Do I have to travel to Venezuela to declare the inheritance?

Not necessarily. Any one of the heirs can file the declaración sucesoral, and you can appear before the SENIAT through a representative who proves their authority.

How long do you have to file the declaración sucesoral?

The law gives 180 days following the opening of the succession, which occurs at death, and does not say whether they are calendar days. The Código Orgánico Tributario counts deadlines stated in days as business days of the tax administration, unless the law declares them calendar days. An extraordinary period can be requested before the ordinary one expires.

Do I pay more inheritance tax for living abroad?

We found no different rate in the law for residing abroad. The tax applies to assets located in Venezuela, with the same rate by family relationship for all heirs.

Does the foreign death certificate need an apostille?

Yes, if the country that issued it is a party to the Hague Convention: the competent authority of that country affixes the apostille. If it is not a party, legalization is used.

What is the declaración de únicos y universales herederos?

It is a court declaration of who the heirs are, processed as a justificación para perpetua memoria (articles 936 and 937 of the Código de Procedimiento Civil). Since Resolución 2009-0006 of the Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, these non-contentious matters are heard by the Juzgados de Municipio. It leaves the rights of third parties unaffected and does not replace the declaración sucesoral.

Can I sell the inherited house without the solvencia sucesoral?

Registrars and notaries cannot record the sale without the certificado de solvencia or an express authorization from the tax authority. That authorization requires securing the tax authority's interests.

Inheriting in Venezuela while living abroad

If your father or mother died and left a property in Venezuela, the inheritance can be handled from abroad through a representative. This is what the cited rules say as of October 27, 2026; for your case you will need a Venezuelan lawyer and accountant.

Who inherits if there is no will

Without a will, the Código Civil (Civil Code) calls first the children and descendants whose filiation is legally proven (article 822). The spouse shares with them "tomando una parte igual a la de un hijo" (taking a share equal to that of a child) (article 824). Without children, if there are ascendants and a spouse, half goes to each side; without ascendants, half goes to the spouse and the other half to siblings and nephews and nieces (article 825).

First the spouse's half is set aside: if the house was bought during the marriage with common money, it belongs to the marital community (article 156) and half of it was already the spouse's (article 148).

If your father or mother lived abroad, the succession is governed "por el Derecho del domicilio del causante" (by the law of the decedent's domicile) (article 34 of the Ley de Derecho Internacional Privado, the Private International Law Act). Even so, descendants, ascendants and the spouse who is not legally separated as to property can enforce the Venezuelan legítima (forced share) on the assets located in Venezuela (article 35).

The declaración sucesoral (inheritance tax return) without traveling

Under the Ley de Impuesto sobre Sucesiones, Donaciones y Demás Ramos Conexos (Inheritance, Gift and Related Taxes Law; Gaceta Oficial No. 5.391 Extraordinario, October 22, 1999):

Deadline: the heirs, "o uno cualquiera de ellos" (or any one of them), file within the 180 days following the opening of the succession (article 27), which occurs at death (article 993 of the Código Civil). The inheritance law does not say whether these are calendar days; the Código Orgánico Tributario (Organic Tax Code; Gaceta Oficial No. 6.507 Extraordinario, 2020) counts deadlines stated in days as business days of the Administración Tributaria (tax administration), unless the law declares them calendar days (article 10).

Extension: if there are assets that are hard to inventory or insurmountable obstacles, an extraordinary period is requested before the ordinary one expires (article 33).

Where: where the tax arises (article 34), that is, where the assets are (article 5). Even if your father died abroad, the Venezuelan property is declared in Venezuela.

Who acts for you: the duties of an estate are fulfilled by its representatives or by the persons its members designate, and failing them by any interested party (article 156, numeral 4, of the Código Orgánico Tributario). The representative proves their authority at their first appearance (article 159).

Late: not filing or filing late is an ilícito formal (formal tax offense) (article 103 of the same code).

The estate's RIF (tax ID number) and yours

According to the Universidad Rafael Belloso Chacín (2023), before filing online you obtain the estate's RIF, with the death certificate, the cédula (national ID card) of the decedent and the cédulas and current RIF of the heirs, among other documents.

You need your own RIF even if you live abroad: the providencia on the RIF (administrative order) of the SENIAT (the national tax authority), reprinted with amendment SNAT/2026/00080 (Gaceta Oficial No. 43.435, August 12, 2026), requires non-residents who "posean bienes susceptibles de ser gravados" (own assets liable to be taxed) in the country to register (article 1). It does not name the estate among those required; it only cites the opening of the succession among the changes that require updating details (article 6, letter k). The SENIAT portal does not load from outside Venezuela: confirm the required documents with an accountant before signing the poder (power of attorney).

The tax if you live abroad

The law taxes according to where the assets are, not where the heir lives: beneficiaries of inheritances with assets "situados en el territorio nacional" (located in the national territory) pay (article 2), including rights over assets located in the country (article 3, numeral 3). We found no different rate, exemption or surcharge for heirs who reside abroad.

