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Death Certificate: Why The Information Isn't Consistent
Access to death certificates are subject to the
rules and regulations that govern each state, so the information you get and how
you get them may not always be the same.
A death certificate is a public document filed with the County
Clerk in the area where the death happened. A state recorder or registrar also
keeps death certificate files for the entire state.
It
is one of
the legal documents required when distributing an estate or executing a will.
The surviving family is also required to present a death certificate when
claiming life insurance or social security benefits.
Death
Certificate: Info You Can Get From an Index
Both the county and state web
pages can maintain an online death certificate index for the public to browse.
This way, you won't need to access the actual death certificate if all you want
to verify is a date of death, for instance.
A death certificate index
should already be able to give you the following info:
- Name of
deceased
- Date of death
- Place of death
- Deceased's
Social Security Number (unless redacted based on state laws)
Death
Certificate: Info in the Actual Certificate
You can expect to find the
following entries on a US death certificate:
- Name of
deceased
- Time, date,
place of death
- Birth date
and/or age of deceased
- Birthplace
- Occupation
The following entries aren't
always part of a US death certificate:
- Names of
parents (along with maiden name of deceased's mother)
- Birthplace of
parents
- Cause of death
(omitted recently)
- Name of spouse
(omitted from 1949/1956 death certificate form)
- How long
deceased was a resident of the city (usually found on early certificates,
particularly in the cities that were pioneers in death registration)
Death Certificate: Redaction of
Info
Different states vary on what
data should be redacted and what vital records are exempt from the public record
law, that requires maximum availability and disclosure.
Some states believe that
putting a dead person's SSN online is begging for trouble. Based on past
incidents, they say it will just create the opportunity for identity fraud to be
committed.
Other states believe that
putting a dead person's SSN online is pretty much safe, as the number is already
inactive. There are also states that have inconsistent policies as regards vital
records and simply use a cutoff date to determine which data is and isn't placed
online.
An example of the latter is
Florida. Some documents filed after June 2002 (i.e., death certificate and
probate records, military discharges, juvenile and family court documents, etc.)
are exempt from public record policy. But if the document was filed before June
2002 it could be posted in a county web page!
Death Certificate: Policy
Changes
Sometimes, it takes a
catastrophe to happen before public policies change. Some states began redacting
their online vital records only after their citizens were victimized by identity
thieves using info taken from the state websites!
Other changes were made to
streamline death record collection or make it more accurate. In 1949, death
certificates began omitting the birthplaces of parents, because they were often
wrongly reported anyway.
The most recent major policy
change was in 1989. The cause of death was moved to the lower part of the death
certificate. This allowed some states, which treated the cause of death as
confidential health info, to leave that info out when they photocopied the death
certificate.
Death certificates are sometimes required
to establish identity or to verify the demise of a certain individual, but their
easy availability in some states can also spell trouble when they fall into the
wrong hands. Read more about them at
RecordsSiteReview's
Death Records section.
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