Losing a relative is hard enough without paperwork. When you live abroad, the paperwork adds distance. This article covers only what the facts support: registering the death, keeping the certificate, and swearing affidavits abroad.
Step 1: register the death
Registering a death with NPC is free if reported within seven days. That comes from the Births, Deaths, etc. (Compulsory Registration) Act, which also allows fees for later reports and needs the Deputy Chief Registrar's authority for much later ones. NPC said in August 2026 that death registration remains free of charge, but the law's free window is narrower. Check with NPC what applies to a later report.
Report it inside the free window if you can. If you cannot be in Nigeria, ask NPC who may report the death on your behalf, and what it needs from them.
Death registration fee in Nigeria and birth vs death registration deadlines set out the windows in full, so we will not repeat them.
One caution. A bill to replace this law was heard by the Senate in December 2025. We found no sign that it has passed, so treat the current law as in force and check with NPC before you rely on any window.
Step 2: keep the certificate, and ask who wants what
Once the death is registered, ask NPC how to get the death certificate, and keep it safe. Each office that asks for it may want a different form: the original, a copy, or a verified one. Ask before you post anything.
Scan it as soon as you have it, and keep the scan somewhere you can reach from abroad. A relative in Nigeria can hold the original for you.
Step 3: affidavits, if an office asks
Some offices ask for a sworn statement about the family or the person who has died. This article cannot say which ones. If one does, you can swear it abroad.
A Nigerian embassy or high commission official of the rank of secretary or above can take it. For an affidavit meant for a Nigerian court or registration, the law also allows swearing before a local official authorised to administer oaths. Ask the office which it will accept. Swearing an affidavit abroad compares the two routes.
What this article does not cover
- Estates and inheritance.
- Bank accounts and pensions.
- Land and property.
- Business interests and company records.
Each follows its own rules, and none is covered here. Ask a lawyer in Nigeria, and bring the death certificate with you.
Common mistakes
- Waiting past the free window without asking NPC who can report the death for you.
- Posting your only copy of the certificate abroad.
- Assuming an affidavit is needed before an office has said so.
- Treating this list as advice on inheritance. It is not.
The diaspora and life events hub has the other chains.