Death State Records

Are Death Records Public?

US states have varying laws pertaining to the dissemination of vital record information, including death records. In some states, informational copies of these records can be made available to requesters, while certified copies are exclusive to persons who can prove a direct and tangible interest in the record. On the other hand, selected states restrict the public disclosure of death records, only making them available to the blood relative, legal guardian, or legal representative of the record holder or deceased. Essentially, whether a death record is deemed public will depend on the prevailing jurisdiction’s laws; however, where a death certificate is public, it will be accessible through government-operated repositories as well as third-party sites.

Considered open to citizens of the United States, public records are available through both traditional government sources and through third-party websites and organizations. In many cases, third-party websites make the search easier as they are not limited geographically or by technological limitations. They are considered a good place to start when looking for a specific record or multiple records. In order to gain access to these records, requesters must typically provide:

• The name of the person listed in the record. Juveniles are typically exempt from this search method.
• The last known or assumed location of the person listed in the record. This includes cities, counties, and states.

While third-party sites offer such services, they are not government-sponsored entities and record availability may vary on these sites when compared to government sources.

How are Death Records Created?

Although states have the legal mandate of collecting death records, the federal government also plays a vital role. States usually offer modifications of death certificates. However, many states are adopting the U.S. Standard Certificate of Death provided by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). In documenting a death event, however, the most valuable information required is the cause and manner of death. The certifier must identify and describe this while creating a death record. The causes of death are the conditions and series of events leading to death. Underlying causes of death overtime should also be determined.

The person who signs a death certificate differs by state and usually depends on state law. Generally, an attending physician, a primary physician, a non-attending physician, a coroner, a forensic pathologist, a medical examiner, and a nurse practitioner can sign a death certificate. However, the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) confirms that medical examiners and coroners sign an estimated 20% of all death certificates in the United States. The physician's primary responsibility in death registration is declaring such a death. Where the physician is also the attending physician, they may report the cause of death. A different physician pronounces death only when the attending physician is unavailable to certify the cause of death at the time of the event if State law permits.

The cause of death section of the Certificate of Death must be completed by either the coroner, attending physician, or the medical examiner. This section is intended to obtain the opinion of the certifier regarding a death event. It provides an etiologic explanation of the type, order, and chains of events resulting in death. It is mandatory to record all death events with local health departments within three days and to the state, seven days at the most. The NCHS obtains information on death events recorded within states from the State Vital Records Offices for compiling mortality data. This data is essential to manage funding and future preventive policies and is used by government agencies and private entities.

How to Find Death Records Online

The National Death Index (NDI) is an online repository of all death events in the United States. It currently contains over 100 million public death records from 1979 through the years. Death records are added to the NDI list every year, usually 12 months after the end of a particular calendar year. The National Center for Health Statistics established the NDI to help health and medical investigators in mortality determination pursuits. It is, however, unavailable to the general public for administrative, genealogy, or legal purposes. The database is exclusively accessible by persons or entities requiring such records for statistical purposes in medical and health research. The NDI assists investigators in determining whether the persons under their research have died. If such is the case, the database provides the dates of death, the state in which the death events occurred, and the death certificate numbers. Each record filed in the NDI has its unique certificate number. Once this information is obtained, investigators can establish contact with the state's vital record offices to request copies of such death certificates. They can also ask for specific information from the death records, such as the cause of death.

The NDI file uses the NDI Retrieval Program to ascertain whether a specific NDI death record passes as a possible match with a particular user record. However, both records must fulfill at least one of seven matching criteria to qualify as a possible record match. Also, the specified data items on both documents must agree. Some information can help facilitate records matching, and NDI users are encouraged to provide as much as they can for each research. These include last and first names, middle initial, sex, marital status, state of birth, social security number, father's surname, state of residence, and date of birth. The NCHS provides a guide on how to use the National Death Index. Some states also offer online services for death record requests, which are managed by the state’s vital record offices. Residents of such states must, however, provide accurate information about the decedents to take advantage of these services.

How to Find Public Death Records for Free

Members of the public can find death records for free in the United States using the Social Security Death Index (SSDI). The SSDI was created from the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Death Master File (DMF). It is a data pool of public death records of Americans whose deaths were reported to the SSA and contains records from 1962. The DMF has over 83 million death records. Each death record provides valuable information on each decedent, if available on the SSA's file. Such information includes name, date of birth, date of death, and social security number. However, the SSA does not have records of all death events, and the absence of a person's record does not mean the person is still alive.

