What is a Death Certificate?

Video Transcript

A death certificate is very much like a birth certificate. It originates from the town and state in which the person has passed away, just like a birth certificate. It's a legal copy, certified by the registrar and the state. Death certificates are needed for any type of financial resolution of any accounts. It's a very important and official document that says this person has in fact deceased.

Answers from Other Funeral Directors Around the United States:

A death certificate is a legal document filed by the state in which the death occurs. The document includes vital statistics of the deceased and the cause of death provided by the physician or medical examiner.

- Abby Schilling

Funeral Director in Richfield, MN

A death certificate is a document legally signed by a physician containing the official and final cause of death.

- Jessica Watts

Funeral Director in Jacksonville, FL

A death certificate is a legal document allowing transfer of ownership. It is a notification and acknowledgement of passing from the State.

- C. A. Bankston

Funeral Director in Fort Worth, TX

It is "a legal story of a person's life" containing their statistical information such as legal name, parent's names, next of kin, address, place and date of birth, education level, industry worked in, and title of work as well as the time, place, and cause of death. It is a document that certifies the death of a person.

- Michael Sollitto

Funeral Director in Charlotte, NC

A death certificate is an official statement, certified by the state registrar with a seal of the state and signed by a physician, of the cause, date, and place of a person's death.

- Laura Anderson

Funeral Director in Minneapolis, MN