After a death in Penang: the official steps in the first week

The short version

A death must first be confirmed: in a hospital, a medical officer issues the confirmation; at home or anywhere outside a hospital, the government says to call 999 if needed and report to the police, who issue the burial permit. The family then registers the death at any JPN office in Peninsular Malaysia, with no fee, and collects the death certificate, which is among the documents the estate process asks for.

We are sorry if you are reading this because someone close to you has died. This page lists only the official government steps. It does not cover funeral or religious arrangements, which each family makes in its own way.

Step 1: have the death confirmed

• In a hospital or clinic: a medical officer issues a death confirmation letter. The government says this document is needed for burial arrangements and for registering the death at JPN.
• At home or outside a hospital: call 999 to confirm the death if necessary, and report to the police to obtain a burial permit.
• If the death looks suspicious: the case goes to the police for investigation, and a post-mortem may be needed.

Source: MyGovernment, Initial Steps When Death Occurs, read 2026-10-14.

Step 2: the burial permit (form JPN.LM02)

JPN calls the confirming body (a hospital or the police, PDRM) the death certifying agency (agensi pengesah kematian). That agency:

• takes the details of the death from the informant (pemaklum), the person reporting the death;
• issues the death register and burial permit, form JPN.LM02, and gives the blue copy to the informant;
• sends the grey copy to the nearest JPN office within 7 working days.

The family hands a copy of the JPN.LM02 to the cemetery keeper (Penjaga Tanah Kubur) for the burial. The government's guidance says that for Muslims the family contacts the mosque's funeral team, and for non-Muslims the funeral follows their own religious rites. Neither JPN's page nor the government portal mentions cremation; ask the crematorium or funeral director what it needs besides the JPN.LM02.

Sources: JPN, Pendaftaran Biasa Kematian and MyGovernment, Initial Steps When Death Occurs, read 2026-10-14.

Step 3: register the death and collect the certificate

Go to any JPN office in Peninsular Malaysia. There is no fee for ordinary registration, and JPN's ordinary registration page gives no deadline. For Penang's JPN offices, addresses and hours, see IC and passport in Penang.

Bring:

• the blue copy of the JPN.LM02;
• the original identity card (MyKad) or identity document of the person who died;
• the informant's own identity card or document, original and a copy;
• if the death was in hospital, the doctor's original certificate of the cause of death (form JPN.LM09, or JPN.LM10 after a post-mortem).

Who may collect the death certificate: the parents, husband or wife, children or full siblings of the person who died, or the informant named on the JPN.LM02.

Late registration. JPN's late registration route needs two sponsors who are relatives or who knew of the death (or the investigating police officer if there are no relatives), a sworn statement on form JPN.LM28, and a fee of RM50.00. JPN's page describes it as applying to deaths registered after the seventh day, for deaths before 1 December 2011 only.

Sources: JPN, Pendaftaran Biasa Kematian, JPN, Pendaftaran Lewat Kematian and MyGovernment, Dealing with Death, read 2026-10-14.

Step 4: get extra copies if you need them

If you need further official copies of the death record, JPN sells an extract of the death register (Cabutan Daftar Kematian) for RM5.00, and a search of the register (Carian Daftar Kematian) for RM10.00. You apply in person at a JPN office on form JPN.LM13 with your identity card. Close family (parents, spouse, children, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren) and a lawful guardian can apply; a law firm can apply for others.

Source: JPN, Carian/Cabutan Daftar Kematian, read 2026-10-14.

Step 5: tell the funds that may pay a funeral benefit

The government lists these one-off payments. Each has its own conditions, so check with the fund itself.

The government also notes that cooperatives, associations, state zakat bodies and financial institutions may have their own funeral benefits.

Source: MyGovernment, Funeral Management Assistance, read 2026-10-14.

Step 6: banks, savings and the estate

Money in bank accounts, EPF savings and other assets form the estate (harta pusaka). The government lists the death certificate among the documents needed to apply. Which body handles it depends on its size and whether there is a will:

• Summary estate, below RM600,000, movable property only (such as bank accounts, ASB or EPF): Amanah Raya Berhad (ARB) can issue the power to administer it.
• Small estate, not more than RM5 million: handled by the Department of the Director General of Lands and Mines (JKPTG) or ARB.
• Large estate, over RM5 million, or where a non-Muslim left a will under the Wills Act 1959: the Civil High Court, through a grant of probate (with a will) or letters of administration (without one).

Once there is an order, heirs take it to each body: the land office for land titles, the bank for savings, JPJ for a vehicle. The government's page also sets out separate first steps for the estate of a Muslim, including a faraid certificate from the Syariah Court where needed.

Source: MyGovernment, Division of Inheritance, read 2026-10-14.

If the person who died employed a foreign domestic helper

The Immigration Department says that if the employer of a foreign domestic helper dies, the spouse or heir must report it to an Immigration office so that the helper's new employer can be confirmed. See Hiring a domestic helper in Penang.

Source: JIM, Pembantu Rumah Asing, read 2026-10-14.

Checklist

1. Death confirmed by the hospital, or reported to the police if it happened outside a hospital.
2. Blue copy of form JPN.LM02 (burial permit) received; one copy given to the cemetery keeper.
3. Death registered at a JPN office; death certificate collected.
4. Extra extracts ordered if several bodies need one.
5. EPF, SOCSO and any other funeral benefit claimed, within their time limits.
6. Banks, the land office and JPJ told once there is a court or ARB order.

Related

• IC and passport in Penang
• Registering a birth and MyKid in Penang
• Who to call in Penang