Quick answer: A death certificate Singapore issues today is digital. First, a doctor confirms the death online. Then ICA records it on its own. The next of kin can download the PDF certificate for free within 30 days. After 30 days, you ask ICA for a digital death extract, which costs S$40. Does an office want a certified true copy? A lawyer can certify a printed copy of the certificate.
This guide explains how to get a death certificate and how to find it later. It also covers certified copies, and using the certificate for estates, insurance and matters overseas.
Death Certificate Singapore Basics: How Deaths Are Registered
Registration now happens on its own. When someone dies in Singapore, a doctor confirms the death online. This records the death with ICA’s Registry of Births and Deaths. ICA is the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority. The family does not need to visit a counter.
- Death in a hospital: The hospital doctor confirms the death online.
- Death at home: The next of kin calls a doctor. The doctor confirms the death online.
- System down: The doctor gives a paper “Confirmation of Death”. The doctor goes online to confirm it later.
NEA and Town Councils accept the Confirmation of Death when you apply for burial or cremation. Registration and the digital certificate are free.
Why there is no paper certificate
ICA stopped giving out paper death certificates on 29 May 2022. All deaths confirmed on or after that date get a digital PDF certificate instead. You can print it any time you need a paper copy.
How to Get a Death Certificate: Downloading the Digital Copy
These family members can download the digital death certificate.
- Spouse, parent or child.
- Brother, sister, grandparent or grandchild.
- Aunt, uncle, niece or nephew.
- Someone any of the above has allowed to do it.
To download it, go to the LifeSG website (My Legacy). You need three details.
- The death certificate number, or the Confirmation of Death number.
- The ID number of the person who died.
- The date of death.
Important: The download is only open for 30 days. Save the PDF on your phone or computer. Keep a backup too. Many families we help only learn about this limit when it is too late.
Missed the 30 days? Or was the death recorded years ago? Then apply for a death extract. This is an official copy of the death record from ICA. Since 27 March 2023, ICA only gives out digital extracts.
Who can apply
- Parent, child, grandparent or grandchild of the person who died.
- Spouse, legal guardian, brother or sister.
- A solicitor (a lawyer) acting for any of the above.
The death must have happened in Singapore. ICA holds records of deaths registered in Singapore since 1872.
Details you need
- Name as shown on the death certificate.
- Sex.
- Date of death.
- NRIC number or death registration number.
Fees and timing
| Service | Fee | Usual time |
|---|
| Death extract | S$40 | Usually within 1 week |
| Search, if you do not have the details (from 1 Jan 1986) | S$40 | Within 3 weeks |
| Search, for dates before 1 Jan 1986 | S$50 per month searched | Within 3 weeks, sometimes longer |
You cannot get any fees back. You apply through ICA’s e-Service. You can pay by card, online direct debit or PayNow. When ICA approves, it emails you a link. You must download the extract within 30 days.
Do any of these steps feel confusing? If so, our Singapore office for official translations can help. We can tell you which version an office will likely want.
Certified True Copy of Death Certificate
Banks, courts and some foreign offices want a “certified true copy”. A printout is not enough for them. This means a lawyer has seen the certificate and signed the copy as true.
The Singapore Courts say a lawyer can certify the death certificate as a true copy. The Ministry of Law has an online list of practising lawyers.
The Family Justice Courts may not need one at all. Say you apply for Letters of Administration. The court does not need a certified copy of a Digital Death Certificate or Digital Death Extract. This is as long as it can be checked online.
Before you book, read the full certified true copy process. Then you will know what to bring.
Need a Foreign Death Certificate in English for ICA, a Bank or the Courts?
Deaths Overseas
Some people die abroad. This includes Singapore citizens, PRs and long-term pass holders. ICA does not register these deaths. Here are the steps.
- Register the death in that country. The local office there gives a death certificate.
- Report it to ICA. Use the online form at go.gov.sg/ica-report-overseas-death.
You will need these papers.
- Your NRIC or passport.
- The foreign death certificate, or a certified true copy.
- The NRIC, Singapore passport or pass card of the person who died.
- Coffin or burial or cremation permits, if you have them.
- A letter that allows you to act for the family, if you are a proxy.
There is no fee. ICA usually handles the report within 3 working days once it has all the papers.
If the foreign certificate is not in English
ICA needs an official translation. It accepts translations from the embassy of the country that issued it. It also accepts translations from a notary public in Singapore or in that country. A notary public is a lawyer who can witness and certify papers. ICA does not accept a translation from a private company on its own.
Say a relative dies in Indonesia, China or India. Families then usually ask for a notary-backed translation before they fill in the ICA form.
