Proof of Death is a statement that verifies the death of a person when a Death Certificate cannot be obtained. The family of the deceased may not obtain a death certificate due to several reasons they may not have access to a hospital or health clinic at the time of death, the deceased being a victim of enforced disappearance, or missing as a result of conflict, or other reasons.
Living parents, children, or siblings can collect proof of death. They are called the Heir
What are the steps required to obtain Proof of death?
- The heir needs to go to the nearest Civil Status Court and submit a Proof of Death request form.
- The competent employee at the Civil Status Court will help you fill out the form., Then, the form should be reviewed and approved by the Mayor or Qaim-Maqam of the city, to confirm that the death occurred in the city.
- After then the form should be attached with two Support letters, one from the Civil Status Department and the other from the Births and Deaths Registration Office, to ensure that the deceased has no previous registration in the Death civil registry file.
- The approved form should be reviewed by the police station and submitted to the specialized investigation court to confirm the circumstances of the death.
- Next, the investigation court employee will ask to provide two witnesses to confirm the cause of death and its details, after which the investigation court will issue the proof of death.
- Once the Proof of Death is issued, a copy is sent by official mail to the Ministry of Health to register the person's death.
- The Ministry of Health will share a copy of the Proof of Death through official mail, one with the Deaths and Births department in the city of the family residence.
- Finally, the Deaths Registration Office will send a copy of the Proof of Death by official mail to the Civil Status Directorate to officially register the person's death in the Death civil registry file.
How to obtain proof of death for a missing person?
If the person was missing for more than four years of the day of reporting his\her missing (or two years in case of missing during the ISIL conflict), then the heir can use the same steps mentioned above.
You can find more details about reporting a missing person by clicking here.
What are the fees and the period required for issuing the death certificate?
The legal fee for issuing a Proof of Death is 5000 Iraqi dinars and 3000 dinars as a stamp fee. It is usually issued within two to four weeks if the documents submitted by the heirs of the deceased are complete.
A copy of the proof of death request form:
A copy of proof of death certificate:
The information included in the Proof of Death request form is as follows:
The Gender.
The father's/ Mother's name and their grandfather's.
Date of birth and death
Religion and Nationality.
The place of death and the Cause of it.
Address of the deceased.
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