Florida Statute 731.103
“Evidence as to death or status”
What it means
In proceedings under the Probate Code and chapter 736, an authenticated copy of a death certificate issued by an official or agency of the place of death is prima facie proof of the fact, place, date, and time of death and the decedent's identity. A copy of a governmental agency record or report, domestic or foreign, that a person is alive, missing, detained, or presumed dead is prima facie evidence of the status and of the dates, circumstances, and places it discloses.
A person absent from the last known domicile for a continuous 5 years, whose absence is not satisfactorily explained after diligent search and inquiry, is presumed dead. Death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the period unless evidence shows it occurred earlier. Evidence of exposure to a specific peril of death may allow the court to find, at any time after the exposure, that the person died less than 5 years after the absence began. Death may also be established by direct or circumstantial evidence before the 5 years end. The petition is filed in the county of the decedent's Florida domicile, or in any Florida county if the decedent was not a Florida resident when the absence began.
- An authenticated death certificate from the place of death is prima facie proof of the fact, place, date, and time of death and of identity (§ 731.103(1)).
- A governmental record or report, domestic or foreign, that a person is alive, missing, detained, or presumed dead is prima facie evidence of that status (§ 731.103(2)).
- Presumption of death: 5 continuous years of absence from the last known domicile, unexplained after diligent search and inquiry (§ 731.103(3)).
- Death is presumed at the end of the period unless evidence shows it occurred earlier (§ 731.103(3)).
- Evidence of exposure to a specific peril may support a finding at any time after exposure that death occurred in less than 5 years (§ 731.103(3)).
- Death may be established by direct or circumstantial evidence before the 5 years expire (§ 731.103(4)).
Text of the statute (2026)
(1) An authenticated copy of a death certificate issued by an official or agency of the place where the death purportedly occurred is prima facie proof of the fact, place, date, and time of death and the identity of the decedent.
(2) A copy of any record or report of a governmental agency, domestic or foreign, that a person is alive, missing, detained, or, from the facts related, presumed dead is prima facie evidence of the status and of the dates, circumstances, and places disclosed by the record or report.
(3) A person who is absent from the place of his or her last known domicile for a continuous period of 5 years and whose absence is not satisfactorily explained after diligent search and inquiry is presumed to be dead. The person’s death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the period unless there is evidence establishing that death occurred earlier. Evidence showing that the absent person was exposed to a specific peril of death may be a sufficient basis for the court determining at any time after such exposure that he or she died less than 5 years after the date on which his or her absence commenced. A petition for this determination shall be filed in the county in Florida where the decedent maintained his or her domicile or in any county of this state if the decedent was not a resident of Florida at the time his or her absence commenced.
(4) This section does not preclude the establishment of death by direct or circumstantial evidence prior to expiration of the 5-year time period set forth in subsection (3).
Excerpts are the subsections the summary relies on. Read the full official text of § 731.103.
History. s. 1, ch. 74-106; s. 2, ch. 75-220; s. 946, ch. 97-102; s. 1, ch. 2003-154; s. 27, ch. 2006-217.
How it applies
Subsection (1) applies in routine probate proceedings, where a certified death certificate is the usual proof of death. Subsections (3) and (4) apply when a person is missing. A petition under subsection (3) is filed in the county of the person's Florida domicile, or in any Florida county if the person was not a Florida resident when the absence began. The statute's tests are the length of absence, the diligence of the search and inquiry, evidence of a specific peril, and any direct or circumstantial evidence of death.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 731.103 does real work:
- Missing will in Florida: where to look, safe-deposit boxes and lost-will probate
- Inheriting an IRA or 401(k) in Florida: the 10-year rule, spouse choices, taxes and probate
- Amelia Earhart
- Errol Flynn
- Lord Lucan
- The 1928 Okeechobee hurricane
- Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
- The presumption of death
- Steve Fossett
Questions people ask
Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 731.103 (2026), flsenate.gov (Death certificate and agency-record proof in (1)-(2), the 5-year presumption in (3), and earlier proof in (4).)
Last checked: October 17, 2026
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