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

1. 1

   Medical certification of death and issuance of the medical death certificate

   Any civil registration or burial procedure in Tunisia first requires the formal confirmation of death by an authorized physician [1] [5].

   • Death in a public hospital or private clinic: If your family member passes away in a hospital or clinic, the duty doctor or attending physician conducts the clinical examination and issues the medical death certificate [5]. The deceased is then transferred to the facility's mortuary pending completion of municipal formalities.
   • Death occurring at home: When a death occurs at the family home, you must call the attending physician, a private practitioner, or a public health physician to confirm the death on site and complete the medical certificate attesting to a natural cause of death [1] [5].
   • Suspicious, violent, or public-place death: In the event of an accident, violent death, or medically suspicious circumstances, the physician notes a medico-legal obstacle and alerts the internal security forces (National Police or National Guard) as well as the Public Prosecutor at the Court of First Instance under the Ministry of Justice [6]. A forensic autopsy is ordered, and the burial permit may only be issued upon authorization from the prosecutor's office [6].
2. 2

   Civil death declaration at the municipality and obtaining official death extracts

   With the medical death certificate, you must declare the death before the civil registrar of the municipality (or municipal district) where the death took place [1] [3].

   • Statutory 3-day reporting deadline: Under Tunisian civil status law, the death declaration must be completed within a maximum period of three days following the death [1] [6]. Once this statutory deadline has expired, the civil registrar may no longer register the death on a simple declaration, and registration requires a declaratory judgment of death issued by the competent court under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice [6].
   • Authorized informants and supporting documents: The declaration is made by a close relative of the deceased or by any person possessing complete and accurate information regarding the deceased's civil status [1]. You must submit the medical death certificate, the National Identity Card (CIN) of the deceased (which is surrendered to the authorities), the family book or a birth extract of the deceased, and the informant's identity card [1] [3].
   • Official death certificate extracts: Upon registration, the municipal civil registrar draws up the death record and updates the family book. Request several official extracts of the death record in both Arabic and French immediately, as they are required for social security funds, banks, and the tax office [1] [2] [3].
3. 3

   Funeral arrangements, municipal burial permit, and international repatriation

   No burial or transport of mortal remains may take place in Tunisia without written authorization from the municipal and health authorities [1] [6].

   • Municipal burial permit: Once the death record has been drawn up, the municipal civil registrar issues the burial permit free of charge, authorizing interment in the municipal cemetery in accordance with public health regulations [1] [6].
   • Transport of remains between governorates: If the burial takes place in a municipality or governorate other than where the death occurred, an administrative authorization to transport mortal remains must be obtained from the local authorities upon presentation of a medical certificate of non-contagiousness [5] [6].
   • International repatriation to or from Tunisia: When a deceased person must be repatriated from abroad to Tunisia or transported from Tunisia to another country, the procedure requires a medical certificate of non-epidemic status, an official report confirming placement in a hermetically sealed coffin, and a mortuary laissez-passer issued in coordination with consular services and authorities under the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Social Affairs [4] [6]. Where Tunisian public documents must be used abroad, an apostille is issued by an authorized Tunisian civil-law notary [6].
4. 4

   Notifications to social security funds (CNSS, CNRPS, CNAM), banks, and insurers

   Surviving family members must report the death to the social protection institutions supervised by the Ministry of Social Affairs as well as to financial institutions [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].

   • Private sector and self-employed workers (CNSS): If your family member worked in the private sector or was self-employed, file an application for the death grant (capital décès) and survivor pensions (for the surviving spouse and dependent orphans) with the regional office of the National Social Security Fund, enclosing the death extract, a copy of the claimant's National Identity Card, and civil status extracts for the survivors [1] [2].
   • Public sector (CNRPS) and health insurance (CNAM): If the deceased was a civil servant or public-sector employee or pensioner, applications for the death grant and survivor's pension are submitted to the National Retirement and Social Contingency Fund [3]. At the same time, notify the National Health Insurance Fund to close the principal member's file, claim reimbursement for medical expenses incurred prior to death, and maintain health coverage for eligible survivors [5].
   • Bank accounts, Tunisian Post, and insurance companies: Notify commercial banks and Tunisian Post (postal checking accounts) of the death. Upon receipt of the death extract, sole accounts are frozen until presentation of the post-death certificate of heirship (Hojjet Wafa) and the tax registration certificate for the estate [6].
5. 5

   Opening the succession, certificate of heirship (Hojjet Wafa), and tax declaration

   In Tunisia, estate settlement is governed by the Personal Status Code and the Registration and Stamp Duty Code under the supervision of the courts under the Ministry of Justice [6].

   • Obtaining the post-death certificate of heirship (Hojjet Wafa): The first succession formality is obtaining the certificate of heirship ("Hojjet Wafa") issued by the cantonal judge of the territorially competent Cantonal Court (or drawn up by two civil-law notaries in accordance with procedures overseen by the Ministry of Justice) [6]. Based on the death extract, the birth extracts of the heirs, and witness testimony, this official deed establishes the list of legal heirs and their respective statutory shares [6].
   • Estate tax declaration at the Tax Office (Recette des Finances): The heirs must register the estate declaration with the Tax Office (Recette des Finances) of the deceased's last place of residence within a statutory deadline of one year from the date of death (to avoid late penalties) [6]. The tax administration then issues the certificate authorizing the release of bank funds and the transfer of property [6].
   • Estate division and heirs residing abroad: Where the estate includes registered real estate, a notary or lawyer prepares the deeds of division or transfer for filing with the Land Property Administration (Conservation de la Propriété Foncière) [6]. When an heir resides abroad, they may appoint a representative in Tunisia through a special power of attorney executed at a Tunisian consulate or before a foreign notary bearing an apostille [6].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Death Grant and Survivor Benefits - Salaried Sector (CNSS) — Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale (CNSS Tunisie)
2. [2]
   Benefits and Pensions for Non-Salaried Workers (CNSS) — Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale (CNSS Tunisie)
3. [3]
   Benefits of the National Retirement and Social Contingency Fund (CNRPS) — Ministère des Affaires Sociales - Portail Idarti
4. [4]
   Social Security and Social Welfare Services in Tunisia — Ministère des Affaires Sociales - République Tunisienne
5. [5]
   Health Insurance and Rights of Insured Persons and Dependents (CNAM) — Caisse Nationale d'Assurance Maladie (CNAM Tunisie)
6. [6]
   Judicial Services, Cantonal Courts, and Notarial Practice in Tunisia — Ministère de la Justice - République Tunisienne