Succession Certificate in Balochistan: NADRA Fee Rs 20,000 or Rs 10,000, Documents and 14-Day Notice

In Balochistan, a succession certificate is issued by NADRA under the Balochistan Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act, 2022. The fee is Rs 20,000 when the property is worth Rs 100,000 or more, and Rs 10,000 when it is worth less. NADRA publishes a notice, waits 14 days for objections, checks every heir's biometrics and must then issue the certificate within 14 days.

That is the short version. Below we cover which of the two documents you need, the four papers to bring, how the fee is paid, what you lose if NADRA declines the case, and when the family has to go to a civil court instead. We read the Act, the 2022 Rules and the December 2023 fee amendment on the Balochistan Code portal.

A succession certificate covers money, a letter of administration covers land

The Balochistan Act lets NADRA issue two documents. A succession certificate lets the named heir collect movable property, such as bank balances and shares. A letter of administration covers immovable property, such as a house or land. Both list every legal heir and their share.

Ask for the right one at the start. If the deceased left a bank account and a plot, the application has to cover both kinds of property. The forms in Schedules II and III of the Rules show each heir's name, CNIC, relation to the deceased and share, worked out under the deceased's personal law.

The NADRA fee in Balochistan is Rs 20,000 or Rs 10,000

Schedule IV of the Rules, as amended on 6 December 2023, sets three fees. An initial application costs Rs 20,000 if the property is worth Rs 100,000 or more, and Rs 10,000 if it is worth less. A duplicate or amended certificate costs Rs 5,000.

Before that amendment the same three fees were Rs 12,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,500. So if a relative tells you the fee is Rs 12,000, they are quoting the 2022 schedule.

The Rules allow payment by pay order, demand draft, bank challan in NADRA's favour, or any mode NADRA accepts, and they name Easypaisa, UPaisa and Mobicash as examples. Ask at the counter which ones the office takes on the day.

Bring four documents to the NADRA office

Rule 3 lists the papers: the death certificate, a list of all legal heirs with copies of their CNICs, NICOPs or Family Registration Certificate, an authorisation letter from the heirs, and proof of ownership of each asset. For land, that proof is a certificate from the registry or revenue office, which for farmland usually means an extract from the land record in Balochistan.

1. Get the death certificate from the union council if you do not have it.
2. Collect CNIC or NICOP copies of every heir. A Family Registration Certificate helps show the family tree.
3. Fill the Schedule I authorisation letter, signed by all heirs, and have it attested by an oath commissioner.
4. Gather proof of each asset: bank account numbers for money, and an ownership certificate from the land registry for property.
5. Apply at the NADRA office notified for succession where the deceased lived, or where the property is.
6. Pay the fee and keep the receipt.

The authorisation letter lists each asset and every heir, with columns for religion, sect, mobile number, email and share. Leave no heir out: an heir who objects later turns the case into a dispute that NADRA cannot decide.

NADRA works to two 14-day clocks

Within 14 days of receiving the application, NADRA must publish a public notice on its web portal and in one English and one Urdu newspaper. If no objection arrives within 14 days of that notice, every heir gives biometrics, and NADRA must issue the certificate within 14 days after the notice period ends.

Heirs do not need to travel to Quetta for biometrics. The Act says verification can be done at any notified NADRA office in Pakistan or abroad. If an heir's fingerprints fail, NADRA can call that heir in person on a fixed date.

A dispute sends the case to court, and the fee is only partly refunded

The Act calls it a controversy: an objection by an heir, a dispute over who the heirs are, or at least one heir who is a minor. In any of these, NADRA declines and the family files under the Succession Act, 1925, in a civil court.

A minor heir is the point families miss. If one child of the deceased is under 18, NADRA's route is closed and the court route applies.

When an application is declined, Schedule IV refunds Rs 5,000. On a Rs 20,000 application, that means NADRA keeps Rs 15,000, by our arithmetic. Be sure every heir agrees before you pay.

Anyone who objects after a certificate is issued has 30 days from NADRA's decision to go to the competent court.

A lost certificate needs a police or levies report

For a lost or stolen certificate, Rule 6 asks for a copy of the police or levies report, or an FIR, with the Rs 5,000 application. A damaged certificate must be handed back. A wrong entry can be corrected by surrendering the original and applying for an amended one.

Fees outside Balochistan follow other rules. When we read NADRA's fee schedule in August 2026, it charged Rs 20,000 for a succession certificate from NADRA and Rs 22,000 in Sindh.

Common questions

Can a lawyer apply on behalf of the heirs?

Yes. The Act lets the legal heirs or their legal counsel apply, and the heirs can authorise one of themselves to act for all.

Does a NADRA succession certificate count in court?

Yes. Section 6(7) of the Act gives it the same effect as a certificate issued under the Succession Act, 1925.

Can I go straight to a civil court in Balochistan?

Not usually. Section 10 bars a court from taking up the matter until NADRA has declined to process the application.

How long does the whole process take?

On the Act's own timelines, about six weeks: up to 14 days to publish the notice, 14 days for objections and up to 14 days to issue. Biometric problems or newspaper delays can stretch it.

Do heirs abroad have to come to Pakistan?

No. Biometric verification can be done at a notified NADRA office abroad, according to the Act's explanation to section 6(5).

What if the deceased has no death certificate yet?

Register the death at the union council first. The Act lists the death certificate as the first required document, so NADRA will not start without it.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

We read the Balochistan Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act, 2022, the 2022 Rules and the amendment notification of 6 December 2023 on the Balochistan Code portal on 27 October 2026. NADRA's own website refused our connection that day, so we could not check whether NADRA lists the same Balochistan fee on its fee page. The 2023 fee amendment is the latest change we found.