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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
South Africa
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South Africa
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.
The Births and Deaths Registration Act establishes an absolute requirement that no burial shall take place unless notice of death has been given and a burial order has been issued by a DHA official. The burial order is issued upon completion of the death register after the official is satisfied by the medical certificate that the death was due to natural causes. For unnatural deaths, the burial order may be issued after investigation. The Human Remains Regulations additionally require cremation permits with cause-of-death declarations and local government burial registration.
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?
Unclear
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.
Analysis of the legal instruments available to the reviewer did not identify any provisions relevant to this question.
Law Source
Retirement of Legal Identity
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).
The Identification Act requires that the identity card of a deceased person be surrendered to the Director-General within a prescribed period after death. The 2014 Regulations require the DHA official receiving a death notice to take possession of, cancel and destroy the original identity document of the deceased and to verify the deceased's particulars against the National Population Register. Recording the death in the national population register effectively retiring the identity number for active use.
