Missouri Death Records

Missouri death records are official documents containing details of death events within the state's boundaries. As a form of vital records, they are used for several legal purposes and serve as valuable information for genealogy research. Statewide recording of death events in Missouri began in 1910. Before this time, death records were kept locally by most counties and cities.

With an average of 69,020 deaths recorded in Missouri annually, the state's mortality rate stands at 897.8 per 100,000 residents, which is lower than the United States yearly average of 793.7 per 100,000 total population. Cancer and heart disease remain the two leading causes of death in the state.

The major type of death record in Missouri is the death certificate, which is a document that officially declares and registers a person's death in the state. A death certificate in the state may either be a short form or a long form:

• Short-Form Death Certificate - A short-form version of a death certificate is an abbreviated version of the original certificate. It is sometimes called an abstract and is officially titled a "Certification of Death". A short-form death certificate in Missouri is a traditional-looking copy with colored borders and can be used for several administrative purposes.
• Long-Form Death Certificate - Officially known as the "Certificate of Death", a long-form death certificate in Missouri has additional/complete information about the death of a person. It is typically required for most legal purposes or needs for a death certificate.

In Missouri, funeral home staff and funeral directors are responsible for registering complete and accurate records of deaths. They work with medical certifiers to obtain medical certification, prepare original death certificates, and register/file the records/certificates with the state's Department of Health and Senior Services Bureau of Vital Records. Once filed with the Bureau of Vital Records, original death certificates in Missouri remain permanently on the file of the agency.

Eligible persons may then request certified copies of the original certificates for varying purposes. A certified copy of a death certificate is a copy of the original that has been verified with some legal authority, such as a government seal or stamp, and can be used for any legal or administrative purpose.

How Do I Get a Certified Copy of a Death Certificate in Missouri?

Eligible persons may request certified copies of Missouri death certificates from the state's Department of Health and Senior Services (through the Bureau of Vital Records) or directly from a local public health agency by mail or in person.

Whether the requester intends to submit their request by mail or in person, the following steps are generally required to get a certified copy of a death certificate in Missouri:

• Complete the death section of the Application for Missouri Vital Record - Birth/Death Form and fill out the necessary information in other portions of the form.
• Pay a $14 search and processing fee for one copy and $11 for each additional copy in the same order (if multiple copies are needed). This fee is payable to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services by check or money order drawn on a U.S. bank.
• If planning to submit the request at the Bureau of Vital Records in Jefferson City in person, contact the Bureau at (573)-751-6387 to schedule an appointment.

• Submit the completed application form with the search fee in any of the following ways:

  • By mail or in person to/at a Local Public Health Agency (the fastest way to obtain a certified copy of a Missouri death certificate is to request it locally).

  • By mail or In person to/at the Bureau of Vital Records at:

    Bureau of Vital Records

    Jefferson City Vital Record Lobby

    930 Wildwood Drive

    Jefferson City, MO 65109

  • By mail to the Bureau of Vital Records at:

    Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

    Bureau of Vital Records

    930 Wildwood Drive

    Jefferson City, MO 65109

    A mailed request must include a completed application form, a legal-sized, self-addressed stamped envelope, all the required documents, and proof of the search fee payment. While same-day processing is not guaranteed for in-person submissions, the turnaround time is usually faster than for applications submitted by mail. Depending on the level of requests the Bureau of Vital Records has, mailed requests to Jefferson City typically take between 4 to 8 weeks.

Are Missouri Death Records Public?

Death records are not public documents in Missouri unless they are more than 50 years old. In other words, only records of death events that are over 50 years old are publicly available, while those under 50 years are restricted from public access. Missouri death records that fall within the 50-year privacy window may be accessed from the Bureau of Vital Records or local public health agencies by eligible persons only. On the other hand, under the state's Sunshine Law, the state is required to grant the public access to its death index for death records over 50 years.

Who Can Request an Original Death Certificate in Missouri?

In Missouri, original death certificates are kept permanently at the state's Bureau of Vital Records and may not be requested by anyone. Only copies of the original documents are issued in the state. However, death certificates under 50 years are not open to the general public in Missouri to preserve the integrity of the records. As a result, only specific persons or entities may request them, and these are typically individuals and entities with a direct and tangible interest in the certificates.

As stipulated in 19 CSR 10-10, the members of a decedent's family, legal guardian, and official representatives are considered to have a direct, tangible interest in the death record and may request certified copies of the deceased's death certificate. Family members include cousins, in-laws, and great and step relationships for parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, and aunts. Official representatives include physicians, attorneys, funeral directors, and other authorized agents acting on behalf of the decedent or their family. Genealogists representing a decedent's family member and professionally recognized genealogists also qualify to request certified copies of a Missouri death certificate.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Death Certificate in Missouri?

It takes about 4 to 8 weeks to get a copy of a death certificate in Missouri once the original is registered with the Bureau of Vital Records. For a death that happened under normal circumstances, any eligible person can get a certified copy of the death certificate within this period or timeline. However, when an autopsy is required to determine the cause and manner of death, it will take longer before anyone can obtain a copy of the death certificate.

Typically, it takes between 8 to 10 weeks after an autopsy is done to have a complete autopsy report in Missouri. Several things are responsible for this delay, but toxicology is one of the most frequently cited reasons. The complexity of the case is another reason, and this largely causes a delay in getting copies of a death certificate. After an autopsy report is completed, the Medical Examiners Office completes the original death certificate and files it with the Bureau of Vital Records, where eligible persons may request certified copies.

Can I View Missouri Death Records online for free?

Missouri death records over 50 years are generally available online, and the public can view them for free. For instance, the Secretary of State Office has a Death Certificate database for deaths that occurred between 1910 and 1974. Members of the public can search the database for digitized images of original death certificates by the decedents' first, middle, and last names, as well as the year, month, and county of death.

Furthermore, online resources like FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com are alternative sources to view old and public Missouri death records. While users may have to pay a nominal fee, third-party sites like Missouripublicrecords.us offer the public a means of accessing death records in the state.

If the death of a person was not recorded officially in Missouri, anyone may check alternative sources, otherwise known as substitute records, to find vital information about the death event for free. Such sources include obituaries, newspapers, church records, probate records, and cemetery records. Tax records, pension payment cards, and census.

When Would You Require A Death Certificate in Missouri?

A copy of a death certificate is needed for several reasons in Missouri, including the following:

• Claiming benefits like pension, life insurance payout, Medicaid, and veteran's benefits.
• Notifying relevant government agencies about an individual's death
• Transfering the ownership of a decedent's property, including vehicles and real estate
• Notifying a decedent's banks to enable them to close their account and allow members of the family to process claims
• Filing legal paperwork to settle a decedent's estate
• Genealogy research

How Many Death Certificates Do I Need in Missouri?

Although the actual number of copies of a death certificate anyone needs in Missouri depends on several factors, obtaining between 8 and 12 copies will go a long way in fulfilling certain legal and administrative tasks. To determine the number of copies required, it is best to come up with a checklist of where they are needed and consider the size of the decedent's estate.