How do you register a death in Peru and get a copy of the death record?

First, the medical death certificate

Everything starts with the medical death certificate (certificado de defunción), which is different from the death record (acta de defunción). The certificate is signed by a health professional and proves the death. The record is the civil registry entry, and it is the document you will be asked for in every later step.

According to the Health Ministry’s page on gob.pe (updated 24 August 2026):

• the certificate is free;
• it is issued by the doctor who treated the person, the doctor who confirms the death, the forensic doctor who performs the autopsy, or the doctor the health facility designates; only where there is no doctor in the area can a nurse or other health professional issue it;
• the professional will ask for the deceased’s DNI, or their carné de extranjería, passport or other ID if they were a foreigner;
• if the death was caused by an accident or violence, or a crime is suspected, the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Ministerio Público) is notified at once and the body goes for autopsy.

The certificate is produced in SINADEF, the Health Ministry system that, according to its official page, handles «entering the deceased’s data, generating the death certificate and the statistical report».

If the death happened somewhere with no doctor or health centre, Reniec accepts instead a sworn statement from the local political, judicial or religious authority confirming the death.

The record may be created without you

Reniec’s bulletin for registrars (December 2025) explains that since Registry Guideline N.º 006-2025/DRC/RENIEC (13 August 2025), Reniec receives digitally issued death certificates from the Health Ministry and other bodies. With them it issues electronic death records ex officio, meaning without the family having to ask.

So before going to an office, search for the record on Reniec’s copies website. If it already exists, what you need is a copy.

Who registers it, where, and by when

If the record was not created automatically, registration is done in person. According to Reniec’s bulletin:

• any person with legal capacity can request it;
• directors or managers of hospitals, clinics, health centres, prisons, barracks, convents, orphanages and similar establishments must request registration of deaths that occur on their premises;
• registration is not territorial: it can be done at any Reniec-authorised office, regardless of where the person lived or died;
• there is no deadline.

Reniec’s page on gob.pe asks for:

• the signed and stamped death certificate (or the authority’s sworn statement);
• the deceased’s DNI, or a sworn statement that it was lost, signed by the person declaring the death;
• the declarant’s DNI; for foreigners, the carné de extranjería or a copy of the passport or national ID card.

Once registered, the deceased flag on the DNI is updated in about 5 to 7 business days.

Does it cost anything?

Reniec’s FAQ page says: «The death record will be issued on the spot at no cost». We found no law that makes this registration free, as Ley 29462 does for births. What we cite is what Reniec states.

Violent deaths and cases that go through a judge

Reniec’s page on ex officio registration covers three cases:

• Violent death (accident, suicide or homicide): a forensic doctor signs the certificate, and the autopsy report, a court record, or an official letter from the prosecutor, the police or a military judge may be required.
• Supplementary registration (inscripción supletoria): if the death was not registered in time and the documents were lost, a judge can order registration.
• Presumed death or enforced disappearance: registered with the final court ruling. For enforced disappearance, the page says the Ombudsman’s Office (Defensoría del Pueblo) issues a free certificate that starts the court process (Ley 28413).

Certified copies of the record

Reniec’s gob.pe page (updated 16 July 2026) sets:

For a death record online, you pay and request it with your own DNI, not the deceased’s. It only works if the record is digitised. The copy can be generated only once and must be printed straight away. If the record is not in the system, ask the municipality where it was registered. If it was registered at a consulate, ask the Foreign Ministry.

A public body cannot require the death certificate to be «recent»: Decreto Legislativo 1246 (art. 5.1, literal c) prohibits it. Decreto Legislativo 1310 made an exception: the ban does not apply in procedures in the exercise of patria potestad (parental authority). Nor does it reach banks or private companies. If the record contains an error, see how to correct data at Reniec.

If the person died abroad

The Foreign Ministry page (updated 10 September 2025) says the death of a Peruvian abroad is registered at the consular office in the country where it occurred, by any interested person, Peruvian or foreign, at any time.

If it was not registered at the consulate, it can be registered at any Reniec office in Peru. Reniec’s bulletin asks for the death certificate or record from the country where it occurred, legalised or apostilled, and translated if not in Spanish. Reniec’s FAQ page also asks for the deceased’s DNI or a sworn statement that it was lost, and says the record is issued on the spot. For apostilles and translations, see apostilling documents.

What comes next

The death record is the basis for the steps that follow. We do not explain them here; each has its own page:

• if there was no will, who inherits and how intestate succession works;
• if there was a will, which types exist and which are valid;
• in either case, the share of the estate the law reserves for forced heirs.