What Is A Legal Heir Certificate?

Pragya Pathak

Author

Updated: 16-04-2025 at 12:59 PM

Complexities are often involved in matters of inheritance, succession, and property transfers. That is why the government of India created the provision of a Legal Heir Certificate. It is one of the most important documents that help maintain a smooth functioning of inheritance laws and property transfers with as few chances of conflicts as possible.

Read the article to learn about the details of the Legal Heir Certificate ranging from its meaning to the application process.

Overview

Name of the certificate	Legal Heir Certificate
Issued by	Revenue Department or Municipal Corporation
Objective	A Legal Heir Certificate is made upon the request of a family member wherein they select their successors and document them legally.
Validity	Valid for life
Application process	Online

What Is A Legal Heir Certificate?

A Legal Heir Certificate is made upon the request of a family member wherein they select their successors and document them legally. This legal document helps in settling matters such as the transfer of assets to successors without any conflicts or disputes. The certificate can be obtained by the legal heirs on the death of the deceased from municipal corporations.

Contents Of A Legal Heir Certificate

The government certificate comprises several components to make information clear and valid. The major things it consists of are as follows:

Name and address of the deceased
Date of the death of the deceased
Details of the legal heir such as name, address, and relationship with the deceased
Details of the issuing authority
Date of the issue of the certificate

Benefits

There are several benefits of a legal heir certificate that make the lives of successors easy and conflict-free. Some of its major benefits are described below in brief:

Helps in the identification of rightful successors.
Legal heirs can claim the assets of the deceased through the govt document.
The govt certificate also enables the legal heirs to claim insurance, receive pension, provident fund, and salary arrears of the deceased,
In some cases, legal heirs can also use their legal heir certificates to secure employment opportunities.

Who Can Apply For A Legal Heir Certificate?

Individuals who can apply for the government document are mentioned below for one’s better understanding and reference:

Spouse of the deceased
Children of the deceased
Parents of the deceased

How To Apply For A Legal Heir Certificate?

One can apply for the certificate by following the steps laid down below in detail to avoid any confusion. The steps for both, offline and online procedures are:

Offline Procedure

Step 1: Please visit the district court of your respective areas and request an application form.

Step 2: Fill out the application form and attach all the required documents including an affidavit on stamp paper or self-declaration.

Step 3: Please pay the fee and submit your application.

Step 4: After successful submission of the application, a Revenue Inspector would conduct verification in-person following which you’ll receive their legal heir certificate.

Online Procedure

Please visit your state’s respective e-portal, navigate to the option of applying for a legal heir certificate, fill out the application and upload the supporting documents, pay the fees, and apply.

Please note that it takes around a month to complete all the procedures. However, if you applied more than a month ago, you can approach the Revenue Division Officer (RDO) or sub-collector.

Required Documents For A Legal Heir Certificate

To successfully apply for the official govt certificate, one needs to submit some supporting documents. The list of those documents is as follows:

Proof of residence or the deceased and the legal heir
Death certificate of the deceased
Birth certificate of the legal heir
Aadhaar card
Self-declaration

Difference Between A Legal Heir Certificate & Succession Certificate

There are some major differences between a Legal Heir Certificate & a Succession Certificate. The points of difference are mentioned below in tabular format:

Components	Legal Heir Certificate	Succession Certificate
Meaning	Drawn up by the deceased wherein he/she selects their legal heirs.	Helps in transferring assets after the death of the deceased under the Hindu Succession Act.
Issued by	Local revenue authorities like the Municipal Corporation	Civil courts
Who can apply?	Spouse, children, or parents of the deceased	Legal heirs of the deceased if there is no will.
Legal process	Simple	Comparatively complex as it requires legal proceedings
Used for	Inheritance claims or for claiming the deceased’s pension, insurance, etc.	Transfer of assets in case of no will

How To File An ITR On Behalf Of The Deceased As Their Legal Heir?

After the death of the deceased, it is the responsibility of the legal heirs to file an Income Tax Return (ITR). They can do so by:

Step 1: Visit the official website of income tax.

Step 2: Register using your information and create an account.

Step 3: After registration, log in to your account and navigate to ‘myAccount’.

Step 4: Find the request type option and click on ‘Adding/Registering a representative on behalf of someone else’.

Step 5: Select the deceased’s estate to continue registering.

Step 6: Fill out all the deceased’s relevant information like the name of the estate, the deceased’s date of incorporation, etc.

Step 7: Upload the supporting documents of the deceased like a PAN card, death certificate, legal heir certificate, and a self-declaration.

Step 8: Apply to be able to file ITR on behalf of the deceased.

Conclusion

The legal heir certificate allows the rightful heirs of the deceased to carry out various activities such as the transfer of assets with no conflicts and complexities.

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