How to Get a Death Certificate in New York

New York has two sets of rules, depending on where the death happened.

Deaths outside New York City (state rules)

• The spouse, parent, child or sibling of the deceased.
• Anyone else who can document a lawful right or claim, such as a New York State court order or an official letter showing the certificate is needed to process a claim.

Executors and administrators outside NYC: the state does not say whether letters testamentary or letters of administration are enough on their own to show a lawful right. Call the state Vital Records Call Center at (855) 322-1022 to confirm before you apply, or order through a close relative.

Deaths in New York City (NYC rules)

• Full certificate, including cause of death: spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, the informant listed on the certificate, or the person in charge of disposition.
• Certificate without cause of death: also nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, and grandnieces and grandnephews.
• Not related (for example, an executor who is not family): you can order by mail only, with proof such as original letters testamentary, an insurance policy naming you as beneficiary, a current bank statement listing both your name and the deceased's, or a property deed listing both names.
• An attorney hired by an entitled person may also order. NYC does not accept orders from paralegals, couriers or other substitutes.

First, find out where the death happened. That decides which office has the record.

• Death in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens or Staten Island: only the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene can issue it. The state cannot.
• Death anywhere else in New York: use the local registrar where the death occurred, or the New York State Department of Health. NYC does not issue certificates for Nassau, Suffolk or any other county.

Outside NYC: the local registrar

Outside NYC, each city, town and incorporated village is generally its own registration district (a few counties, such as Monroe, run a single county vital records office), and the death is filed with the registrar where the person died, not where they lived. The registrar is usually the town, city or village clerk. A local registrar only has deaths filed in its own district.

• Cost: usually $10 per copy. In Chemung, Monroe, Onondaga and Tompkins counties and the cities of Albany, Jamestown and Oswego, the fee is set locally and can be up to $30.
• Hours, appointments and turnaround vary by office. The state does not publish a directory of local registrars, so contact the clerk of the city, town or village where the death occurred.
• The state notes that going straight to the local registrar may save considerable time.

Outside NYC: New York State Department of Health

The state holds death records since 1881 for all of New York except NYC. It does not list walk-in ordering on its death certificate page.

• Online: through VitalChek, the state's official partner. $45 per copy (includes a $15 priority handling fee) plus a VitalChek processing fee per order; check VitalChek for the current amount. Processed within 5-10 business days of receipt. You must use your own credit card.
• By phone: VitalChek at 1-877-854-4481. Same price and timing as online.
• By mail: send form DOH-4376 with $30 per copy (check or money order to the New York State Department of Health, no cash) to: New York State Department of Health, Vital Records Certification Unit, P.O. Box 2602, Albany, NY 12220-2602. Regular handling takes 10-12 weeks from the day it is received. Copies going to a P.O. Box or a third party must be ordered by mail.
• Questions: Vital Records Call Center, (855) 322-1022.

The state's death certificate page currently says it is experiencing significant delays in order processing.

NYC deaths: NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

NYC issues certificates for deaths from 1951 on. Earlier deaths, and as of December 1, 2025 deaths from 1950, are no longer issued by the Health Department.

• Online: through VitalChek, NYC's only authorized vendor. $15 per copy plus a $9.30 processing fee per order. Takes about 2-3 weeks, plus up to 2 weeks for regular mail delivery.
• By mail: use the Premium Mail Service Application (VR 220), which must be notarized. $15 per copy plus a $7.50 processing fee. Mail to: NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Attention: Premium Death Certificate Request, 125 Worth Street, Room CN-4, Room 119, New York, NY 10013. NYC's pages disagree on timing: the fees page says premium mail takes about 2-3 weeks, while the main records page says mailed requests take about 12 weeks. Non-premium mail is $15 per copy with no processing fee and takes 8-12 weeks. Call 311 to confirm.
• In person: Office of Vital Records, 45 Lafayette Street, New York, NY. Appointment required. Open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. $15 per copy plus a $2.75 processing fee. In-person orders only cover deaths from 1970 to the present. See NYC's ordering page to book.
• Questions: call 311, or 212-639-9675 from outside NYC.

