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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
Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka
Death Registration
Certificates and Related Services
Certificates and Related Services
Certified Copies
Is the first copy of death certificate issued free of charge?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Upon completion of registration, the legislation should specify that an original death certificate should be issued to next of kin, free of charge.
The law requires the competent Registrar to prepare three copies of the death certificate, and to "deliver or transmit by post" free of charge the third copy to the informant.
Does the law require that a death is registered before a burial permit can be obtained to dispose of a body?
Legislation should require the reporting of death to the civil registrar before a permit to dispose the body is issued, to incentivize death registrations. To enforce the requirement of death registration, funeral, burial and cremation services should be
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Legislation should require the reporting of death to civil registrar before a permit to dispose 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.
In Sri Lankan law, there is no legal requirement for a burial permit to dispose of body of the deceased. In practice, burial grounds and cemetries require a death certificate. Under Section 41, BDRA (part V), there is a legal requirement to provide a death certificate to bury or cremate decedent, but this section only applies to part V areas and not hospital or estate deaths. Part V is now obsolete in practice and therefore there is no legal requirement for death certificates to be provided to issue burial permits.
Does the law require that funeral, burial, and cremation services share records with civil registrar?
In countries where death registration is not a precondition for issuing a permit to dispose of bodies, custodians of funeral facilities, crematoriums and burial sites should be required to maintain a record of all deaths and to notify the civil registrar
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Countries where death registration is not a precondition for issuing a permit to dispose of bodies, custodians of funeral facilities, crematoriums and burial sites should be required to maintain a record all deaths and notify the civil registrar which would alert the registrar of fact of death when death has not been registered.
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.
In practice death certificates are required to access pensions, transactions related to property and land actions, intestate succession and testamentary actions, substitution of parties in litigation, and claims on insurance policies and life assurance policies. However, the law only stipulates death certificates be required for all of the mentioned situations except pensions.
Does the law specify the process to retire legal identity after death?
No
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).