Arising from the restrictions enacted in March 2014, recent entries to publicly available versions of the SSDI are not publicly accessible. The most reliable way of searching a death record on any publicly available version of the SSDI is using the decedent's social security number. However, if this is not available, search with the decedent's name. If there is an ambiguity with spelling the decedent's last name, use the drop-down menu on the search page to select Soundex or Metaphone to find spelling deviations. If available on record, the SSDI search will return information on the deceased, including the places they lived. The information obtained from the SSDI search can be used to request a copy of the decedent's original Social Security application record (SS-5), although at a fee. A person can also narrow the search of a decedent's death certificate using the information obtained (for free) from the SSDI search.

How to Find Death Records by Mail

Persons interested in obtaining death records in the United States must first identify the state in which such events occurred. Death records are usually filed in local or state vital records offices. To find a public death record by mail, a requester should do the following after identifying the location of the event:

• Obtain and complete the provided death certificate application form
• Attach a legible copy of any government-issued photo ID and other required documents to the application
• Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope and payment proof as may be required by the state or local vital record office in the application.
• Forward the completed application to the local or state vital record office.

Most Vital Record Offices host death certificate application forms on their official websites, and requesters can download and print such application forms to file their requests. Most of these forms require that a requester provide the following information about a decedent:

• The decedent's full name
• Names of decedent's parents, including mother's maiden name
• Sex
• Date of birth (month, day, and year)
• Requester's relationship with the decedent
• Purpose of request
• Place of death (town, city, county, and state)
• Requester's phone number

A requester must, however, provide all information accurately to facilitate a smooth search.

How to Find Death Records in Person

To find a United States death record in person, the requester should identify the state where such a death event occurred and visit their Vital Record Office. Once at this office, the requester should obtain a death certificate application form and complete it. Afterward, they should attach a clear copy of their government-issued photo ID and pay the required fees as advised by the office. In most cases, the staff of the Vital Record Office will advise on the acceptable payment channels for an in-person death record request.

Death Record Search by Name

A death record search by name affords inquirers a means to access death record information by using the decedent's name as a search query. These types of searches may be conducted through government-operated databases or third-party repositories. To conduct a search, the inquirer will need to enter the full name of the deceased and any additional information that may streamline the results generated - this may include the deceased’s social security number, death date, and identifying information. However, it is worth noting that recent deaths are often excluded from public indexes because most states have a statutory period that must elapse before public death records are made public information.

Death Record Search by Address

There are no public indexes or online resources that allow inquirers to conduct a death record search by address. This is because an address is insufficient information to facilitate the typical vital record check. For a typical death record search, the inquirer will need to provide the deceased’s full name, personal information, and proof of eligibility to access the record (where disclosure of the record is restricted per state statute).

How to Obtain US Public Death Records

Obtain a death certificate in the United States from the designated Vital Record Office in the state where the death event took place. Requesters can apply for death certificates at such locations via mail or in person. Each state's Vital Record Offices list their mailing and physical addresses on their official websites. Inquirers should copy these addresses and file their requests as it suits them. Some counties with local vital record offices also do the same. Also, some states permit specific local public health departments to issue death records to eligible persons. However, requesters must know that the application process may vary by state, city, and county, including the period in the week to file requests.

How to Obtain a Certified Copy of a Death Certificate?

Not everyone is eligible to get a copy of a death certificate in the United States. Generally, each state determines who obtains a copy of a death certificate and the type of certificate they can get. Eligible persons can acquire either certified or informational copies of a birth certificate. Informational copies of a death record contain personal records and are often available to anyone who needs them. In most states, certified copies of a death certificate are available only to immediate relatives of a decedent and administrator of the decedent's estate. Anyone who can demonstrate a direct financial interest in a decedent's estate also qualifies to obtain certified copies of a death certificate. Certified copies carry an official stamp and are usually needed for varying reasons. They are required to transfer a decedent's assets to beneficiaries and obtain a permit for a decedent's cremation or burial.

In a typical situation, however, the following persons and entities can get a United States death record:

• The decedent's immediate family members (parent, spouse, child, and sibling)
• Funeral director
• Government agency
• The decedent's estate administrator
• The informant named on the death certificate

Eligible requesters are also required to provide legible copies of their valid government-issued photo IDs besides other documents. The widely acceptable IDs include:

• The United States-issued driver's license or identification card
• Tribal identification card bearing the requester's signature
• The United States military identification card bearing the requester's signature
• Resident Alien Card (Form I-551)
• Employment Authorization Card (Form I-766)
• Employment Authorization Card (Form I-688A)
• Temporary Resident Card (Form I-688)
• The United States or Foreign issued Passport
• Visa stamped in a passport that has the requester's signature
• United States Territories Driver's License or Identification Card

How Much Does a Death Certificate Cost?

