Guardianship Certificate for Minor Heirs in Pakistan (2026)

In short

NADRA and minors: NADRA's Punjab FAQ lists a "Minor in the family of deceased" as a reason to decline, and says a minor cannot apply. The Punjab (2021 text) and Balochistan Acts count a minor heir as a controversy. Sindh is different: since its 2025 amendment, a minor heir alone is no longer a controversy, but the certificate for the minor's share takes effect only after a guardianship certificate. Who applies: the would-be guardian, any relative or friend of the minor, or the district Collector. Which court: the Family Court, which the Family Courts Act makes the District Court for guardianship cases, where the minor ordinarily resides; for property, also where it is. After appointment: a guardian of property appointed or declared by the court (other than a Collector or a guardian appointed by will or other instrument) may not mortgage, charge, sell, gift, exchange or otherwise transfer the minor's immoveable property (land, a house, a flat), or lease it for more than five years or past one year after the minor comes of age, "without the previous permission of the Court".

A guardianship certificate is a court order under the Guardians and Wards Act 1890 that appoints or declares a guardian of a minor's person, property or both. Heirs meet it when one of them is a child. This guide explains the procedure; it is not legal advice, and anything contested, including who should care for the child, needs a lawyer.

Why a minor heir changes the route

NADRA's Punjab FAQ says a minor cannot apply and lists "Minor in the family of deceased" first among the factual controversy cases it declines. The Punjab 2021 and Balochistan 2022 Acts include the case "where at least one of the legal heirs is a minor". The heirs then go to court: see the succession certificate through court, and for NADRA's own process, the NADRA succession certificate guide. We did not read the Islamabad or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Acts on this.

Sindh. Sindh Act XXVII of 2025 omitted those words from Sindh's definition. Instead, new section 7(2) says the certificate issued in the case of a minor or mentally disabled heir "shall take effect and shall be executed after issuance of guardianship certificate of the person and property issued under the Guardian and Wards Act (Act VIII of 1890)", from the competent court of the heir's permanent residence, "to the extent of assets and share of such minor or disabled legal heir". Ask the Sindh office how it handles a minor heir today.

Who is a minor

The Guardians and Wards Act takes "minor" from the Majority Act 1875, whose section 3 (Pakistan Code text) sets majority at eighteen, but a minor whose guardian (other than a guardian for a lawsuit) is appointed or declared by a court before eighteen is "deemed to have attained his majority when he shall have completed his age of twenty-one years and not before". So once a court appoints a guardian, the child stays a minor until twenty-one, the guardian's powers last until then (Guardians and Wards Act, section 41), and the section 29 lease limit below counts from that date.

Applying for a guardianship certificate

Who can apply (section 8): "the person desirous of being, or claiming to be, the guardian of the minor", "any relative or friend of the minor" (a widowed mother or a grandparent can apply as a relative), or the Collector of the district where the minor ordinarily resides or has property.

Which court: the Family Courts Act 1964 gives Family Courts "exclusive jurisdiction" over the matters in Part I of its Schedule (section 5), and item 6 is "Guardianship". Section 25 says a Family Court "shall be deemed to be a District Court for the purposes of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890" and follows that Act's procedure. We read the Pakistan Code text and did not check provincial amendments.

Where (section 9): for the minor's person, where the minor "ordinarily resides". For property, there or where the minor has property; a court away from the minor's residence may return it if another court would dispose of it "more justly or conveniently".

The petition (section 10): signed and verified like a plaint under the Code of Civil Procedure, stating as far as known:

• the minor's name, sex, religion, date of birth and ordinary residence;
• the nature, situation and approximate value of the minor's property, and who holds it;
• the minor's near relations, and any guardian already appointed or earlier application;
• whether it is for the person, the property or both, the proposed guardian's qualifications, and why it is made.

It must come with "a declaration of the willingness of the proposed guardian to act", signed by the proposed guardian and "attested by at least two witnesses".

Notice and hearing (sections 11 and 13): notice goes to the minor's parents if in Pakistan, the person named as having custody, and the proposed guardian, and is posted at the courthouse and the minor's residence; the court then hears evidence for and against.

