Who gets the death certificate and the burial permit?

In more detail

• The pronouncement

  The death must be officially pronounced by someone in authority, such as a doctor in a hospital or nursing facility or a hospice nurse, who also fills out the forms that let the death certificate be prepared. The funeral director must still obtain the cause-of-death certification from the attending doctor before filing.

  National Institute on Aging (NIH), What To Do After Someone Dies (content reviewed 17 November 2022) · CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Funeral Directors’ Handbook on Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting (2019 revision), Death certificate: completion and filing

• The funeral director files it

  The funeral director files the death certificate with the registration official where the death occurred. The CDC’s handbook for funeral directors says this is done within the time limit in state law and before the body is buried or leaves the state; each state sets its own rules, so ask the funeral home when it will file. The cause of death can be filed as pending.

  CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Funeral Directors’ Handbook on Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting (2019 revision), Death certificate: completion and filing · CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Physicians’ Handbook on Medical Certification of Death (2003 revision), Purpose and Physician responsibilities

• The burial permit

  In most states the funeral director must have written authorization before burial; states call it a burial permit, a burial-transit permit or a disposition permit. A properly completed death certificate comes first. The permit goes with the body to the cemetery.

  CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Funeral Directors’ Handbook on Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting (2019 revision), Authorization for final disposition of body or fetus (pp. 7–8)

• Certified copies

  Banks, insurers, the DMV and government offices will each want a certified copy. Order several through the funeral home, or from your state’s vital records office.

  Your state’s deadlines and vital records office

• Social Security

  Funeral homes usually report the death to Social Security. Survivors can also call 1-800-772-1213.