The cost of obtaining a death record in the United States differs by state and county. In most cases, however, the price ranges from $5 to $25. Varying rules also apply. The cost of obtaining a death record via mail may differ from what a requester will pay for an in-person request. It may also be the same in some states. Also, while some states will charge the same flat processing fee irrespective of the mode of application, others may charge different fees. Some states charge requesters the same price for each copy of the same death record. Others may charge lesser fees for each subsequent copy of a death record in the same order. Copies of death certificates ordered online also come at different costs to requesters, depending on the state.

The acceptable means of paying processing fees for public death records ordered online is a debit or credit card. For mail-in requests, most states have a preference for checks and money orders as payment means, while some allow cash payments. The majority of states accept cash as a medium of payment for in-person death record requests. Requesters are encouraged to contact the Vital Record Offices in the states or counties where the death certificates of their interest are filed to get first-hand information on processing fees. They can also obtain this information from their official websites.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Death Certificate?

Each state in the United States has a varying turn-around time for processing death record requests. It can take from one day to some weeks, depending on the mode of application. Most in-person requests are fulfilled on the same day of request or the following business day if such requests arrive towards the end of the day. However, because a death certificate is an official document, requesters might not be able to expedite the process, especially for mail-in applications. Persons who wish to go for expedited delivery must pay additional fees different from the standard processing fees.

To avoid delayed processing of a death record request, a requester should ensure to fill out accurate information at the point of application. If the state's Vital Record Office cannot find the death certificate requested, they will provide the applicant with a Certificate of Failure to Find. It is also known as a No Record Statement and is proof that such a requester tried locating the death certificate. Requesters can confirm states-specific information on how long it takes to get copies of death certificates from the official website of each state's Vital Records Office.

How Long to Keep Records After Death

In the United States, certain records are usually kept after a person's demise. While some are retained indefinitely, it is possible to discard others after a few years. If unsure whether a document should be kept, save such a document rather than throw it away. After a person's death, it is better to destroy documents containing financial and personal information to prevent identity theft. The different types of documents to keep after a person's demise include medical records, legal records, financial records, and other miscellaneous documents.

• Medical Records

Medical records include medical tests, medical history, health insurance cards, prescriptions, and hospital discharge papers. Most medical providers now store these records electronically.

• Legal Records

Legal records include birth certificates, death certificates, divorce decrees, social security cards, marriage certificates or prenuptial agreements, and legal wills. Eeligible persons can obtain them from the relevant Vital Records Offices after a person's demise, and it is a good idea to request multiple copies of such documents. A decedent's legal records should be kept indefinitely.

• Financial Records

Financial records include pay stubs, receipts, tax returns, account statements, and retirement benefit statements. Keep these documents for a minimum of three years after a person's death or three years after filing any required estate taxes, whichever is earlier.

How to Expunge Death Records

Expungement of a record is the permanent removal of some or whole part of such a document from government records. It is a legal process commonly associated with criminal records. Generally, anything to do with a death record is going to be hard to expunge, and only if it is possible at all. There is currently no straight-through process for death record expungement in the United States.

How to Seal Death Records

Sealing a record makes it confidential and keeps it away from public access. There is currently no known provision for death records sealing in the United States.

How to Unseal Death Records

There is no reason to unseal death records in the United States since there is no known provision for death record sealing.

How to Use a Death Registry

The procedure for using a death registry will vary depending on the resource being used. Most states publish a publicly accessible registry or index with which residents can access death information relating to their respective jurisdictions. Typically, a death registry will allow users to search for death information or notices using the name of the deceased or the date of their passing.

How to Find an Obituary for a Specific Person

Obituaries are usually listed in local publications and the obituary index of most public libraries. To find an obituary for a specific person, contact the publishing house affiliated with the publication where the obituary was listed or visit the public library and conduct an in-person search on their obituary index. In either case, the requesting party will need to furnish the custodial office with information to facilitate the search, including the deceased’s full name and the date of their date. In most cases, these offices allow Inquirers to conduct a free obituary search using their resources. However, depending on the nature of the search and the records required, a nominal fee may be charged for the service.

What is Considered a Death Notice?

A death notice is a notification or announcement of the demise of a person, typically listed in a local publication, like a newspaper or magazine. It is a paid notification, and it often features the deceased personal information and brief details of the funeral (if applicable).

Death Notices and Obituaries: Understanding the Difference

Death notices and obituaries are primarily distinguished by their length and the information contained in them. While a death notice is listed like a classified ad and contains information about the deceased, an obituary is typically written as a tribute to the decedent. Obituaries may feature details of the individual’s passing, their life and work, and the members of the family that they are survived by.