Fees to know about

• There is no discount for extra copies. Every copy costs the same.
• If no record is found, the state issues a No Record Certification and does not refund the fee. NYC does not refund "Not Found" statements.
• By law, there is no fee for a copy needed for public relief or required by the Veterans Administration to decide benefits. The ordering pages do not explain how to claim this, so ask the office.

State orders (deaths outside NYC)

• A completed application. By mail, that is form DOH-4376, which asks your relationship to the deceased and in what capacity you are acting.
• A copy of one photo ID (driver license, non-driver photo ID card, passport, or other government-issued photo ID), or two documents showing your name and address, such as a utility or telephone bill or a letter from a government agency dated within the last six months.
• If you are not the spouse, parent, child or sibling: a copy of your documentation of a lawful right or claim, such as a court order or an official letter showing the record is needed to process a claim.
• If the copy is going to a P.O. Box or a third party: a notarized statement signed by you and a copy of your driver license.
• Payment.

The state says applications without the needed ID will be rejected. See the state's mail order instructions.

NYC orders

• One photo ID, or two proof-of-address documents dated within the last 60 days that show your name and address. By mail, send photocopies. See NYC's ordering page for the full list of accepted documents.
• If you are not related to the deceased: proof of a legal right, such as original letters testamentary.
• For premium mail orders, a notarized VR 220 application.

To settle an estate, families need a certified copy.

• State: by law, the state may issue either a certified copy or a "certified transcript," which is a certified abstract of the record.
• Genealogy copies: the state also sells uncertified genealogy copies of deaths on file for at least 50 years, starting at $22. These are for family history, not for estate business. Learn about genealogy copies.
• NYC: you can request the certificate with or without the cause of death. NYC says most people need just the standard certificate, and there is no extra fee to include the cause of death. Only close relatives, the informant and the person in charge of disposition can get the cause of death.
• No raised seal in NYC: since 2019, NYC death certificates no longer have a raised seal. A certified NYC copy without a seal is still a certified copy.

By law, a death in New York must be registered with the registrar of the district where it happened no later than 72 hours after the death.

The funeral home's role. The funeral director or undertaker in charge of the body signs the disposition section, files the death certificate with the registrar where the death occurred before disposition of the remains, and receives the burial or removal permit.

• NYC: certificates are available once the medical facility has reported the death and the case has been registered. NYC says the funeral director who made the arrangements can order death certificates for you up to one year after the death.
• Outside NYC: the state does not publish how funeral homes order first copies for families, or a set number of days before you can order. Contact your funeral director or the local registrar to confirm.

After you order, allow for processing time (see How to Order above) plus mailing time.

Many banks, insurers, retirement plans and government agencies want their own certified copy, and New York charges the same price for every copy. Ordering a few extra at the start can save another wait later. For a checklist of who usually asks for one, see our guide on how many copies.

Deaths outside NYC

• Who can ask for a correction: the spouse on the record; a parent, child or legal guardian; a sibling; the informant (within six months of the death); the funeral firm that handled the disposition (within six months of the death); the medical certifier; or anyone with a court order.
• Within six months of the death, the funeral firm can help fix personal information and the medical certifier can fix medical information.
• After that, use the Application for Correction of Certificate of Death (DOH-299) for personal information. Changes to the place, date, time, cause or manner of death go on form DOH-1999, signed off by the medical certifier. Send original documents or certified copies as proof. Notarized copies and altered documents are not accepted.
• Mail it to: Correction Unit, Vital Records Section, P.O. Box 2602, Albany, NY 12220-2602. Or file in person at the local registrar where the death occurred.
• The state does not list a correction fee, but its correction instructions tell in-person filers to bring payment. Contact the Vital Records Call Center at (855) 322-1022 to confirm the amount.

Deaths in NYC

• Who can ask: the spouse or registered domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, informant, court-appointed guardian, fiduciary, estate beneficiary, or person in control of disposition.
• Cost: a nonrefundable $40 application processing fee for most corrections, plus $15 per corrected certificate.
• See NYC's correction page for the application.

Order only from these official channels:

• Your local registrar (town, city or village clerk) for deaths outside NYC.
• The New York State Department of Health, by mail or through its official partner VitalChek.
• The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for NYC deaths, online through VitalChek, by mail, or in person by appointment.

NYC warns that unauthorized vendors are charging customers high fees for help getting a death certificate. If a site is not the government office itself or VitalChek, you do not need it.