What the court weighs (section 17): the minor's welfare, consistent with the law the minor is subject to, with factors including age, sex and religion, the proposed guardian's character, capacity and nearness of kin, and a deceased parent's wishes. Nobody is appointed against their will. Section 19's bar for a living father is on a guardian of the person only, "of a minor whose father is living and is not, in the opinion of the Court, unfit to be guardian of the person of the minor"; its only bar on a guardian of property is where a Court of Wards superintends the property.

Court fee and time: not confirmed in an official text; ask the court or a lawyer.

After appointment: what a guardian may and may not do

Section 27 binds a guardian of property to deal with it "as carefully as a man of ordinary prudence would deal with it if it were his own".

Under section 29, a guardian of property appointed or declared by the court (other than a Collector or a guardian appointed by will or other instrument) "shall not, without the previous permission of the Court":

• "mortgage or charge, or transfer by sale, gift, exchange or otherwise, any part of the immoveable property of his ward", or
• "lease any part of that property for a term exceeding five years or for any term extending more than one year beyond the date on which the ward will cease to be a minor".

A sale or other disposal against these rules "is voidable at the instance of any other person affected thereby" (section 30). Buying from heirs with a minor among them? Ask to see the court's permission (see check before you pay).

Under section 31(1), permission "shall not be granted by the Court except in case of necessity or for an evident advantage to the ward". The court may attach conditions, such as that a sale "shall not be completed without the sanction of the Court", that it be made by public auction to the highest bidder, or that all or part of the proceeds be paid into court.

If the court requires it, the guardian gives a bond, a statement of the property within six months (or as the court directs), and accounts (section 34). Orders appointing or refusing to appoint a guardian, or refusing permission under section 29, are appealable (Guardians and Wards Act, section 47): under section 14 of the Family Courts Act, to the High Court where the Family Court is presided over by a District or Additional District Judge (or a person of that rank), and "to the District Court, in any other case". "No appeal or revision shall lie against an interim order passed by a Family Court."

Next steps

Work out each heir's share, including the minor's, with the inheritance calculator. For land in Punjab, the inheritance mutation follows: see inheritance mutation in Punjab.

Frequently asked questions

Nabaligh bachon ka wirasat mein hissa kaise milega?

Under NADRA's Punjab FAQ and the Punjab and Balochistan Acts, NADRA declines when an heir is a minor, so the heirs go to court for the succession certificate; in Sindh the minor's share takes effect after a guardianship certificate. A relative or friend can apply to the Family Court to be appointed guardian of the child's property, and that guardian needs the court's permission to sell the child's immoveable property (land, a house, a flat).

Which court issues a guardian certificate in Pakistan?

The Family Court where the minor ordinarily resides; for property, also where it is.

Can a guardian sell a minor's share in property?

A guardian of property appointed or declared by the court cannot sell, mortgage, gift or exchange the minor's immoveable property (land, a house, a flat) without the court's prior permission, and the court gives it only "in case of necessity or for an evident advantage to the ward". A sale without it is voidable.

Sources

1. Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 (VIII of 1890), sections 4, 7 to 11, 13, 17, 19, 27, 29 to 31, 34, 41 and 47, Pakistan Code pakistancode.gov.pk
2. Family Courts Act, 1964 (W.P. Act XXXV of 1964), sections 5, 14 and 25 and the Schedule, Pakistan Code (copy updated till 17 January 2025) pakistancode.gov.pk
3. Majority Act, 1875 (IX of 1875), section 3, Pakistan Code pakistancode.gov.pk
4. NADRA Punjab succession site: FAQs, Eligibility and Decline Certificate tabs (checked in a browser on 2 November 2026) punjabsuccession.nadra.gov.pk
5. NADRA Punjab succession site: Punjab Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act 2021 (Act IX of 2021), Punjab Gazette, 17 May 2021, section 2(b) (checked in a browser on 2 November 2026) punjabsuccession.nadra.gov.pk
6. Provincial Assembly of Balochistan: Balochistan Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act, 2022 (Act No. I of 2022), section 2(b) pabalochistan.gov.pk
7. Sindh Code (sindhlaws.gov.pk): Sindh Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act, 2021 (Sindh Act No. VII of 2021), as amended by Sindh Act No. XXVII of 2025, sections 2(b) and 7(2) sindhlaws.gov.pk