How to Get a Death Certificate in Perry County, Missouri

You can also order from the state office. Ordering methods, fees and wait times are on our Missouri death certificate guide.

Missouri death records are not public. State law allows a certified copy only for someone with a direct and tangible interest in the record (RSMo 193.255). The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) lists who qualifies:

• Family members. For death records DHSS defines this broadly: brother, sister, mother, father, son, daughter, grandmother, grandfather, aunt or uncle, including in-law, cousin, "great" and step versions of those relationships.
• Genealogists representing a family member, and professionally recognized genealogists.
• Official representatives acting for the family: an attorney, physician, funeral director, or other authorized agent. They must show their link to the family, for example an attorney's signed retainer with a family member.
• An authorized agent, such as a friend or neighbor, with a signed, notarized statement from a qualified family member.
• Others who need the record to determine or protect personal or property rights, with documents that show it.

On the application you must name at least one parent of the person who died. Deaths more than 50 years old are exempt from this rule.

DHSS does not list executors or administrators as a separate category. If you are not a family member, include documents that show your interest in the record, and contact the Bureau of Vital Records at 573-751-6387 to confirm what it will accept.

Fees

• $14 for the first certified copy. This is a non-refundable search fee: it covers a 5-year search and includes one copy if the record is found. If no record is found, the fee is not refunded.
• $11 for each extra copy of the same record ordered at the same time.
• By mail, pay by check or money order payable to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Payment methods at local agencies vary by office.

In person

• One current photo ID showing your name, such as a driver's license or state ID, U.S. passport, U.S. military ID, or a school or work ID with photo.
• If you have no photo ID, two other documents showing your name, such as a Social Security card, vehicle registration, proof of auto insurance, Medicare or Medicaid card, pay stub, or utility bill.
• At the St. Louis City Recorder, the address on your photo ID must match the address on your application, and you are asked to provide proof of your family relationship to the person who died.

By mail

• The completed, signed Application for Missouri Vital Record, Birth/Death (form MO 580-0641). Mail-in applications must be notarized. Traditional, electronic, and remote online notarization are all accepted.
• Any documents that show your interest in the record, if you are not a family member.
• A legal-size, self-addressed stamped envelope and the fee.

Information about the person who died

Give enough details to find the record, including the name of at least one parent.

Missouri's official pages describe two versions of a certified death certificate. Both are certified, and state law says a certified copy is treated for all purposes the same as the original.

• Short form ("Certification of Death"). This is the standard copy and works for most needs, such as death benefits, insurance claims, and Social Security. It is available from local public health agencies (deaths 1980 to the present), the state office, and VitalChek.
• Long form ("Certificate of Death"). A copy of the original certificate with extra details, such as the time of death if available. It is usually not needed, but may help if the record was changed or for genealogy. It is available only from the state office in Jefferson City or VitalChek. Check the long-form box on the application, or select "long form" when ordering online.

Copies issued to agencies that are not normally entitled to the record are stamped for administrative, statistical, or judicial use only.

The funeral director (or the person in charge of final disposition) files the death certificate. They enter the personal details in the Missouri Electronic Vital Records system and send it to the doctor, medical examiner, or coroner, who completes the cause of death. By law:

• The medical part must be completed within 72 hours after death.
• The certificate must be filed within five days after death (RSMo 193.145).

A certified copy can be issued only after the state accepts and registers the record. Since August 28, 2023, local offices can no longer issue an unregistered paper copy. Once a record is registered, DHSS has said it sends records to local agencies four times a day (7 AM, 10 AM, 1 PM and 4 PM), so a local copy is often available soon after registration.

Funeral directors can also order certified copies for the family, and many families get their first copies this way. If the cause of death is still under investigation, the certificate may show "pending" until the medical examiner or coroner updates it.

Many banks, insurers, and agencies want their own certified copy, and some keep it. In Missouri, extra copies of the same record cost $11 each when ordered at the same time as the first, instead of another $14, so it usually costs less to order what you expect to need at once. See our guide on how many copies to make a list before you order.

Only the state Bureau of Vital Records can correct a death record. Local health agencies cannot. For questions, call the Amendment Unit at 573-751-6387, option 2. See the DHSS correction page.

Minor errors: Affidavit for Correction

Most errors are fixed with the Affidavit for Correction of a Birth, Death, or Fetal Death Record (sample and instructions). Send the original affidavit, signed in front of a notary, with supporting documents to DHSS, 930 Wildwood Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65109.

• The informant or the funeral director can correct items such as first or middle name, sex, Social Security number, age, date of birth, armed forces service, place of death, marital status, surviving spouse's name, occupation, residence, race, education, and parents' first or middle names.
• Only the funeral home can change informant, disposition, and funeral home details. Only the funeral home or the certifier can change the date of death.
• Only the doctor, coroner, or medical examiner who certified the cause of death can change medical information.
• Supporting evidence must be a filed document kept permanently by an agency, organization, or business. It must show at least the correct full name and age or date of birth, and must have been filed at least 5 years before the correction request.

Major errors: court order

A court order is required for major changes, such as changing the last name by three or more letters (or one or two letters that change how it is pronounced), or changing an item already corrected once by affidavit (updating a cause or manner of death that was listed as pending investigation is an exception).

Fees

The affidavit itself is free. New certified copies cost $14 for the first and $11 for each extra. For processing a court order, the official sources disagree: the DHSS fee notice lists $14 for a death record, while the affidavit instructions say $15. Call the Amendment Unit to confirm. The corrected record is marked "amended," with the date and a summary of the evidence.

Missouri death certificates are issued only through these official channels:

• Your local public health agency (find yours), or in the City of St. Louis, the Recorder of Deeds at City Hall
• The Missouri Bureau of Vital Records in Jefferson City, in person or by mail (health.mo.gov)
• VitalChek, which DHSS calls the only official service approved by the state for online and phone requests (DHSS consumer alert)

Other websites may offer to order a Missouri death certificate for you, but DHSS says VitalChek is the only service it approves for online and phone requests. The state fee is $14 for the first copy and $11 for each extra copy. If a site is not one of the channels above, you do not need it.