Death certificate

What it means

A death certificate is issued by the government, not by the funeral home — although the funeral home usually orders the first copies on the family's behalf.

It records who died, when, where, and the cause. Some states issue a version without the cause of death for organizations that have no need to know it.

It is not a single document you keep. You will need several, because most organizations keep the copy you send them.

Why it matters

Almost nothing can be settled without one. Banks, insurers, pension administrators, motor vehicle agencies and courts will all ask, and most of them want a certified copy rather than a photocopy.

Ordering too few is a frequent practical delay after a death, and reordering later usually costs more per copy than ordering at the start.

When you are likely to meet it

• In the first days, when the funeral home asks how many copies you want.
• Every time you notify an organization that somebody has died.
• When filing anything with a probate court.

How this varies by state

Who may order a death certificate, how many are issued, what they cost, and whether a cause-of-death version is available are all set by state law.

Related terms

• Abstract of deathA short official record of a death, accepted in place of a full certificate where a state allows it.
• Affidavit of domicileA sworn statement of where somebody legally lived when they died, used to transfer securities.
• Amending a death certificateCorrecting an error on the record after it has been registered — which is done, and is not quick.
• Anatomical giftA legally binding decision to donate organs, tissue or a body, which the family generally cannot override.
• ApostilleA certificate authenticating a public document so it can be used in another country.
• Burial transit permitThe permit that authorizes burial, cremation or moving a body — usually before anything else can happen.
• Certified copyA copy issued by the office that holds the original, carrying a seal or stamp that says so. A photocopy is not one.
• DD Form 214The discharge document proving military service. Almost every veterans' benefit after a death depends on producing it.
• DecedentThe legal word for the person who died. It appears on almost every form you will fill in.
• EstateEverything the person owned at the moment they died, treated as one thing that has to be settled.
• Medical examinerThe official who investigates and certifies certain deaths — and whose sign-off everything else waits on.
• Organ procurement organizationThe body that federal designation puts in charge of recovering organs — and, in practice, whoever telephones the family in the first hours.
• Prima facieEnough on its face. A document or a fact that is accepted as proof unless somebody produces something better.
• ProbateThe court process that confirms who has authority to deal with what somebody owned when they died.
• Veterans' burial benefitsWhat a veteran's family may claim after a death: interment in a national cemetery, a headstone or marker, a burial flag, and in some cases an allowance toward costs.
• Vital records officeThe state or county office that registers births and deaths and issues certified copies of the certificates.
• Beneficiary claimThe request a named person makes to an institution to be paid what they were named on. It is not a claim against the estate, and the two are opposites.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Death certificates
• Notifying companies