How to register a death in South Africa

The Births and Deaths Registration Act says no burial may take place unless notice of the death has been given and a prescribed burial order has been issued. The Act defines "burial" to include cremation, so the same rule applies if the family chooses cremation.

Home Affairs said in early 2026 that registration of the death is already required before the burial, and that when families do not comply, people who have died stay recorded as alive on the population register.

1. Get the death confirmed by a medical practitioner, or by another authority if no doctor can do it. The section below explains who completes which form.
2. Get the notice of death form. It is Form DHA-1663 if a medical practitioner issues it, and Form DHA-1680 if it comes from an authority other than a medical practitioner, such as a Traditional Authority. You may see DHA-1663 called BI-1663, its older name.
3. Give the notice to Home Affairs within 72 hours. The informant does this. The informant is a family member, or a representative the family appoints through a letter of authority. If your funeral parlour agrees to act for you, ask them what letter they need from the family.
4. Take the completed form and identity documents to a Home Affairs office, and ask the office if it needs anything else. The Act itself says notice must be given "as soon as practicable" and sets no hour limit, but Home Affairs publishes 72 hours, so treat that as your deadline.
5. Collect the burial order and the abridged death certificate. The abridged certificate is issued free of charge on the same day the death is registered.
6. Give the burial order to your funeral parlour so the burial or cremation can go ahead, and keep the certificates safe.

Anyone who was present at the death, became aware of it or has charge of the burial must give notice as soon as practicable. In practice the family or the parlour acting for them usually does it.

What happens depends on how the person died.

Unnatural deaths take longer. After the Inquests Act investigation, the doctor issues a certificate that the body is no longer required. Only then can the register be completed, without a cause of death, and a burial order issued. Ask the police and your parlour how long that is likely to take, and do not fix a funeral date until the body is released.

If the police decline to issue a burial order, for example because they cite criminal activity, Home Affairs says a funeral undertaker that it has authorised to issue burial orders can issue one. Ask your parlour whether it holds that authority.

A burial order is the prescribed document that lets a burial or cremation go ahead. The Act says it is issued once notice of the death has been given. Your funeral parlour will normally ask for it before it can bury or cremate.

If a computerised death certificate is delayed, Home Affairs says a family can bury with a handwritten death certificate while waiting. Its example is a case where the deceased shared an ID number with another person. Ask the office what it can issue if the computerised certificate is held up.

Home Affairs updated its tariff page in August 2026 under Government Gazette 55209 of 17 August 2026. It lists the first issue of an abridged death certificate as free. It also lists R20 for issuing an abridged computer-printed or handwritten death certificate copy. The wording of the R75 and R20 lines is not clear about which copies each covers, so confirm the fee for the copy you need at the counter before you pay.

Some points to know:

• Cause of death: Home Affairs will not leave the cause of death off the certificate at the family's request. It is captured as written on the notice of death form.
• Copies: insurers, banks and funds ask for copies. Old Mutual, for example, asks for a copy of the death certificate from Home Affairs, and the Government Employees Pension Fund asks for an original certified copy. Ask for certified copies early. See how to plan a funeral in South Africa.
• Claims: for a private funeral policy, insurers also ask for the notice of death form. Old Mutual says it is not compulsory for all claims but may be requested. Clientele asks for it on natural-death claims.

Not completely, as far as we could confirm. Home Affairs does not list death registration among the services at its bank branches, which cover Smart ID and Green ID book replacements. It says complex civic services must be done at a Home Affairs office.

A secondary source, idchecker.co.za, says a first-time death registration cannot be completed online because the notice of death form must be lodged at a Home Affairs office, where original signed medical paperwork is checked. It adds that duplicate abridged or unabridged certificates can be applied for on the eHome Affairs portal once the death is on the register. We could not find an official Home Affairs page announcing online registration, so confirm with the department.

A Draft White Paper published in the Government Gazette on 12 December 2025 (notice 53853) proposes a system that may require an electronic death certificate before burial. The Muslim Judicial Council opposes it. It is a draft proposal, not law.

A death of a South African citizen outside the country must be reported to the nearest South African embassy or mission. Home Affairs lists these documents:

• an apostilled or authenticated death certificate, or other documents issued by the authority of the country where the person died
• a copy of the deceased's ID document or passport
• a copy of the informant's ID document or passport, and a visa or permit where relevant

Ask the mission what else it needs and how long the process takes.

With the burial order and certificates in hand, the funeral can be planned. Work through how to plan a funeral in South Africa for the rest of the checklist, and see how much a funeral costs for what municipalities charge.

Notify the funeral cover insurer or burial society early, and check for a pension or employer benefit. If the person worked for government, see the GEPF funeral benefit guide. SASSA cancels a grant on the last day of the month in which the recipient died, once the death is registered with Home Affairs.