Losing someone can seem overwhelming and is very difficult to accept the fact that the person close to you is no more. If you are the person responsible for taking care of after death paperwork, we are here to help you with our post that gives you the complete information about the foremost thing that has to be taken care of when someone dies. I.e. Nothing but ‘Death Certificate’. Yes, let us learn some facts about death certificate and also download free death certificate templates that are very much useful for instant use. Saves your time and makes it easy for you to create one for you hassle free. Have a look!

Death certificates are official documents either issued by a medical practitioner certifying the deceased state of the concerned person or by the registrar of vital statistics stating the date, location, and cause of a person’s death. In simple words, a death certificate is a document issued by the government declaring the date, location, cause of death, and some other personal information about the deceased. When someone dies, his/her death must be registered with the local or state vital records office as early as possible. The information about the deceased is then registered with the local health office and office of vital records in order to create death indexes. Once the death of a person is been registered the facts related to the deceased are in the public domain. A certified death record is required for a number of other legal purposes which we will discuss further.

What does a death certificate look like?

Certificate Of Death Template

Death certificate may vary from one state to another due to the local government’s procedures. Typically, death certificates are embossed documents on heavy paper. Commonly, they disclose the information like time of death, cause of death, and place of death. Also, this document is signed as witness proof and then certified. The issuing bodies either the funeral home or mortuary keeps a copy with them and sends a copy to the local vital records office.

How Long Does It Take to Receive a Death Record?

Death Certificate Affidavit Format

It completely depends on the cause of a person’s death. In most cases, the funeral home issues the death certificate within 3-4 days after confirming the concerned person’s death. It takes 12 days or more in case the cause of a person’s death is not clear. We can expect more delays if the investigation process goes slow. However, some states law is very strict about issuing the death certificate within 72 hours of death.

Data to be included to get the deceased death certificate

Death Certificate Sample Letter

We need to provide some important information to the mortuary or funeral home in order to register and receive a death certificate of the deceased. Here we go!

  • Full legal name
  • Social security number
  • Last address
  • Sex
  • Race
  • Date of birth (If unknown, request a copy of their birth certificate)
  • Birthplace
  • Marital status at the time of death
  • If married, surviving spouse’s maiden name
  • Father’s legal name
  • Mother’s maiden name
  • Highest level of education
  • Occupation/industry
  • Cause of death
  • Date, place, and time of death
  • Armed Forces history
  • Veteran’s discharge or claim number
Death Certificate Template

Not all the states ask for the all the above mentioned information, some may ask very less information. One can apply online to the Vital Records Office for date of birth certificate in which parent’s name, place of birth etc. can be found.

Types of Death Certificate Templates

Death Certificate Template Word

We have compiled a variety of death certificate templates in this article and we also explain why they are best used. Have a look and download the template which suits best for your purpose.

Baby Death Certificate Template

Baby Death Certificate Template

Every state has its own policy to issue the baby death certificate. Check with the local legislation about the terms of issuance of baby death certificate. If a born baby is stillborn, then a single stillbirth certificate is issued. In case, the baby is born and dead then separate birth and death certificates are issued. Free baby death certificate templates available readily to use!

Blank Death Certificate Templates

Blank Death Certificate Template

Death certificate is necessary to certify the truth of a person’s death. Blank death certificate templates are the most common format for all types of death certificates. A medical practitioner can fill the details of this certificate depending on the nature of the death. This is generally used by the medical organizations and police investigation offices.

Dog Death Certificate Templates

Dog Death Certificate Template

Download a free printable dog death certificate template to make your document professional. Each template is available in pdf form which can be edited, filled out, and modified by anyone online.

Haunted mansion death certificate template

Haunted Mansion Death Certificate Template

Haunted mansion death certificate template is used for the purpose of Halloween wall décor. Download our spooky and fun haunted mansion death certificate templates in no time and absolutely for free.

Pet Death Certificate Template Free

Pet Death Certificate Template Free

Issuance of any type of pet death certificate depends on the respective laws of the state or country. Also the rights for a pet cemetery space rely only on the issuance of the pet death certificate. Here you can download pet death certificate templates for free.

Veterinary Death Certificate Template

Veterinary Death Certificate Template

Death of any kind of domestic animal is also required to get a death certificate. The issuance of veterinary death certificate is used to serve this purpose. We have professionally made veterinary death certificate templates available in word and pdf formats.

Hospital Death Certificate Template

Hospital Death Certificate Template

The medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) is a mandatory requirement for death registration. It is to be done by the doctors and issue the death certificates in the hospital by following the hospitals procedures and regulations.

Who can order copies of death certificate?

Death Certificate Application Format

Many states usually provides two types of copies of a death certificate. I.e. informational and certified copy of a death certificate. Informational copies of death certificate are generally used for personal records and are available to anyone who requests them.

Whereas certified copies are necessary to carry out a lot many tasks considered after death procedures. The tasks generally include obtaining a permit for cremation or burial, transferring the deceased person’s property to inheritors, etc. Unlike informational copies, certified copies are available to a limited number of persons like members of the deceased person’s immediate family, estate executor, and to the person who is directly related to the direct financial interest in the estate.

Death Certificate Format By Doctor

The easiest way to get certified copies of death certificate is to order them through mortuary or funeral home at the time of death. The other modes of obtaining death certified copies are through either from a third-party company that is specialized in this field or ordering from the state or country to which the deceased belong to.

If you belong to the immediate family persons and is claiming for the property benefits and other benefits, then you better take 10-15 copies of death certificate.

Death Certificate Format For Animals

Download our free death certificate templates and save it to your desktop within minutes for free of cost. Our templates come in word and pdf format to help you to personalize your own certificates. All varieties of death certificate templates performing different categories are available instantly to use.

Why do you need a death certificate?

Death Certificate Translation Template

I agree that death certificate is a kind of document that people not wish to think about but it serves an important purpose. There are a lot many reasons to claim for a death certificate. Typically, it is served as a proof for legal purposes. Find the below reasons why one need to obtain a death certificate when someone dies.

Claiming Life Insurance- Are you the named beneficiary of a deceased person’s life insurance policy!? Then you are eligible to obtain this benefit irrespective of how you are related to the deceased. As the process of claiming these benefits takes a hell of time, you need to obtain and produce the death certificate from the government as early as possible at the concerned office.

Settling Estates- Settling the estate issue can seem difficult and takes a very long time. Take more number of copies of death certificate when loved one dies in order to claim the investments.

Fake Death Certificate Template

Future Marriages- Wondering that even a marriage requires death certificate!? Yes, but not the first recorded marriage. If a widower or widow wants to remarry, then he/she needs to show their former spouse’s death certificate which proves the concerned person’s death.

Pensions- In case, your marital partner is passed away, then you are eligible to benefit from his/her pension schemes. But, you need to provide a big list of documents proving your relation to the deceased and as proof of death in order to claim for the pensions benefit.

Medical Death Certificate Template

Medicaid Benefits- Medical benefits is one of the useful benefit that can be claimed by a spouse or children of the deceased person. Again, a list of documents including the death certificate of the deceased are required to gain the benefits from medical.

Final say

Death certificates come in handy more often than we think. Funeral homes or mortuary generally provides the initial copies of death certificate. You may need more copies of death certificates for the above mentioned purposes. However, make sure to get the additional copies from the right source either by the government or any agency registered for this service.

Do you want to design a death certificate for yourself or any other purpose!? Browse our death certificate templates that may help you to create your own certificates. Happy downloading!

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