Warish Certificate vs Succession Certificate vs Letters of Administration: Which One Do You Need?

In this guide: The three side by side · When the warish certificate is enough · When the bank asks for a succession certificate · When letters of administration make sense · Common mistakes

The short answer

A warish certificate from the Union Parishad, pourashava or city corporation lists the heirs; it is enough for namjari, pension and small balances. A succession certificate from the District Judge under Part X of the Succession Act 1925 authorises named heirs to collect specified debts and securities: bank deposits, FDRs, sanchayapatra, shares, provident fund. Letters of administration appoint an administrator for the whole estate; for Muslim and Hindu families they are optional (s.212 does not bind them) and are used mainly where a bank, a foreign institution or a complex estate requires them. In most Bangladeshi families the sequence is: warish certificate first, then a succession certificate for the money.

The three side by side

When the warish certificate is enough

Use it for mutation of inherited land, family pension, small savings and utility or school transfers. Apply where the deceased lived: Union Parishad, pourashava or city corporation ward office, increasingly online. You need the death certificate, NIDs of the heirs, and a family list; the councillor or chairman verifies locally. Mistakes in names or a missing heir are common, so check it against the NIDs before using it. The warish certificate guide covers the online route.

When the bank asks for a succession certificate

Banks, the Bangladesh Bank savings-certificate desk, brokers and employers holding provident fund usually refuse to pay out above a modest threshold without a court certificate, because it protects them (s.381). The petition is filed before the District Judge of the place where the deceased ordinarily lived, listing each debt or security with its value. The court issues notice, publishes it, hears objections and grants the certificate, typically in three to six months. Court fee is nil up to Tk 20,000, 1 per cent up to Tk 1 lakh and 2 per cent above. Our court fee calculator gives the figure.

When letters of administration make sense

Letters of administration grant authority to manage and distribute the entire estate, including land, through one administrator who must account to the court. They are compulsory for Christian estates and used for Muslim or Hindu estates mainly when assets sit abroad, a foreign bank requires them, heirs are in dispute and an independent administrator is needed, or the estate is large and mixed. If there is a will, the equivalent is probate (Hindu and Christian wills) or letters of administration with the will annexed.

Common mistakes

• Applying for a succession certificate for land: the court does not grant one for immovable property; use warish and namjari.
• Leaving a heir off the warish list to speed things up: it invites a later suit and can void the namjari.
• Listing only one bank account in the succession petition: add every debt and security now; a second petition costs time and fee.
• Missing an heir abroad: they must consent or be served; a power of attorney from abroad solves most cases.