Where do I order a death certificate?

Direct answer

Use the official vital-records office for the place where the death occurred. The correct office may be state, territorial, city, county, parish, borough, municipal, or archival. A death abroad follows a different Department of State route.

Why the place of death controls

Vital events are registered by the jurisdictions legally responsible for them. Your own residence, the deceased person’s later residence, and the location of an estate proceeding do not move the record to another state. Determine the event location first.

How to locate the issuing office

Open the USAGov death-certificate page or the CDC vital-records directory.
Select the state, territory, District of Columbia, New York City, or other reporting area where the death occurred.
Follow the current government link for the year and locality of the record.
Confirm whether the state office or a local office issues the copy.

Who may order the record

Access rules are jurisdiction-specific. Recent records may be limited to named relatives, an estate representative, a lawyer, a person with documented legal or financial interest, or another authorized requester. Some records become public after a period set by local law. Do not assume that eligibility in one state applies elsewhere.

Certified copy or photocopy

Ask each receiving organization what it needs. Government benefits, insurance, pensions, property, court, estate, and financial transactions may require a certified copy. A simple photocopy may be accepted for some routine cancellations. The issuing office decides which official copy types it offers.

If the death occurred abroad

For a U.S. citizen who died in another country, a U.S. embassy or consulate may prepare a Consular Report of Death Abroad. Later copies come from the Department of State, not a state vital-records office. Deaths in U.S. territories remain under the applicable territorial system.