The word Heir Means “a person legally entitled to the property or rank of another on that person’s death”. The purpose of Legal Heir certificate is transfer of deposits, balances, investments, shares, etc. to the legal heirs of a deceased person.

Legal Heir Certificate Process
Legal Heir Certificate Process

In case of a sudden demise of a family member, a legal heir certificate must be obtained for transferring the assets of the deceased to his legal heirs.


A legal heir certificate establishes the relationship between the deceased and legal heirs. Once the death certificate is obtained from the corporation, it is required that the successors apply for this legal heir certificate to claim their right over the deceased person’s properties and dues.


The following persons are considered legal heirs and can claim a legal heir certificate under Indian Law: Spouse of the deceased, Children of the deceased, Parents of the deceased, Sibling of the deceased.


Applications of Legal Heir Certificate:
Ø For transferring properties and assets of the demised person to his successors.
Ø For claiming insurance.
Ø For sanctioning and processing family pension of the deceased employee.
Ø To receive dues such as provident fund, gratuity etc from the Government
Ø To receive salary arrears of the deceased, state or central Government employee.
Ø To gain employment based on compassionate appointments.


Procedure to Obtain Legal Heir Certificate
Legal Heir certificate can be obtained by approaching the area Tehsildar,and from the district civil court. This certificate names all legal heirs of the deceased person and is issued only after a proper enquiry.

Listed below are the steps involved in the process of obtaining a legal heir certificate:

Ø The legitimate heir of the deceased person must approach the appropriate authority in the respective area with a signed application. This application should contain the names of all the legal heirs, their relationship with the deceased and addresses of the family members. The death certificate of the departed person should also be attached.
Ø An affidavit on stamp paper has to be submitted.
Ø Administrative officer conducts an inspection and completes the enquiry.
Ø Once the enquiry is completed successfully, the authorized officer issues the Legal heir certificate

The process of obtaining a legal heir certificate generally takes 30 days..

Documents Required
In order to obtain a legal heir certificate, following is the list of documents required:
Ø Signed application form
Ø Address proof of the applicant
Ø Death certificate of the deceased
Ø Date of Birth proof of all legal heirs
Ø A self-undertaking affidavit
Ø Address proof of the deceased

This post is written by Nidhi Sharma of Punjabi University. For more info, please dial 99888-17966.