How to Register a Death and Obtain the Certificate (Registro Civil)

When someone dies in Costa Rica, the death must be registered with the Registro Civil (TSE) before any other procedures that depend on that death can be processed (inheritance, insurance claims, widow's pension, etc.).

**Requirements to register a death that occurred in the country:**

• Valid identification document of the person making the declaration.
• **Original medical death certificate**, when applicable (issued by the physician who confirmed the death).
• An email address or phone number for notifications.

**Resolution time: 8 business days** from when the Registro Civil receives the request. The procedure **is free of charge**. It is submitted at the central offices of the TSE (west side of the National Park, San José) or at the regional offices.

**In practice, many deaths are registered directly from the hospital or medical center**, through the “Defunción en Línea” system — for this, the physician who certifies the death must be authorized as an auxiliary registrar before the Registro Civil and enabled in the SEDIMEC system. When this applies, the family does not have to process the registration separately.

**Death certificate** (for subsequent procedures such as inheritance, insurance or pensions): once the death is registered, the certificate is requested like any other vital event certification from the Registro Civil — at the TSE offices or online via the TSE consultation system (consulta.tse.go.cr).

Note: if the death was not declared in time, there is a separate procedure for “late registration of a death,” with additional requirements — consult directly with the Sección de Inscripciones if a considerable amount of time has passed since the death.

Contact: seccioninscripciones@tse.go.cr, phone 2287-5471.