If you recently lost a loved one, you might be facing a long list of administrative tasks. Many of these tasks—like claiming your loved one’s property from financial institutions, accessing benefits, or closing accounts—will require providing copies of your loved one’s death certificate. Often, the funeral home can get copies for you. But how many copies should you order? What if some time has passed, and you need to do it yourself? To make this one thing easier for you in a difficult time, here’s a guide on how to get a death certificate.
What Is a Death Certificate?
The exact contents of a death certificate will vary by state, but typically the document contains:
- Personal information of the deceased, including name, date of birth, social security number, names of parents and surviving spouse, and more.
- Information about the death, including the date of death and place of death, and
- A medical certification of death—including time and cause of death—completed by a physician or coroner.
A death certificate is used as proof that someone has died. It also often provides details about the deceased person and the death.
Who Needs to See a Death Certificate When Someone Dies?
If you’re wrapping up your loved one’s estate, you’ll likely run into several situations requiring a death certificate, since many organizations will want proof of the death. For example, you’ll need a copy of a death certificate in order to:
- Start the probate process. If you’re the executor or personal representative of an estate, you’ll need to submit a death certificate (along with the will, if there is one) to start the probate process.
- Claim money in a bank, retirement, mutual fund, or other account. The financial institution managing the account will usually require proof that the account owner has died.
- Claim benefits. If you or someone else is entitled to claim certain benefits—like union benefits or veterans benefits—you’ll need to provide a copy of the death certificate. (But in the case of Social Security benefits for survivors, funeral homes usually start the process by reporting deaths directly to the Social Security Administration.)
- Claim life insurance proceeds. As you might imagine, someone claiming the proceeds of a life insurance policy will need to provide acceptable proof that the insured person has died.
- Take title to certain real estate. If you owned a home as joint tenants or with right of survivorship with the deceased person, or are the beneficiary of a transfer-on-death deed, you'll automatically own the real estate when the person dies. However, you'll still need to officially change the title on the deed, and the process usually includes filing a death certificate in the land records office.
- Close an account. If you need to close a deceased person’s account, you’ll also need to provide a death certificate to the bank or other financial institution.
- Cancel credit cards. Similarly, if you need to cancel any credit cards (tip: ask about canceling or reducing the remaining balance), you’ll probably want to have a copy of the death certificate ready.
As you can see, furnishing a death certificate is a necessary step in many of the tasks of wrapping up a person’s affairs. If you’re the executor of the estate or otherwise in charge of these tasks, you’ll likely want to order many copies of the death certificate at once. You might also want a copy for your personal records.
How to Get a Copy of a Death Certificate
Where can you get a death certificate? The easiest way to get copies of the death certificate is to order them from the funeral home, mortuary, or crematorium shortly after the death. But if you need to order more copies, you can also do so through:
- The vital records office in the county or state where the death occurred
- A third-party service like VitalChek
The vital records office goes by different names depending on the state. In addition, in some states, both the state and individual counties can provide death certificates (for example, in California, the vital records office in each county—called the Office of the Clerk-Recorder—can provide death certificates), while in other states (like Kansas), death certificates are available only from the state office.
Can Anyone Get a Death Certificate?
Some states place restrictions on who can obtain a certified copy of a death certificate. A certified copy is an official copy that usually has an embossed or raised seal. People sometimes also refer to this as an “official copy” or “original copy” of the death certificate.
You’ll want to check your state’s specific laws, but in states with these limitations, you can obtain a certified copy of the death certificate only if you’re a close family member of the deceased person (such as a spouse, parent, sibling, or child) or if you’re the executor of the estate.
Death Certificate FAQs
How many copies of the death certificate should you order?
How many copies of the death certificate you’ll need depends on what types of property your loved one left behind, and where the property is located. For example, if your loved one had several different bank and retirement accounts, you’ll probably want to order at least 10 death certificates because you’ll need quite a few to wrap up the estate. Review the section “Who Needs to See a Death Certificate?” above to brainstorm which situations you’re likely to encounter.
How much does it cost to get a death certificate?
The cost varies by state and county, but you can expect to pay $10 to $30 for the first certified copy. Some states charge less for additional copies while other states charge the same amount. You’ll run into additional processing fees if you use VitalChek and postage fees if you request the certificates by mail.
Who issues death certificates? How long does it take to get a death certificate?
When someone dies, the funeral home, mortuary, or crematorium usually collects the information needed for the death certificate and then registers the death with the vital records or vital statistics office in the county or state where the death occurred. This local office then issues the official death certificate. The entire process can take up to a few weeks.