How to Get a Death Certificate in the District of Columbia

DC death records are closed for 75 years. For deaths in that window, you must be at least 18 (or an emancipated minor) and show you are entitled. DC Health lists these requesters:

• Spouse, domestic partner or parent named on the death certificate
• Adult child, adult grandchild, sibling or grandparent, with certified birth records that show the relationship
• Legal guardian of the person immediately before death, with the original sealed court order
• Attorney or legal representative, with a copy of the retainer agreement, a bar card and a typed letter on the firm's letterhead
• Law enforcement, with a DC Superior Court subpoena or other order and an unexpired photo work ID
• Interested party who needs the certificate to determine or protect personal or property rights, for example court, insurance or estate settlement documents

DC law also names the informant on the death record, next of kin as specified by probate or other law, and the person with the right to control final disposition of the body. A funeral director from the funeral home named on the record can get copies for 30 days after the record is filed.

DC Health says cousins, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, friends, neighbors and others without a specific interest may not order a death certificate.

Executors who are not close relatives are not named separately. DC Health's interested-party category covers people with estate settlement documents; contact DC Vital Records at (202) 442-9303 to confirm what to bring. The Registrar may ask for more documents at any time.

DC has no counties and no local vital records offices. Only the DC Health Vital Records Division (DCVRD) issues certified death certificates, and only for deaths that happened in the District of Columbia. DCVRD does not take remote orders itself: mail, phone and online orders all go through VitalChek, and approved orders are filled and shipped by DCVRD in Washington, DC.

In person (walk-in kiosks)

• DC Health Vital Records Division, 2201 Shannon Place SE, Washington, DC 20020. Closest Metro: Anacostia (Green Line)
• Walk-up hours: Monday and Tuesday 9:00am-1:00pm, Wednesday 9:00am-3:30pm, Thursday and Friday 9:00am-1:00pm
• You order at a self-service kiosk. Pay by credit or debit card, check, cash, money order or voucher
• Records are often ready the same day. Some older records must be ordered from DC Archives or the Federal Records Center; those typically take two to three weeks after your identity and eligibility are cleared and the fee is paid
• Phone: (202) 442-9303

Some DC Health pages still show older hours (Monday to Friday 8:30am-3:30pm, or Monday to Friday 9am-1pm). The schedule above is the one in the main body of DC Health's pages, but call or check live wait times before you go.

Online

• Order through VitalChek. Fee: $18 per copy plus a $15.95 VitalChek processing fee, plus shipping if you choose a faster option
• DC Health does not publish a processing time for online orders

By phone

• Call VitalChek at 1-877-572-6332. Fee: $18 per copy plus a $15.95 processing fee
• DC Health does not publish a processing time for phone orders

By mail

• Fill out the Death Certificate Application and mail it to: Vital Record Mail Services, ATTN: DC Vital Records, P.O. Box 222130, El Paso, TX 79913
• Fee: $18 per copy plus a $6.00 VitalChek processing fee. Shipping by regular U.S. mail is free; UPS Next Day Air is $20.00
• Pay by credit card, personal check or money order payable to VITALCHEK. Do not send cash
• The form says processing may take 7-10 business days. Allow 5-7 business days for it to arrive before calling 1-877-572-6332
• The form has a box for additional copies (up to 5) but also says to send a separate application for each certificate. Call 1-877-572-6332 to confirm before ordering several copies by mail

In person: the kiosk asks you four to five questions about your identity. Then:

• If the kiosk verifies you, show one original, unexpired primary photo ID, such as a driver's license or non-driver ID, passport or passport card, permanent resident card, employment authorization card or military ID
• If the kiosk verifies you but you have no primary photo ID, show two alternate IDs from DC Health's list, such as a Social Security card, vehicle registration, a utility bill dated within 60 days, a prior-year W-2 or tax return, or a DD214
• If the kiosk cannot verify you, show three IDs, at least one from the primary list

By mail: send a legible copy of one primary ID and at least two secondary IDs (for example a signed Social Security card, a utility bill within 60 days, a pay stub within 30 days, a prior-year W-2, an unexpired vehicle registration, or certified court documents). Expired IDs are not accepted.

Proof of relationship:

• Spouses, domestic partners and parents must be named on the death certificate
• Adult children, grandchildren, siblings and grandparents need certified birth records showing the relationship. Births that happened in DC do not need to be supplied; births outside DC need the actual certified certificate
• If the name on your ID does not match your records, bring proof of the legal name change, such as a marriage certificate or name change order
• Anyone else needs documents showing a direct and tangible interest, such as court, insurance or estate settlement papers

DC issues certified copies only to people who are entitled to them. Under DC law, a certified copy is treated for all purposes the same as the original record. DC Health does not describe a separate "informational" copy for recent deaths.

Death records become public after 75 years. Unofficial copies of open death records from 1874-1945 can be requested from the DC Archives.

Cause of death: a DC death certificate shows the manner or cause of death unless the spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, next of kin, the person in charge of disposition, or their legal representative asks for it to be left off. DC Health does not explain how to make that request, so contact DC Vital Records at (202) 442-9303 to confirm.

The funeral director who first takes custody of the body collects the personal details from the next of kin, gets the doctor's medical certification, and files the death record electronically with DC Vital Records. Once filed, DC's system creates the certificate automatically.

By law:

• The doctor must complete the cause and manner of death within 48 hours of the death, unless the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is investigating
• The funeral director must file the report of death within 5 days after the death and before burial or cremation

DC Health does not publish how soon after filing families can order copies. If the medical examiner is investigating, the certificate may take longer.

A funeral director from the funeral home named on the record can get certified copies for 30 days after filing, which is why many families order their first copies through the funeral home.

Banks, insurers, retirement plans and the probate court often each want their own certified copy, and some keep it. In DC every copy is $18, with no discount for extras. See our guide on how many copies to estimate the right number before you order.

The legal next of kin, the informant or the funeral director can ask to correct a death record. Anyone else needs an original DC Superior Court order. Corrections are handled by mail only, not at the walk-up counter.

Fields that can be corrected include parents' names, marital or domestic partnership status, informant's name or relationship, education or occupation, military discharge status, Social Security number, sex or gender designation, and cause and manner of death.

How the process works:

1. Complete the Death Amendment Application from DC Health's Amending a Record page
2. Have your signature notarized
3. Mail it with copies of three IDs (at least one primary photo ID) and supporting documents to: DC Health Vital Records Division, Customer Service and Certification Operations Unit, 2201 Shannon Pl. SE, 1st Floor, Washington, DC 20020

The amendment fee is $23. To get a copy of the corrected certificate, you also pay the $18 certificate fee. Separate forms exist for court-ordered amendments, funeral directors and the medical examiner. If the request is denied, DCVRD sends a rejection letter, which you need if you petition DC Superior Court. Questions: 877-572-6332, option 5.

DC has only a few official ways to order a death certificate:

• In person at the DC Health Vital Records Division kiosks, 2201 Shannon Place SE
• Online at VitalChek, the vendor DC Health names on its Vital Records page
• By phone through VitalChek at 1-877-572-6332
• By mail using the official application

Other websites that offer to "order" DC death certificates are not official and may add their own fees on top of the $18 charge. If you are not sure a site is official, start from DC Health's death certificate page.

The $18 fee is a non-refundable search fee. If no record is found, you get a "Certificate of Search" instead, and both the $18 and any VitalChek fee are kept.