updated 2026-08-25
Certificate of life: when it is needed and why
Alla Flat · Notary #224143 · Bar #49324 · advocate since 2008
Translated from Alla Flat’s original Russian text
A less well-known notarial act, but in practice people who receive a pension, annuity, or other regular payments from abroad often encounter it.
A foreign pension fund, insurance company, or government body may require confirmation that the recipient of the payments is alive. For this, a corresponding certificate is issued.
Important: notarial certification is not required in every case.
Depending on the country and the requirements of the specific institution, confirmation may be issued at a consulate, a government body, or a notary.
That is why, before arranging the certificate, it is necessary to check the receiving party’s requirements. The same document that is suitable for one pension fund may not meet the requirements of another.
If a notarial certificate of life is required, the notary must personally ascertain that the person is alive, identify them, and follow the procedure provided by law. Such a certificate cannot be issued solely on the basis of a passport, a photograph, or a video call.
What if the person cannot come to the notary?
These situations arise especially often with elderly people or people whose health makes independent travel difficult.
In this case the notary may perform the notarial act not at the notarial office, but at the person’s location: come to the home, hospital, nursing home, or other institution.
This can also be a practical solution when the required confirmation may be issued at a consulate, but it is difficult for the person to get there, or a suitable appointment is not available.
A house visit by the notary does not cancel the requirements for performing the notarial act.
If the person is hospitalised or bedridden, a medical certificate in the prescribed form must be obtained in advance. The doctor confirms the person’s condition and their ability to understand the meaning of the act being performed.
If the need for a visit is related to health, it is better to tell the notary the circumstances in advance. This makes it possible to determine whether a medical certificate is required and which documents need to be prepared before the visit.
There is one more point that is often forgotten.
If the certificate is intended for use outside Israel, a notarial act alone may not be enough. Depending on the destination state and the requirements of the receiving institution, the document may need an apostille or another legalisation procedure.
Therefore one should start not with the question “Where do I get this certificate?”, but with another:
“Exactly which confirmation does the organisation that requested it accept?”
After that the correct way to arrange it is determined: through a government body, a consulate, or a notary, and if necessary the further legalisation of the document.
And if the person cannot come in independently, that does not always mean the procedure is impossible: the notary may perform the notarial act at their location.