How Much Is a Death Certificate?

A certified copy of a death certificate costs $5 to $35 for the first copy in most states, and each state sets its own fee. Florida charges $5, California charges $26, Utah charges $35.

That's the state office's price. Ordering online through a contractor like VitalChek adds a processing fee on top, extra copies are often cheaper in the same order, and who's allowed to order at all varies by state. The details are below, and your state's exact numbers are in MORTL's state guides.

The state where the death occurred issues the record, wherever the person lived or you live now.^[1] Here's what the first certified copy costs in states MORTL has verified, straight from each state's fee schedule:

• Florida: a $5 search fee that includes one certified copy, then $4 for each additional copy. Florida guide.
• New Mexico: $5 per certified copy, charged as a nonrefundable record search fee. New Mexico guide.
• Texas: $20 for the first copy, $3 for each additional copy in the same order. Texas guide.
• Washington: fees start at $25 per certified copy.^[3] Washington guide.
• California: $26 per certified copy from the state office; county fees can differ. California guide.
• Alaska: $30 for the first certified copy, $25 for each additional. Alaska guide.
• New York: $30 per copy by mail from the state, $45 online or by phone plus the vendor's processing fee. New York City deaths go through a separate city office that charges $15 per certificate plus a processing fee. New York guide.
• Michigan: $34, which covers a records search plus one certified copy; additional copies in the same order are $16 each. Michigan guide.
• Utah: $35 for the first copy, $10 for each additional copy of the same record ordered the same day. Utah guide.

Notice the pattern: the first copy carries the search fee, and copies ordered at the same time are often much cheaper. In Texas, a second copy ordered with the first is $3. The same copy ordered later is another $20. Make your list before you order.

A few states set the fee by agency rule and post the current amount on the order form instead of in statute, so check your state's guide for the number that applies to you.

What you're buying is a certified copy: the state's official document, printed on security paper, valid for legal purposes. Banks, insurers, courts, and title companies generally require that version, and each one decides for itself.

Many states also sell a noncertified informational copy. Washington's carries a watermark that reads "Cannot be used for legal purposes. Informational only," and anyone can order one.^[2] It covers genealogy and family records. For a life insurance claim or a property transfer, you need the certified version.

A photocopy of a certified copy is fine for your own files, and some institutions accept one for small matters. Ask before you mail anything. When an institution says "certified copy," it means the state-issued document with the seal, and a photocopy won't pass.

There's no universal number, and any article that hands you one is guessing. List the banks, insurers, courts, agencies, and property offices you expect to contact. Ask each one whether it needs a certified copy or accepts another format. Order based on those answers.

Same-order discounts are the reason to make the list first. Utah's first copy is $35 and each additional copy the same day is $10, so guessing low and reordering costs real money.

The funeral home usually offers to order the first batch when it files the certificate, and in some states it stays authorized for months afterward; Washington lets funeral directors order copies within 12 months of the death.^[3] Take the offer, and tell them how many your list needs. For the full list of who you'll be contacting, see who to notify when someone dies.

While the record is recent, states generally restrict certified copies to certain family members, starting with a spouse, siblings, and children.^[1] The rest of the list is state law, and it differs more than you'd expect:

• Michigan doesn't restrict death records. Anyone can request a copy. Michigan guide.
• Florida sells the version without the cause of death to anyone 18 or over. The cause-of-death version is restricted to family and people with a documented interest for 50 years. Florida guide.
• New Mexico treats death certificates as restricted records, available to immediate family or anyone with tangible proof of a legal interest. New Mexico guide.
• Washington's qualified list runs from spouses and children out to great grandchildren, plus legal representatives and the funeral director for the first 12 months.^[3] Washington guide.

Expect to show photo ID, and in restricted states, proof of the relationship. Death records eventually become public; in some states that takes 25 years or more.^[1]

Many states, Michigan and New York among them, route online and phone orders through VitalChek, a private contractor. VitalChek's own pricing page breaks your total into three parts: the agency's certificate fee, a VitalChek processing fee for its ordering and validation services, and shipping.^[4] The online price is always the state fee plus something.

New York shows the gap plainly: $30 for a state-issued copy by mail, $45 online or by phone, plus the vendor's processing fee. Michigan's guide says the same thing: VitalChek handles the state's online and phone orders and charges its own fee on top. New York guide, Michigan guide.

The cheapest route is the state or county office directly: by mail, in person, or through the office's own portal. Pay for the online service when placing the order fast matters more than the fee, and get there through your state office's website so you know you're on the state's actual contractor.

MORTL keeps a guide for every state and DC, 51 in total. Each one carries the current death certificate fee, the filing deadline, who can order copies, and where to send the request, with the statute or state fee schedule linked underneath. Start at the state guides index and open yours.

Fees change. States raise them by statute or agency rule, and when that happens the guide gets the new figure and a dated changelog entry. If a number on this page ever disagrees with your state's guide, trust the guide; it's updated when the law changes.

This article is education. It isn't legal advice. Fees, eligibility rules, and processing times are set by each state and change over time, so confirm the current amount with your state's vital records office or your state's MORTL guide before you order. For our sources and how we check them, see our Sources and Methodology.