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ID & Civil Registration

How to Register a Death and Get a Death Certificate in Malawi

updated on : Thursday, 1 Oct, 2026 · 2 min read · from 6 official sources

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Table of contents
  • Register the death at your district registration office in your district council1
  • Normal death registration is free; on-demand registration costs K 5,0003
  • A replacement death certificate costs K 5,0003
  • You must provide a death report with the prescribed particulars to the District Registrar4

To register a death in Malawi, you must visit the district registration office in your district council. The National Registration Bureau (NRB) handles all birth and death registrations through the 28 district councils across the country.1 Once you submit the death report, the Director will issue a death certificate.2

Where to register

Visit your district registration office in your local district council.1 Death registration has been decentralised to health facilities across the country, so if the death occurred in a health facility, you can often register it there.5

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What you need

When registering a death, provide prescribed particulars about the deceased to the best of your knowledge and ability.4 If the death occurred in a hospital, a hospital death report form will be used.2 You must certify the correctness of the information by signing or, if you are illiterate, by affixing your mark to the form.4 Provide names as given on an ID Card or Birth Certificate.9

Fees

Normal death registration is free.3 If you register a death on demand (after the normal period), the fee is K 5,000 per registration.3 A replacement death certificate costs K 5,000.3 For foreign nationals, death registration costs USD 40 per certificate and a replacement costs USD 10.3

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The certificate

Upon receipt of the death report, the Director will issue a death certificate in the prescribed form.2

Official sources

  1. NRB’s NEW POLICY CHANGE nrb.gov.mw
  2. Citation nrb.gov.mw · PDF
  3. NRB Public Statement Revision of Fees English merged nrb.gov.mw · PDF
  4. National Registration nrb.gov.mw · PDF
  5. SPEECH BY THE MINISTER HOMELAND NRB NZIKA DIGITAL LAUNCH 16 9 26 nrb.gov.mw · PDF
  6. New death form.cdr nrb.gov.mw · PDF

Every fact in this guide comes from these official Government of Malawi pages, numbered to match. Fees, dates and rules change: confirm on the official site before you go. Spotted an error? Tell us.