Using the Death Certificate Singapore Issues for Estate Matters
After a death, the family must deal with what the person owned. This money and property is called the estate.
Grant of Probate and Letters of Administration
- Grant of Probate: This is a court order. It lets the executor named in a will look after the estate. The executor is the person the will picks for this job.
- Letters of Administration: This is a court order used when there is no valid will. A family member applies to look after the estate.
Is the estate worth up to S$5 million? Then you apply to the Family Courts. Larger estates go to the Family Division of the High Court. You file through eLitigation, the courts’ online system. If you have no lawyer, you can file at the Service Bureau.
Where the certificate is needed
| Organisation | What they usually need |
|---|
| Family Justice Courts | Certified true copy of the death certificate, unless it is the digital version that can be checked online |
| Banks (single-name account) | Death certificate plus the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration. UOB, for example, also needs ID for each executor or administrator |
| Banks (joint account) | Death certificate plus the ID of the other account holder, at UOB |
| CPF Board | CPF contacts nominees or next of kin after it is told about the death |
| Public Trustee | Can handle estates without a will worth S$50,000 or less, with no grant needed |
Settling an Estate Overseas? We Translate and Notarise Singapore Death Certificates for Foreign Offices
Insurance claims
Insurers ask for the death certificate when you make a claim. Do the policy or medical papers come from another country? Then the insurer may also want them in English. Hospital reports from abroad often use local words. Insurers often pause a claim until they receive an insurance claim document translation.
Using a Singapore Death Certificate Overseas
Families often need the certificate abroad. Here are common reasons.
- Closing the bank accounts of the person who died in their home country.
- Moving land or a house into a new name.
- Claiming a foreign pension or insurance policy.
The foreign office may want three things. These are a certified copy, a translation into its language, and proof that the paper is real.
That proof is often an apostille. An apostille is an official stamp that proves a paper is real. The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) gives apostilles for countries in the Apostille Convention. Papers made by a government computer must first be certified by the office that issued them. So check with ICA and SAL before you go. Countries outside the Convention need an extra step called legalisation at their embassy in Singapore.
Getting the SAL apostille arranged for you with the translation saves you a second round of queues.
Translating Foreign Death Certificates for Singapore Use
Singapore offices work in English. Some deaths happen overseas. Or the person owned property here but died at home. Then the certificate may be in Chinese, Malay, Tamil, Thai or another language.
These offices often ask for an English version.
- ICA, when you report the death.
- The courts, for probate or Letters of Administration.
- Banks and insurers.
Each office may set its own rules on who can translate. For ICA, the translation must come from an embassy or a notary public. Are you translating a foreign death certificate? First check that the translator will keep every name and date the same as the original.
Common Mistakes Families Make
- Missing the 30-day download time. After that, you pay S$40 for an extract.
- Saving the PDF in only one place. Keep a backup in email or online storage.
- Sending a plain printout when a certified copy is needed. Ask the office first.
- Spelling names in different ways. Check the certificate, translation and passport match.
- Using a translation without a notary for ICA. It may not be accepted.
- Forgetting rules overseas. Many foreign offices want an apostille and a translation.
Lawyer-certified copies of documents can be done for several offices in one visit. This helps when the paperwork piles up.
Handling Insurance, CPF or Probate Papers in Another Language? Send Them for Translation Today
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to the deceased’s NRIC after the death is registered?
ICA cancels the NRIC or FIN once the death is registered. The next of kin may destroy the card. You do not need to return it to ICA.
How long do I have to apply for Letters of Administration?
The Family Justice Courts ask you to file within 6 months of the date of death. If you file later, you must give the reason for the delay. It usually takes about 2 to 3 months to process.
How soon will CPF Board contact the nominees?
Did the person who died make a valid CPF nomination? Then CPF Board contacts the nominees within 10 working days after it hears of the death. If there is no valid nomination, it writes to the next of kin. It then passes the savings to the Public Trustee’s Office to share out.
How do I bring a loved one’s body back to Singapore after a death overseas?
You need a Coffin (Import) Permit from the National Environment Agency (NEA). You apply online on the NEA ePortal under Port Health Services. A funeral director can help. You need the foreign death certificate and a sealing certificate for the coffin. You also need an embalming certificate where it applies, and a coffin export permit from the other country. The permit costs S$17.50. The permit to bury or cremate comes with it at no extra cost.
Conclusion
Getting a death certificate in Singapore is now digital and free. You just need to download it within 30 days. After that, ICA’s death extract costs S$40 and usually comes within a week. Deaths abroad are registered there first and then reported to ICA.
Banks, insurers, estates and overseas offices may need more. Check if they need a certified true copy, a translation or an apostille. Sorting this out early saves weeks at an already hard time.
