PUNJAB LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION AND SUCCESSION CERTIFICATES ACT 2021

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THE PUNJAB LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION AND 
SUCCESSION CERTIFICATES ACT 2021 
(IX of 2021) 
CONTENTS 
 
1. Short title, extent and commencement 
2. Definitions 
3. Issuance of Letters of Administration or Succession Certificates 
4. Establishment of Succession Facilitation Unit 
5. Functions of Succession Facilitation Unit 
6. Application for Letters of Administration or Succession certificates 
7. Forms of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates 
8. Objection to Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates 
9. Fee and costs 
10. [omitted] 
11. Penalty, offences and trial 
12. Act to override other laws 
13. Power to make rules 
14. Repeal 
 
  
 
 
TEXT 
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THE PUNJAB LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION AND SUCCESSION 
CERTIFICATES ACT 2021 
(IX of 2021) 
    [17 May 2021] 
An 
Act 
to provide for an efficacious and speedy mechanism for issuance of Letters of 
Administration and Succession Certificates. 
It is expedient to provide for an efficacious and speedy mechanism for facilitating 
issuance of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates, aimed at curtailing 
fraud and forgery. 
Be it enacted by Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as follows:  
1. Short title, extent and commencement. (1) This Act may be cited as the 
Punjab Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act 2021. 
(2) It extends to whole of the Punjab. 
(3) This Act or any part thereof shall come into force on such dates as the 
Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint. 
2. Definitions. In this Act: 
(a) “Authority” means the National Database and Registration Authority 
established under section 3 of the National Database and Registration 
Authority Ordinance, 2000 (VIII of 2000); 
(b) “factual controversy” includes an objection by legal heirs or by any 
claimant of legal heirship, any dispute which may arise in establishing 
the identity of legal heirs which is not resolvable by the Authority or any 
situation, matter or event requiring adjudication or recording of evidence 
or where at least one of the legal heirs is a minor; 
(c) “Government” means Government of the Punjab; 
(d) “legal heir” means a person who has entitlement to a share in the 
property of the deceased; 
(e) “prescribed” means prescribed by the rules; and 
(f) “rules” means the rules made under this Act; 
3. Issuance of Letters of Administration or Succession Certificates. 
Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the 
Authority 
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[or a civil court] may issue Letters of Administration or Succession 
Certificates, as the case may be, to the legal heirs of a deceased in respect of 
                                                      
1.This Act was passed by Provincial Assembly of the Punjab on 17 May 2021; assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on 17 
May 2021; and, was published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated: 17 May 2021, pp.9199-9201. 
2.Inserted by the Punjab Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates (Amendment) Act 2025 (LXII of 2025), published 
in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated : 31 July 2025, p 589.s.2(a). 
  
 
 
immovable or movable property, in accordance with the Family Registration 
Certificate maintained by the Authority 
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[:] 
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[Provided that in case of a civil court, the procedure as provided in the 
Succession Act 1925 (XXXIX of 1925), shall be followed.] 
4. Establishment of Succession Facilitation Unit. (1) The Authority shall 
establish a Succession Facilitation Unit for the purpose of receipt, processing and 
assessment of applications for grant of Letters of Administration and Succession 
Certificates. 
(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), the Authority may notify any of its 
existing offices as Succession Facilitation Unit, at such place or places as it may 
deem appropriate. 
(3) The Authority may, from time to time, appoint officers, staff, experts, 
consultants, advisers and other employees, on such terms and conditions as it may 
deem fit, for the purpose of carrying functions under this Act. 
5. Functions of Succession Facilitation Unit.The Succession Facilitation Unit 
shall perform the following functions: 
(a) receive applications for grant of Letters of Administration and 
Succession Certificates, as the case may be, from legal heirs of the 
deceased; 
(b) process and assess the applications by way of a summary enquiry as 
prescribed, and in case of any factual controversy amongst the legal 
heirs decline to assess the applications for filing afresh before the 
appropriate forum in accordance with the provisions of the Succession 
Act, 1925 (XXXIX of 1925) or any other applicable law; 
(c) maintain an online portal providing for updated record of the Letters of 
Administration and Succession Certificates issued under this Act; and 
(d) discharge or perform such functions as are incidental, ancillary or 
necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act. 
6. Application for Letters of Administration or Succession certificates. (1) 
An application for grant of Letter of Administration or Succession Certificate, as the 
case may be, shall be made to the Authority by the legal heirs: 
Provided that legal heirs may also authorize in the prescribed form, one 
amongst themselves, to act on behalf of all other legal heirs, for the purpose of filing 
an application under this Act. 
(2) An application may be filed in the notified office of the Authority within 
whose jurisdiction the deceased ordinarily resided at the time of his death, or within 
whose jurisdiction any property or asset of the deceased is located. 
(3) The following documents shall be appended along with the application: 
(a) death certificate of the deceased; 
(b) list of the legal heirs and copies of their national identity cards; 
                                                      
