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Disclaimer / Limitations
This country’s legal measures were reviewed by our legal staff in consultation with in-country lawyers and/or CRVS legal experts. All efforts were made to ensure the accuracy of the legal analysis, however, if you consider there to be any discrepancies or if there have been changes in the law of the country since our staff last updated the legal analysis, we welcome any additional information or insights. Please contact us via this form.
Death Registration
Colombia
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Colombia
Death Registration
Burial, ID and Related Services
Burial, ID and Related Services
Burial Permits and Disposal of Bodies
Does the law require that a burial permit be obtained to dispose of a body? If so, does the law require that death is reported to the civil registrar before a burial permit can be obtained?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
A permit should be required to bury or cremate, or otherwise dispose of, a body. The law should require the reporting of death to the civil registrar before a permit to dispose of the body is issued, to incentivize death registrations. To enforce the requirement of death registration, funeral, burial and cremation services should be required to request proof of reporting of death or death certificate before proceeding with services.
Yes. Colombian law requires a burial permit before a body can be buried, cremated, or otherwise disposed of. Under Resolution 5194 of 2010, cemetery administrations may only authorize burial after receiving: (1) the death certificate and (2) an inhumation license issued at the municipal level by the City Hall, the local Health Authority, or the Police Inspector.
Registration Linked to Access to Key Services and Other Incentives
Is proof of death registration required in order to access any public services or benefits?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Some countries incentivize higher death registration rates by tying them to key benefits like accessing pension of deceased spouse or permitting remarriage. Some countries offer cash incentives to register deaths.
Yes. Several Colombian norms require proof of death to access key benefits and procedures. Law 100 of 1993, Articles 46–49 ties the right to a survivor’s pension and substitute indemnity to the death of the member or pensioner, and social security procedures require beneficiaries to present proof of that death, typically the civil death certificate.
For inheritance and succession, the General Procedural Code, Article 489 explicitly requires attaching proof of the deceased’s death to the petition to open the inheritance process. These are some of the servicies or benefits for which proof of death is required to access, however this list is not exhaustive. Although these provisions refer generally to “proof of death” and do not expressly state that the civil death certificate is the only admissible document, in practice it is the standard and often the required proof for accessing these services and procedures.
Does the law link retirment of a UPI and/or identity credential to death registration?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
When a death is registered, the civil registration authority must transmit this information to the identity management authority so that the identity management authority may retire or deactivate the unique personal identifier and the identity credential of the deceased individual. This information should also be shared with the population register (if a population register is maintained).
Yes. Colombian law specifies a formal process for cancelling a person’s legal identity document after death. Decree 691 of 1935, Article 1(a) establishes that a citizen’s identity card must be cancelled upon their death. Decree 691 of 1935, Article 2 assigns this cancellation to the local Electoral Jury (Jurado Electoral), which must act automatically (“de oficio”) once it receives an official notice of the person’s death. These notices must be sent by notaries and municipal council secretaries under Decree 944 of 1934, Article 16, and must also be forwarded to the mayor and the National Registrar's Office (“Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil”) under Decree 1255 of 1934, Article 13, so that the identity card can be formally cancelled.
