Legal Heir Certificate or Surviving Member Certificate

If an individual dies without a will (intestate), then legal heirs will need to get a legal heir certificate or a surviving member certificate from the authorities to prove that they are the legal heirs of the deceased person.

Any of these certificates will help the legal heirs in transferring assets of the deceased person to their name.

Where to apply

A legal heir can apply for either one of these certificates. A legal heir certificate may be obtained from a district court, whereas an application for surviving member certificate is to be submitted at the office of the district magistrate. It is faster to obtain a surviving member certificate from the office of district magistrate than to apply for a legal heir certificate from a district court since it is a lengthy process.
Some states also allow online application for surviving member certificates. Once online application is submitted, you will be required to visit the office of the district magistrate for verification and submission of documents physically.

What are the documents required

The documents required to apply for a legal heir certificate or surviving member certificate are the same.

• Duly filled application form (available at district magistrate office/ Court
• Self-attested copy of ID proof such as PAN etc. and address proof such as Aadhaar etc. of all the legal heirs
• Original death certificate of the deceased person issued by local body
• Self-attested (by legal heir) copy of ID proof and address proof of the deceased person
• In case of legal heir certificate, an individual is required to submit an affidavit of undertaking by the applicant and all the surviving family members.

It takes 1-2 months to get legal heir certificate/surviving member certificate. On submission of application along with the physical documents, an official from the court/ district magistrate office will visit the address of the legal heir (who has submitted the application) for verification purposes. For witness, two neighbours will be required who need to provide their KYC documents for verification purposes.

The certificate can be obtained from the authority where the application has been submitted or it can be downloaded from the online portal. An email/SMS may be sent to your email ID/ mobile number.

There is no fee for getting legal heir certificate/surviving member certificate. However, an applicant may have to spend money for getting documents ready such as for affidavit, getting documents notarised, if required, etc.