How to Get a Death Certificate in Israel (in English)

The Israeli death certificate (Teudat Ptira) is the foundational document for everything that follows — bank notifications, probate petitions, pension claims, embassy reports, and property transfers. Without it, nothing moves.

Here's exactly how to obtain one, get it into English, and authenticate it for international use.

The Digital Death Certificate

Israel's Population and Immigration Authority (Rashut HaHagirah) issues death certificates as digitally signed PDFs. These are not scanned copies — they contain a cryptographic signature that government agencies, banks, and utility providers can verify electronically.

First-degree relatives (spouses, parents, and children) who are registered in the government database can download the certificate directly from the secure Government Personal Portal at gov.il. You'll need the deceased's identity number and your own login credentials.

The digital certificate is issued in Hebrew only. There is no official English-language version from the government.

Getting the Certificate If You're Not a Registered Relative

If you're a foreign family member not registered in Israel's population database — common for diaspora children or foreign spouses — you cannot download the certificate from the portal directly.

Your options:

• Through an Israeli attorney: a licensed estate attorney can access the system and obtain the certificate on your behalf through a power of attorney
• Through the hospital or MDA: if the death occurred in a medical facility or was attended by Magen David Adom paramedics, the hospital administration office can provide the initial Notification of Death, which the Population Authority uses to generate the formal certificate
• In-person at a Population Authority branch: a first-degree relative physically in Israel can visit a branch with their own ID and the deceased's identity number

Translation Into English

Banks and agencies within Israel accept the Hebrew digital certificate as-is. But for any use outside Israel — consular reports, foreign probate proceedings, insurance claims — you need a sworn English translation.

The translation must be:

1. Done by an authorised translator — a translator certified by the Israeli Ministry of Justice. General translation services, even professional ones, are not accepted for legal purposes.
2. Accompanied by a notary affidavit — the translator signs a formal declaration before an Israeli notary attesting that the translation accurately reflects the original Hebrew document.

The combined cost for translation and notarisation typically runs NIS 300 to NIS 800, depending on the translator and urgency.

Keep the Hebrew original and the translation together as a matched pair — every agency that accepts the translation will also want to see the original.

The Apostille Stamp

For the death certificate to be legally recognised in another country — the US, UK, Canada, Australia, or any other Hague Convention member — it needs an Apostille stamp from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The apostille authenticates the document for international use under the 1961 Hague Convention. Without it, foreign courts, banks, and government agencies will not accept the certificate.

How to Get the Apostille

1. Take the original Hebrew death certificate (the digitally signed PDF, printed) to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Authentication Department in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv
2. Submit the application form with the document and pay the authentication fee
3. Processing takes approximately one to five business days for standard requests
4. The apostille is affixed directly to the document or issued as a separate authentication page

If you need the apostille urgently, expedited processing is sometimes available for an additional fee.

Apostille on the Translation

If you need the English translation apostilled (not just the Hebrew original), the process is slightly different. The notarised translation goes through the same Ministry of Foreign Affairs authentication, but the apostille attaches to the notary's seal rather than the document itself.

For use in most English-speaking countries, you'll want both: the apostilled Hebrew original and the apostilled English translation.

What the Certificate Contains

The Israeli death certificate includes:

• Full name of the deceased (in Hebrew)
• Identity number
• Date and place of death
• Cause of death (general category)
• Date the death was registered
• A digital signature from the Population and Immigration Authority

It does not include detailed medical cause-of-death information. For that, you'd need the separate medical Notification of Death from the hospital or attending physician.

Common Problems

• Name discrepancies: if the deceased's Hebrew name in the population registry differs from their English passport name, this creates matching issues with foreign documents. An affidavit of identity from an Israeli notary can bridge the gap.
• Delayed registration: deaths occurring outside medical facilities sometimes take longer to register in the population database, delaying certificate availability.
• Digital verification failures: some foreign agencies don't know how to verify the Israeli digital signature. The apostille resolves this, but you may also need to provide the verification URL printed on the certificate.

The Someone Died in Israel: English Speaker's Emergency Guide includes the complete document authentication chain — from the initial Notification of Death through the final apostilled translation — with every agency contact and form reference you'll need.

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