sudan, no commercial bank, land registry (Tasjeelat Al-Aradi), or pension authority will distribute estate assets without an official judicial succession decree [1] [5]. For Muslim estates, the family petitions the Personal Status Court (Mahkamat Al-Ahwal Al-Shakhsiya) under the Muslim Personal Status Act 1991 for a Sharia Inheritance Certificate (Ilm الوراثة / Ishhad Shar'i); for non-Muslim estates, heirs petition the Civil Court (Non-Muslim Personal Status circuit) or apply the Non-Muslims Estates Administration Act [5] [6].
   • Probate steps and estate distribution: All adult heirs (or their legal representatives) appear before the judge with two credible witnesses who know the family, the official Death Certificate from the Civil Registry Authority of Sudan [2], and family civil identity records referenced by UNHCR Sudan [5]. The judge verifies the lawful heirs, records any valid bequest (Wasiya, which under Sharia rules is capped at one-third of the net estate after funeral expenses and debts unless all adult heirs consent), and issues the formal estate inventory and distribution order (Harصر Al-Tarika) [5]. Sudan does not levy a separate national inheritance tax, though statutory court fees and land-registration transfer fees apply.
   • Foreign heirs and cross-border assets: An heir living outside Sudan may appoint a licensed Sudanese advocate or relative through a Special Power of Attorney (Tawkil Khas) notarized abroad and legalized by a Sudanese embassy and the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs [6].

   Step	Deadline	Authority
   1. Medical Death Certificate	Immediately upon death	Attending Hospital Physician / Federal Ministry of Health / Police Forensic Mortuary
   2. Civil Death Registration	Within 15 days of death	Civil Registry Authority of Sudan (Ministry of Interior)
   3. Burial or Repatriation Permit	Within 24 hours (burial) or prior to air transit	Municipal Public Health Office / Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Foreign Embassy
   4. Survivor Pension Notification	Promptly after obtaining Death Certificate	National Social Insurance Fund / Public Sector Pensions Administration
   5. Judicial Succession Decree	Before releasing bank accounts or land titles	Personal Status Court (Mahkamat Al-Ahwal Al-Shakhsiya) or Civil Probate Court

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Social Security Programs Throughout the World: Africa - Sudan — U.S. Social Security Administration / International Social Security Association (ISSA)
2. [2]
   Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Country Profile - Sudan — UNICEF Data / Civil Registry Authority of Sudan
3. [3]
   Sudan Country Health Profile and Ministry of Health Coordination — World Health Organization (WHO)
4. [4]
   WHO Country Office for Sudan - Health Systems and Public Health Services — WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO)
5. [5]
   UNHCR Help Sudan - Civil Documentation, Death Registration, and Legal Aid — United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
6. [6]
   Death of a Citizen in Sudan - Local Procedures, Mortuary, and Repatriation — U.S. Embassy in Sudan