Mississippi Death Records

A Mississippi death record is a legal document that formally registers every detail regarding an individual's death in the state. Although some counties registered death records in the state as early as 1879, statewide recording of death events did not begin until November 1912. Mississippi leads all other states in age-adjusted mortality rate at 1,064.2 per 100,000 residents, which is significantly higher than the United States average of 793.7 per 100,000 people. On average, approximately 36,868 are recorded in the state annually.

Mississippi death records exist primarily as death certificates, which include details such as the time, date, cause, and place of death as well as the personal information of the deceased person. Original death certificates, which are typically prepared after a person's death, are maintained by the state's Department of Health (MSDH). While the crematory or funeral home prepares the original death certificate, a medical professional is responsible for completing the cause of death as required by 15 Miss. Code R. 5-85-4.2.1.

After medically certifying a death, the funeral home or any individual in charge of the decedent's body files the original death certificate with the state's Bureau of Vital Records. Once filled, eligible persons may then request certified copies of the death certificate. In Mississippi, a certified copy of a death certificate is legally acceptable and often comes with the MSDH's raised seal and has the exact information contained in the original document. It is typically a verified copy of the original death certificate.

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

The Bureau of Vital Records under the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) maintains original death certificates and issues certified copies of the certificates to eligible and interested persons. Any qualified individual may get a certified copy of a death certificate in the state in one of the following ways:

• Mail-in Application - Do the following to get a certified copy of a death certificate in Mississippi:

  • Print and complete the Application for a Certified Mississippi Death Certificate. Ensure to sign the application form.
  • Pay a non-refundable $17 search fee, which entitles the requester to one certified copy. Each additional certified copy of the same certificate ordered at the same time costs $6. Payment can be made by personal check, postal money order, or a bank's cashier's check made out to the Mississippi Vital Records.

  • Provide a photocopy of a valid, acceptable identification. Acceptable forms of ID include employment ID, U.S. passport, state-issued driver's license, U.S. military ID, state-issued photo ID, and temporary resident card. Others are a permanent resident card/alien registration, a college ID, a school ID, and a university ID. Any two of the following forms of identification may also be used as ID:

    • Utility bill bearing the requester's address
    • Veteran Universal Access ID card
    • Social security card
    • Medicaid card
    • Work identification
    • Snap/EBT card bearing the applicant's address

  • Mail the completed application form, payment, and ID to the MSDH at:

    Mississippi State Department of Health

    Bureau of Vital Records

    P.O. Box 1700

    Jackson, MS 39215-1700

    Mailed requests are typically processed within 7 to 10 business days of the receipt of the applications at the Bureau of Vital Records.

• In-Person Application - To obtain a certified copy of a Mississippi death certificate in person, a requester must submit a completed application form, payment, and a copy of a valid, acceptable ID to the Bureau of Vital Records in person at:

  Mississippi Vital Records

  222 Marketridge Drive

  Ridgeland, MS 39157

  Phone: (601) 206-8200

  E-mail: VRInfor@msdh.ms.gov

  The office is open between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Requesters may pay for walk-in applications by check, cash, money order, or debit/credit card. Anyone requesting certified copies of death certificates from 2020 to the present may get them the same day. However, those before 2020 are typically mailed to applicants within 7 to 10 days of submitting their requests in person.

Are Mississippi Death Records Public?

Per Section 41-57-2 of the Mississippi Code, any record in the custody of the state's Bureau of Vital Records, which would be of no legitimate and tangible interest to anyone requesting access, is exempt from the provisions of the state's Public Records Act. This includes death records. Hence, only individuals with a legitimate and tangible interest in a death record in the state may obtain copies of death records in the state.

Who Can Request an Original Death Certificate in Mississippi?

Original death certificates are not issued to members of the public in Mississippi. Rather, they are permanently kept in the custody of the state's Bureau of Vital Records, an office under the Department of Health (MSDH). However, anyone who needs copies of a death certificate in the state may request certified copies of an original death certificate, and under state law, only the following individuals are eligible to obtain them:

• The decedent's siblings, spouse, children, and grandparents.
• The decedent's parents.
• The decedent's guardians.
• Informat (must be listed on the death certificate)
• Individuals with court orders to access the death certificate
• Legal representatives of any eligible individual
• The funeral home on record that took possession of the deceased's body

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

Requests for certified copies of death certificates in Mississippi are typically processed within 7 to 10 working days for events whose original death certificates have been filed with the state's Bureau of Vital Records. If the certificate whose certified copy is requested is for a death event that occurred after 2020 and was requested in person, the applicant can get it on the same day. However, it could take a long time before anyone can obtain a certified copy of a death certificate in Mississippi for a death that occurs under unusual circumstances. In such cases, an autopsy may be needed to determine the cause of death.

When an autopsy is required to determine the cause of death in Mississippi, the coroner or medical examiner needs to complete the investigative and autopsy reports. This may take longer than usual, depending on the availability of personnel and resources, as well as the complexity of the case. As a result, it may take some time before the final and original death certificate is filed with the state's Bureau of Vital Records. Depending on how complex the case is, this process may take between 3 to 5 months before anyone can obtain certified copies of that death certificate.

Can I View Mississippi Death Records Online for Free?

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) has indexes of deaths for certain death events that happened within the state. These include microfiche copies of death records from November 1912 to 1943. Also, Ancestry.com is a source for historic Mississippi death records, although a subscription may be needed to view certain records. In addition, FamilySearch.org has a large collection of historic death records in Mississippi. It makes an excellent resource for looking up some death records in the state.

Furthermore, reliable third-party sites like Mississippipublicrecords.us actively gather and preserve records of death events in the state and make them available to members of the public at a nominal fee. Alternatively, where there are no official records of death events in the state, substitute records can become valuable sources of information regarding such events. For instance, it is possible to find important information about a death event free of charge by checking obituary records, newspapers, cemetery records, tax records, church records, probate records, and city directories.

When Would You Require A Death Certificate in Mississippi?

The following are some of the purposes for which certified copies of a death certificate are required in Mississippi:

• They are required by banks and other financial institutions to verify a person's death before the executor of the deceased's estate or any member family can have access to the decedent's assets and financial accounts.
• Making arrangements for burial or cremation.
• Filing insurance claims.
• Filing a petition to receive a deceased's pension payments, continuing Medicaid benefits, and other retirement benefits.
• Death certificates that have an official cause of death listed are required by government agencies where there are ongoing investigations into certain events.
• Notifying a decedent's creditors or mortgage lenders about the passing of the deceased.
• Transferring the ownership of a deceased person's assets, including vehicles and real estate, to other individuals.
• Canceling a deceased person's credit cards to prevent fraud.
• Canceling a decedent's cell phone bill and other subscription services.
• Notifying certain government agencies and private organizations about a person's death. These include the Social Security Administration (SSA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), insurance providers, credit card companies, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and brokerage companies.

How Many Death Certificates Do I Need in Mississippi?

The number of death certificates (certified copies) needed in Mississippi varies, depending on the situation and the number of business/administrative transactions and legal matters that require a copy. However, in most cases, requesting between 8 and 12 copies of a certified death certificate in the state is ideal.

Furthermore, the size of a deceased's assets will determine the number of certified copies of a death certificate that should be obtained. Hence, it is important to review the number of assets in the deceased's name in order to figure out the actual number of death certificates to get. In addition, it is crucial to consider assets like employer benefits, insurance policies, stocks and bonds, income tax returns, credit life insurance, and real estate titles when considering the number of death certificates to obtain in Mississippi.