Topic	What the law says	Article
Rate	Progressive on each heir's share: from 1% to 25% for ascendants, descendants, the spouse and adopted children; from 2.5% to 40% for siblings and nephews and nieces by right of representation	7
Family home	The one that was the permanent seat of the decedent's household is excluded from the base, if it passes "con estos fines" (for these purposes) to ascendants, descendants, the spouse, or adoptive parents and adopted children	10, numeral 1
Debts abroad	Those incurred or to be performed outside the country are not deducted, except those arising from investments or activities in Venezuela that are not secured by pledges or mortgages on assets abroad	26, numeral 3
Who is liable	Each heir, for the tax on their own share	4

The family home when everyone lives abroad. Article 10 does not expressly require an heir to live there, nor does it define "con estos fines" (for these purposes). But according to URBE (that university), to declare it as the principal residence you file the RIF of the heir who still lives at that address. If none lives there, we could not verify how the SENIAT treats it: ask your accountant.

Documents from abroad: death certificate and poder

The foreign death certificate

It is a foreign public document, and the Hague Apostille Convention applies to those (article 1). The apostille is issued by the competent authority of the State from which the document emanates (article 3): a Spanish certificate is apostilled in Spain. Check in the HCCH status table that the country is a party; if it is not, legalization is used.

Before a court, article 185 of the Código de Procedimiento Civil (Code of Civil Procedure) has the judge order documents in another language translated by an intérprete público (public interpreter) or, if there is none, by a translator the judge appoints and swears in. For the SENIAT, the Registro and the notary office we found no rule on translation: ask the office which translation it accepts before paying for one. See the apostille guide.

The poder for your representative

If you sign it at a Venezuelan consulate, it does not need an apostille: the convention does not apply to consular documents (article 1). If you sign it before a notary in a country that is a party to the convention, it needs that country's apostille (article 3). Depending on the procedure, the poder must cover:

The SENIAT: registering the RIF, filing, paying and collecting the solvencia (clearance). According to URBE, a third party's poder must be notarized and registered.

A court: a poder for judicial acts is granted in public or authenticated form (article 151 of the Código de Procedimiento Civil, the Code of Civil Procedure), and only a lawyer can exercise it in court (article 166). If you grant it abroad in another language, article 157 requires it to be translated "por Intérprete Público en Venezuela" (by a public interpreter in Venezuela).

The sale: it requires express authority (article 1.688 of the Código Civil).

See the guide to the general or special poder.

Declaración de únicos y universales herederos (declaration of sole and universal heirs)

It is a court declaration, with no opposing party, of who the heirs are. It is processed as a justificación para perpetua memoria (proceeding to record facts for perpetual memory) (articles 936 and 937 of the Código de Procedimiento Civil): as long as there is no opposition, the judge decrees what they consider in accordance with the law, "quedando en todo caso a salvo los derechos de terceros" (leaving in any case the rights of third parties unaffected) (article 937). That article assigns the declaration to the Juez de Primera Instancia (first-instance judge) of the place where the assets are, but Resolución 2009-0006 of the Sala Plena (full court) of the Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (Supreme Court; Gaceta Oficial No. 39.152, April 2, 2009) gave the Juzgados de Municipio (municipal courts), "de forma exclusiva y excluyente" (exclusively and excluding all others), matters of jurisdicción voluntaria (non-contentious jurisdiction) in civil matters, and rendered ineffective "las competencias designadas por textos normativos preconstitucionales" (the jurisdictions assigned by pre-constitutional legal texts) (article 3).

An example: the Juzgado Segundo del Municipio Barinas (second municipal court of Barinas; September 28, 2010) based its jurisdiction on that resolution and on the decedent's last domicile. It received the death certificate, the children's birth certificates and three witnesses, published a notice in the press and left unaffected the rights of third parties and of the Fisco Nacional (national treasury).

It does not replace the declaración sucesoral or the solvencia, and none of the cited rules requires it in order to file with the SENIAT. Ask whether the bank, the Registro (public registry) or the buyer asks for it. If your father lived abroad, your lawyer determines the competent court.

The solvencia sucesoral (inheritance tax clearance), and then selling or registering

Once the tax is paid, or its exoneration or extinction is declared, the SENIAT issues a certificado de solvencia o liberación (certificate of clearance or release) (article 45). Without it, or without express authorization from the fisco (tax authority), registrars, judges and notaries cannot record or authenticate the transfer of inherited assets (article 51). The tax authority can authorize a sale before payment if its interests are sufficiently secured (article 53).

With the solvencia, the heirs sell together, in person or through a poder, or carry out the partition first. The steps and taxes of the sale are in how to sell an inherited property.

Clarification (October 28, 2026): we clarified which translation the Code of Civil Procedure requires before a court.

Inheriting a property in Venezuela while living abroad