Death Certificates 

Below is all the information our families need for death certificates, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to Contact Us.

Applications may be made online, in person, by mail, or by a funeral home. Copies are $7.00 each (plus postage) and may take up to two weeks to come in.

You may obtain a certified copy of a death certificate if you are the surviving spouse of the person named on the document, parent of the person named on the document, adult child of the person named on the document, sibling of the person named on the document, grandparent of the person named on the document, adult grandchild of the person named on the document, or the beneficiary of an insurance policy of the person named on the document (unless otherwise authorized by LA R.S. 40:41).

The Louisiana Vital Records Registry maintains death records ONLY for deaths that occurred in Louisiana. If you need a certified copy of a death certificate from another state, you must contact that state's vital records office.

Under Louisiana law, death records are strictly confidential until 50 years after the year of death. Currently, the Louisiana Vital Records Registry maintains death records from 1957 to the present. Death records older than 50 years are available at the Louisiana State Archives.

The process to make changes to a death certificate vary depending on the type of legal change needed and how recently the record was filed. Amendments to vital records are governed by Louisiana statutes and administrative codes. The Vital Records Registry must work within these laws when making amendments to records.

AMENDMENT TO DEMOGRAPHIC PORTION OF DEATH CERTIFICATE

Items 1 and 3-23

This portion of the death certificate is amended by a request made to the Vital Records Registry by the funeral home listed on the death certificate. The funeral home must submit an amendment letter on funeral home letterhead and include the following:

• Name and date of death of the deceased

• Item number(s) to be amended

• Incorrect information currently contained in the item(s)

• Information as it should appear in the item(s)

• Original signature of the funeral director

AMENDMENT TO MEDICAL PORTION OF DEATH CERTIFICATE

Items 2 and 27-32

This portion of the death certificate is amended by a request made to the Vital Records Registry by the attending physician or coroner. The attending physician or coroner must submit an amendment letter on letterhead that includes the following:

• Name and date of death of the deceased

• Item number(s) to be amended

• Incorrect information currently contained in the item(s)

• Information as it should appear in the item(s)

• Original signature of the attending physician or coroner

Notice: Death certificates are amended using the interlinear method. A line is drawn through the old information and the new information is entered. The line shall not obscure the old information.