How to memorialize or close a deceased person's Facebook account
Facebook handles memorializing or closing a deceased person's account through an online form. The steps below are Facebook's own published process, taken from its official support pages — this page organizes them so you can see what the provider asks for; it doesn't add to them or recommend any particular action.
What you'll need
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Proof of your relationship to the deceased
- Your government-issued photo ID
Steps
- Decide between memorializing the profile (it stays up as a memorial, nobody can log in) and removing the account.
- To memorialize: submit the memorialization request with a scan or photo of the obituary, death certificate, memorial card or other documentation confirming the death; the details must match the account. Anyone can request memorialization.
- To remove: as an immediate family member or executor, use the Special Request for a Medically Incapacitated or Deceased Person's Account form with your name and contact email, the person's profile name and URL, the account email, and a scan or photo of the death certificate (the Help Center lists other accepted documents). Meta requires verification that you are an immediate family member or executor.
- If the account has a legacy contact, only the legacy contact can request profile removal; others can only report it for memorialization. A legacy contact can pin a post, update the profile and cover photo, request removal, and download an archive if enabled — but cannot log in or read messages.
- After Meta verifies the information it memorializes or removes the account. Login information is never provided.
Closing one account is only part of the job — every recurring charge still draws on a card or bank account the estate will eventually claim. HeirLoft reads the recurring charges straight out of an inbox in one pass, so you can see everything that's still billing while you work down the list.
Surface every recurring charge in one place
How to contact Facebook (Meta)
If Facebook Legacy Contact was set up
Facebook offers Facebook Legacy Contact, which lets an account holder designate someone in advance. If the deceased set it up and named you, you may have a faster path through that feature than through the general process above — check for it before starting a request.
Typical timeline
Facebook does not publish a typical timeline for this process.
Notes
Facebook's help pages return an error to non-browser clients; a legacy contact must be chosen from the main profile by a user 18 or older.
Sources
- https://www.facebook.com/help/1111566045566400
- https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/228813257197480
- https://www.facebook.com/help/1568013990080948
Last reviewed September 14, 2026 · Links verified September 14, 2026
Related guides
- Close a deceased person's account, provider by provider
- Closing a deceased person's social media accounts
The simplest way to spare your own family this process is to keep an up-to-date list of your accounts somewhere they can find it. HeirLoft finds the recurring charges you've forgotten and keeps them in one place your heirs can actually use.