How many death certificates should you order?

Certified copy or photocopy?

A certified copy is issued by the county or state vital records office and carries an official seal or stamp. A photocopy or a scan is not the same thing. Organizations that pay out money or change legal ownership nearly always want a certified copy. Some keep it and some hand it back.

Who usually needs a certified copy

• Each life insurance company, for every policy claim
• Each bank, credit union and brokerage where there is an account to close or transfer
• Pension and retirement plan administrators
• The probate court, if the estate goes through probate
• The motor vehicle office, to transfer a car title
• The county recorder or land records office, to update the title to a home
• An accountant or tax preparer, in some cases, for the final tax return

Who will usually take a photocopy or a phone call

• Utilities, phone and internet companies
• Subscriptions, streaming services and memberships
• Credit card companies closing an account with no balance dispute
• Email and social media services (rules vary, see our guide to legacy contacts)

In the United States the funeral home normally reports the death to Social Security, so you do not usually need to send a certificate there yourself. Ask your funeral director to confirm that it has been done.

How to count

Make a quick list and add it up:

1. One for each life insurance policy
2. One for each bank or investment company (not each account)
3. One for each pension or retirement plan
4. One for each vehicle and each piece of real estate
5. One for the court, if there will be probate
6. Two or three spare

Many families land somewhere around ten. A simple estate with one bank and no property may need half that. Someone with several policies, accounts in many places and a house may need more.

Where to order and what it costs

The easiest way is through the funeral home, which orders them when it files the certificate. The fee is set by the state or county and charged per copy. Later copies can be ordered from the vital records office in the county or state where the death happened, but that takes longer and you may have to prove your relationship.

Ordering a few too many costs a little. Ordering too few can hold up an insurance claim for weeks.

If they died away from home

A death certificate is issued where the death happened, not where the person lived. If they died in another state, order from the vital records office of that state or county. For a death outside the United States, the local authorities issue the certificate, and a US embassy or consulate can issue its own report of the death, which American banks and insurers accept.

Keep track of them

Write down which organization has which copy and whether they promised to return it. Ask for it back whenever you can. Never mail your last copy.