Death Records Access Guide

Disputed Official Causes

• 🔥 Madison Review Triggered: Madison’s Common Council president is calling for an “urgent review” after the independent...

Delaware's Office of Vital Statistics offers record orders in-person, by mail, or online, with in-person requests available at any of three state locations.

An independent police monitor's pathologist challenged the official ruling on Richard Lee Johnson's 2024 death, concluding restraint-related cardiac...

Jurisdiction-specific EDRS software systems create substantial data entry labor demands that directly influence the accuracy of U.S. death records.

New Digital Ordering Options

• Georgia ROVER Portal: ROVER provides official online ordering of certified Georgia death certificates with digital...

A new compliance guide details agency duties under the Alaska Public Records Act.

• Timelines: Clear rules on response deadlines and obligations
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More jurisdictions are adopting digital systems to speed up death record requests.

• Sutter County introduced ID.me verification for online vital...

Record Request Resources

• Vermont Death Certificate Access: A new practical guide details how to request death certificates and access public...

Vermont's Electronic Death Registration System now lets users request death certificates online or by mail.

• Coweta, Oklahoma launched NextRequest on...

The Cowlitz County Coroner determined that 10 victims of the May 26 Nippon Dynawave tank collapse died from alkaline chemical burns, ruling all deaths accidental. The office has now concluded its investigation and released these findings publicly.

• Legislature passed bill June 8 replacing four elected coroners with appointed medical examiner
• New role requires licensed NY physician with...

Police departments commonly deploy backlogs and delays to limit public records access, including death-related footage.

• Six-year wait: A mother...

Coroner Office Oversight

• Douglas Coroner Probe: The state has launched an active investigation into Douglas County Coroner Renee Godwin over...

An ICE facility in Louisiana reported its second detainee death in less than two months.

North Carolina families can file a verified Rule 27 petition to preserve testimony about a parent's death before any lawsuit.

• Show expected future...

A state investigation targets Douglas County Coroner Renee Godwin over widespread mismanagement allegations, spotlighting oversight gaps in death investigation offices handling public records.

• Certified death certificates cost $15 for the first copy and $5 for each additional copy in the same transaction.
• Death records from 1875 onward...

In North Carolina, a marriage certificate proves the marriage occurred but does not automatically correct errors on a death certificate such as wrong...

Coweta's new CivicPlus NextRequest portal, launching June 5, 2026, lets residents submit, track, and access public records online while routing...

A former medical examiner investigator was sentenced for stealing from the deceased, exposing how trusted insiders in death investigation offices can exploit their access.