How to Get a Louisiana Death Certificate: Who Can Order and Fees

To get a Louisiana death certificate, submit application form PHS-520B with a photocopy of your government-issued photo ID and $7.00 per certified copy to the Vital Records Registry, which is part of the Louisiana Department of Health’s Office of Public Health.¹ You can file the request by mail, online through VitalChek, or in person at the central office in New Orleans. Louisiana limits who can order a certified copy, so the first thing to confirm is whether you qualify.

Who Can Order a Certified Copy

Louisiana restricts death records to people with a direct connection to the deceased. You qualify if you are:²

The surviving spouse, if listed as such on the death record
A parent, adult child, sibling, grandparent, or adult grandchild of the deceased
A beneficiary of the deceased’s life insurance policy, trust, pension, IRA, retirement account, or payable-on-death bank or brokerage account
The succession representative (executor or administrator) with a certified Letter of Testamentary or Letter of Administration from the Clerk of Court
An attorney representing the family or estate, with a written declaration of authority
A family member designated in a court proceeding as part of the immediate or surviving family

Beneficiaries need to include a signed copy of the policy, trust, or account document naming them. If you don’t fit any of these categories, you’ll need a court order to obtain a certified copy.

What You Need to Submit

The application is form PHS-520B, “Application for Certified Copy of Death Certificate.” Download it from the Department of Health website or pick one up at the Vital Records central office in New Orleans.³

The form asks for the deceased’s full name, date of death, and the parish where the death occurred. Adding the Social Security number and parents’ names helps staff pull the record faster, especially when the name is common. You’ll also state your relationship to the deceased and your reason for the request.

Every applicant must attach a photocopy of a current government-issued photo ID: a driver’s license, state ID card, or passport. Make sure the name on your ID matches the name on your application, since mismatches slow processing.

Fees

A certified death certificate costs $7.00 per copy from the Vital Records Registry.⁴ Louisiana issues only one standard version, so there’s no short-form or long-form choice to make. A certificate obtained through a Clerk of Court instead costs $26.00 per copy.⁵

Mail and online orders carry an added $0.50 state surcharge per copy.⁴ Walk-in orders at the central office don’t. Online orders through VitalChek also carry that vendor’s own service and processing fees on top of the state fee. Do the math on all copies before you send payment.

Three Ways to Order

By Mail

Send your completed PHS-520B, a photocopy of your ID, and a check or money order (for $7.00 plus the $0.50 surcharge per copy) to:²

Vital Records Registry
PO Box 60630
New Orleans, LA 70160

Make the check or money order payable to the Vital Records Registry. Do not send cash. Mail orders take roughly 8 to 10 weeks from submission to delivery, so this is the wrong route if you’re on any kind of deadline.²

Online Through VitalChek

VitalChek is the state-authorized online vendor and accepts major credit cards; orders can also be placed by fax or telephone.² Expect the state fee, the $0.50 surcharge, and VitalChek’s own charges. Expedited shipping is available for an added fee, which makes online the practical choice when time matters more than cost. VitalChek also offers a Will Call option: you place the order online and get an email when the certificate is ready to pick up at the New Orleans office.

In Person

The Vital Records Central Office takes walk-in requests at:¹

1450 Poydras Street, Suite 400
New Orleans, LA 70112

Walk-in is the fastest option. Bring the completed PHS-520B, your photo ID, and $7.00 per copy. Staff verify paperwork on-site and accept cash, check, or credit card. No $0.50 surcharge applies to in-person orders. If you’re nowhere near New Orleans, ask your local parish health unit whether it processes death certificate requests, since some do.

How Long It Takes

Speed depends on the method. Walk-in applicants at the New Orleans office often leave with the certificate the same day. Mail orders run 8 to 10 weeks.² Online orders fall in between, and paying VitalChek for expedited shipping compresses that window further. If you chose Will Call, you pick the certificate up in person after the email confirmation arrives.

The most common cause of delay across every method is an incomplete application. Missing ID copies, wrong payment amounts, and illegible handwriting all get applications rejected, which resets the clock. A five-minute review before sending is worth it.

How Many Copies to Order

People routinely underestimate this. Banks, insurance companies, the court handling succession, pension administrators, and investment firms each typically want their own certified copy, not a photocopy. Louisiana’s succession process requires at least one certified copy attached to the Affidavit of Small Succession or the petition for a full court proceeding. Four to six copies is a reasonable starting point for a straightforward estate with a few accounts and a life insurance policy. Complex estates with multiple institutions or real property often need more. At $7.00 each, ordering extras now is far cheaper and faster than coming back weeks later.

If the Certificate Hasn’t Been Filed Yet

You cannot order certified copies until the death certificate is filed with the state. Under Louisiana law, the last physician who treated the deceased within 10 days before the death must complete and sign the certificate within 24 hours.⁶ The funeral home then enters the record into Louisiana’s Electronic Event Registration System (LEERS) and files it with the Vital Records Registry. In accidents, homicides, or unattended deaths, the coroner certifies the death.

If an investigation, pending autopsy, or dispute over the cause of death delays filing, the family has to wait. Your first call in that situation is the funeral home, since it handles the filing.

Fixing an Error on the Certificate

Misspelled names, wrong dates of birth, and inaccurate causes of death are more common than people expect. Louisiana handles corrections differently depending on which part of the certificate is wrong, and neither route is one the family files directly.⁷

Personal Details

Names, dates of birth, marital status, and other demographic items are corrected by the funeral home listed on the certificate. The request must go in within one year of the date of death. The funeral home sends a letter on its own letterhead to the Vital Records Registry identifying the deceased, the item numbers to be corrected, the current entry, and the correct information. The funeral director signs the letter.⁷

Cause and Manner of Death

Only the attending physician or coroner who certified the death can correct the medical portion. The process is the same: a signed letter on professional letterhead identifying the error and stating the correct information. If autopsy results come back after the certificate is filed and change the cause of death, the certifying physician should amend the record right away. Families cannot request medical changes directly; you have to work through the physician or coroner who signed the original.⁷

Louisiana uses the interlinear method for all amendments: a line is drawn through the old entry without hiding it, and the correction is written alongside. The original wording stays visible on the certificate.

1
Louisiana Department of Health. Center for Vital Records and Statistics
2
Louisiana Department of Health. How To Order Death Records
3
Louisiana Department of Health. Application for Certified Copy of Death Certificate – PHS-520B
4
Louisiana Vital Records Registry. Service Fees
5
Louisiana Department of Health. Vital Records Service Fees
6
Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. Death Certificates
7
Louisiana Department of Health. Amendments to Death Records