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Free Death Records Search Database

By Claire Dowell


Death is a primordial force. One can never know when his or her time will come, because that is the primary nature of death. This event may be unpredictable in nature, but its direct causes can be analyzed and therefore be predicted in order to delay it for a day, a week, a year, or a decade or two.

The recording of mortality trends is made possible by documents called death certificates. These records contain a deceased person's name, age, race, gender, and the time, date, place, and cause of death, and are usually signed by a medical examiner or coroner who performed the postmortem examination. Furthermore, records of death are considered to be the most important document because it heralds the cessation of a person's legal responsibilities, social security payments, pensions and other assistances.

The recording of deaths in the United States began in the 1930s. Over the years, this lead to the implementation of various policies regarding the storage, maintenance and distribution of death records in every state. In Florida, for example, records of death are held by the Bureau of Vital Statistics, a branch of the Florida Department of Health.

In order to begin the process of obtaining Florida death records, one must take into account the type of death record that you are allowed to procure. There are two types of death records in Florida - "Without cause" and "With cause". The former are documents that can be accessed and furnished by the general public. The latter, however, can only be obtained by the decedent's immediate family, the family's legal proxy, and a person who can provide a will in pursuant to the state statute 732.502. Fifty years after the date of death, death records "With cause" become public information, making them available for public acquisition.

After gathering enough information about the death of a certain person and defining what type of death record you can obtain, you can now apply for a copy of a death record to the Bureau of Vital Statistics in person or via mail. This is done by providing information such as the name, gender, and age of the deceased person, the date of death, the county or city of death, and the Social Security Number in the application form. For identification purposes, you must also provide your full name, state your relationship with the decedent, send a valid form of identification, be it your state ID, birth certificate or driver's license, and affix your signature in the said application. Each certified copy of a death record costs $5.00, with an additional $4.00 for any additional copy ordered. Payments must be in the form of a check or money order payable to the Bureau of Vital Statistics. Finally, mail these prerequisites to the office of the said department. Requests are processed within 2-3 working days after the order has been received by the bureau.

In recent years, the Internet has revolutionized communication and productivity. The World Wide Web has become the perfect embodiment of convenience. A good example of the productivity and expediency that it brings to the table can be found in the procurement of public documents such as death records. Free-of-charge or fee based, government and private service providers get the job done by providing comprehensive and instantaneous results for all your public record needs.




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