3.Substituted for “full stop” by the Punjab Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates (Amendment) Act 2025 (LXII of 
2025), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated : 31 July 2025, p 589.s.2(b). 
4.Added by the Punjab Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates (Amendment) Act 2025 (LXII of 2025), published in 
the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated : 31 July 2025, p 589.s.2(b). 
 
 
(c) an authorization in the prescribed form by the legal heirs in favour of the 
applicant as provided in proviso to subsection (1); and 
(d) details of immovable and movable property in respect of which the 
Letter of Administration or Succession Certificate is applied for. 
(4) Upon receipt of the application, a notice to the general public shall be 
published on a web portal to be maintained by the Authority and in one English 
language and one Urdu language daily newspaper of wide circulation. 
(5) Where no objection or claim is received within fourteen days of the 
publication of notice, the Authority shall, in any of its notified offices, obtain the bio-
metric verification of the applicant and all the legal heirs: 
Provided that where bio-metrics of a legal heir is not verified, the Authority 
may require the legal heir to appear in person before the Authority on a date fixed by 
the Authority: 
Provided further that the Authority may resort to any other modern device 
with a view to satisfying itself as to the identity of any legal heir. 
Explanation: The bio-metric verification can be undertaken at any notified 
office within Pakistan or abroad. 
(6) Upon satisfactory compliance of the codal formalities mentioned in this 
section, the applicant shall appear before the Authority on a date fixed by it, 
whereafter the Authority shall issue the Letter of Administration or Succession 
Certificate, as the case may be, in favour of all legal heirs of the deceased with 
details of their respective shares as provided in the personal law of such legal heirs. 
(7) The Letters of Administration or Succession Certificates issued under 
this Act shall have the same effect as if the same have been issued under the 
Succession Act, 1925 (XXXIX of 1925). 
7. Forms of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates. Letters 
of Administration and Succession Certificates shall be issued, as nearly as 
circumstances admit, in the forms prescribed by the Authority. 
8. Objection to Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates. Any 
person objecting to Letters of Administration or Succession Certificates, as the case 
may be, after the issuance of the Letters of Administration or Succession Certificates 
by the Authority, may seek remedies available under any other applicable law. 
9. Fee and costs. (1) The Authority may charge the prescribed fees or other 
sums for its services under this Act including sums incurred on publication of public 
notice. 
(2) The charges or sums received under subsection (1) shall be credited to 
the NADRA Fund established under section 24 of the National Database and 
Registration Authority Ordinance, 2000 (VIII of 2000). 
10. 
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[* * * * * * * * * * *] 
11. Penalty, offences and trial. The provisions in relation to offences, penalties 
and trial mentioned in Chapter IX of the National Database and Registration Authority 
Ordinance, 2000 (VIII of 2000) shall apply mutatis mutandis under this Act. 
                                                      
5.Omitted “Section 10” by the Punjab Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates (Amendment) Act 2025 (LXII of 2025), 
published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated : 31 July 2025, p 589.s.2(b). 
 
 
12. Act to override o ther laws . The provisions of this Act shall have effect 
notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force. 
13. Power to make rules. The Government may, by notification in the official 
Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act. 
14. Repeal. The Punjab Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates 
Ordinance 2021 (VIII of 2021) is hereby repealed.