How to Obtain a Virginia Death Certificate: Copies and Corrections

To get a Virginia death certificate, order a certified copy from the Virginia Office of Vital Records for $12 per copy. You can request it through the funeral home handling arrangements, online through the Virginia Department of Health portal, by mail, or in person in Richmond. The office issues certificates for deaths that occurred in Virginia from June 1912 to the present, and access is restricted to immediate family, legal representatives, and — after 25 years — the general public.

Who Can Order a Certified Copy

Virginia limits full certified copies to the deceased’s mother, father, current spouse, child, brother, sister, or grandparent. Each requestor needs valid photo identification and, depending on the situation, proof of the relationship.¹

Legal representatives also qualify. That group includes the deceased’s attorney, a person holding power of attorney, the funeral director or funeral service licensee who handled arrangements, an insurance company that insured the deceased, a court-appointed guardian or administrator, and any federal, state, or local government agency acting on behalf of the deceased or their family.¹

If you don’t fit either category but still need proof of death, you can request a Verification of Death instead. It shows the decedent’s name, date of death, place of death, date of birth, and the last four digits of their Social Security number. You’ll need to demonstrate a direct and tangible interest in the record to qualify.²

What to Gather Before You Apply

You’ll need the following details about the deceased:

Full legal name at death, including any suffix
Date of death
City or county of death in Virginia
Age at death
Sex
Hospital name, if the death occurred at a medical facility

The mother’s maiden name and the father’s full name are optional, but including them helps the office locate the record faster when the deceased had a common name.³

You also need valid government-issued photo identification. Virginia accepts an unexpired state-issued photo ID or Global Entry card, an unexpired U.S. passport or passport card, or a state driver’s license that has been expired for no more than five years.⁴

The Four Ways to Order

Through the Funeral Home

The funeral director who handled the arrangements is usually the person who filed the death certificate with the state, and most funeral homes will order certified copies on your behalf during the arrangement process. Tell the director how many copies you want. You’ll pay $12 per copy, often included in the itemized bill.

Online

The Virginia Department of Health accepts applications through its vital records portal. You fill out the form electronically, upload your identification, and pay by credit or debit card. Online submissions currently process within five business days.⁵

By Mail

Download the “Application for Certification of a Death Record” from the VDH website, complete it, and mail it with legible copies of your photo ID and a check or money order made payable to “State Health Department.” Send everything to:

Office of Vital Records
P.O. Box 1000
Richmond, VA 23218-1000⁶

Mailed requests currently process within eight business days of receipt.⁵

In Person

For the fastest turnaround, visit the walk-in office at 8701 Park Central Drive, Suite 100, Richmond, VA 23227. Bring your completed application, original photo ID, and payment. Some local health department offices also process death certificate requests; call ahead to confirm hours and services.⁶

Express Delivery Through VitalChek

If you need a certified copy within days, Virginia partners with VitalChek for express processing and delivery in two to five days. The cost is higher: $20.80 per certified record plus a $12.70 nonrefundable service fee. Shipping adds more:

UPS Next Day Air: $19.50 (no P.O. boxes)
UPS 2nd Day Air: $18.00 (no P.O. boxes)
Regular U.S. mail: no additional charge

Orders go through vitalchek.com. All major credit cards are accepted.⁷

Fees and Refund Policy

Each certified copy costs $12, and Virginia charges that fee whether or not the search turns up a matching record. There are no refunds.² Payment methods vary by channel:

Online: credit or debit card
Mail: check or money order payable to “State Health Department”
In person: cash, check, money order, or card (confirm with the specific office)

How Many Copies You Should Order

Order more than you think you’ll need. Banks, insurance companies, investment firms, and government agencies almost always require an original certified copy with a raised seal; photocopies won’t work. Each account, life insurance policy, property title transfer, and legal filing typically consumes one certified copy, and some institutions hold onto them for weeks. Five copies is a reasonable starting point for a straightforward estate. If the deceased held multiple bank accounts, insurance policies, or real property, eight to ten copies will save you from reordering at $12 apiece plus more waiting.

Fixing Errors on the Certificate

Mistakes happen: a misspelled name, wrong date of birth, or incorrect marital status can create real problems when settling an estate. Virginia charges a $10 amendment fee. If you also want a new certified copy reflecting the correction, budget $22 total.²

Who handles the correction depends on timing. Within the first 30 days after the certificate is filed, changes go through the local registrar. After 30 days, corrections must be requested from the State Registrar. The surviving spouse, next of kin, funeral service licensee, or another reporting source such as a hospital can request corrections to personal information.⁸

Changes to cause of death work differently. Only the attending physician or the medical examiner who certified the death can request that kind of correction. Family members cannot.⁸

Every correction application must include supporting documentary evidence. Minor spelling fixes to names may be handled with a correction affidavit, but more substantial name changes require a certified copy of a court order. Any item that has already been corrected once can only be changed again by court order.⁹

Older Records and Public Access

Virginia death records become public 25 years after the date of death. Once a record crosses that threshold, anyone can request it regardless of relationship to the deceased.²

For historical research, the Library of Virginia’s Archives Division at 800 East Broad Street in Richmond holds surviving Virginia death records from 1853 to 1896 on microfilm. Viewing is free, and the Library lends reels to other libraries nationwide at no charge. The Office of Vital Records does not do genealogical research, so the Library is the right starting point for that work. If you find a record on microfilm and need a certified copy, you can still order one from Vital Records for the standard $12 fee.¹⁰

If You Need the Certificate Overseas

A Virginia death certificate used abroad usually needs an apostille from the Virginia Secretary of the Commonwealth, which authenticates the document under the Hague Convention. The apostille costs $10 per document, payable by check or money order to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. When multiple documents are signed by the same official on the same date for the same country, the first is $10 and each additional is $5. Mail the certified death certificate along with a cover letter generated through the Secretary’s website and a prepaid, self-addressed return mailer. Turnaround runs roughly seven to ten business days.¹¹

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code Title 12, Agency 5, Chapter 550, Section 470 – Individual Requests
2
Virginia Department of Health. Frequently Asked Questions – Vital Records
3
Virginia Department of Health. Application for Certification of a Death Record
4
Virginia Department of Health. ID Requirements – Vital Records
5
Virginia Department of Health. Online Application for a Vital Record
6
Virginia Department of Health. Contact Us – Vital Records
7
Virginia Department of Health. Express Delivery Through the VitalChek Network
8
Legal Information Institute. 12 Va. Admin. Code 5-550-440 – Applications for Correction
9
Legal Information Institute. 12 Va. Admin. Code 5-550-450 – Evidence Required for Corrections or Amendments
10
Virginia Department of Health. Genealogy – Vital Records
11
Secretary of the Commonwealth – Virginia.gov. How to Submit Documents for Authentication