Professional Funeral Directors and Hospitals May File the Death Certificate. Families may file their own paperwork with the County Office of Vital Records in the case where a Professional Funeral Director is not hired by the family of the deceased.
If you are not hiring a mortuary to provide cremation service or transportation to a cemetery, you must file documents with your local County Office of Vital Records.
From website of Funeral Consumers Alliance (Southern California) funerals.org/consumers/legalyour-rights/
II. When Death Occurs at Home (and family is NOT hiring a funeral director):
Note: If your loved one has died suddenly, not under hospice care, you must report death to law enforcement.
Contact your local County Registrar or Office of Vital records ahead of time to understand the process of filling a paperwork to obtain a death certificate and separate certificate for transport for burial.
The process detailed below is applicable when the family member has died at home under hospice or nursing care and have elected not to hire a funeral director to file the death certificate and transportation.
1. ARRANGEMENTS MUST BE DONE AHEAD OF TIME.
Go to your county vital records office (locations listed below) and ask them about the process to enter the necessary information into EDRS for you or to provide you with a blank death certificate. Some of the offices we contacted indicated they would only process a death certificate using EDRS and others indicated they would provide a paper worksheet for you to enter details for the death certificate. One of the offices indicated they would want documentation from a physician indicating the time, date, and cause of death to initiate this process. It might be a good idea to obtain this information in writing from the attending physician to save time. It is not possible to download a blank death certificate electronically.
County Vital Records Offices
Nevada County Public Health Department Office of Vital Records
500 Crown Point Circle Suite 110
Grass Valley, CA 95945
(530)265-1450
Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 Noon and 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Closed for lunch from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Placer County Public Health Department Office of Vital Records
11484 B Ave
Auburn, CA 95603
Phone: 530-889-7158
Public Counter Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Yuba County Public Health Department Office of Vital Records
915 8th St., Suite 107, Marysville, CA 95901
Phone: (530) 749-7851 Fax: (530) 749-7854 Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
2. Fill in all of the information required on the death certificate.
Personal information about the deceased: The Informant (a family member or anyone who can supply the necessary information) fills out/provides the personal information about the deceased. The Informant must identify him/herself on the death certificate as the person providing the information.
Medical information about the death : The attending doctor or the medical person provides the information about the death, including date, time and cause of death. The doctor/medical person must provide a valid medical license number on the death certificate form and sign it.
EDRS Electronic Death Registration System : The office personnel will route the death certificate using EDRS to the physician for them to complete electronically. You do not have to do anything further.
Paper: Have the attending doctor or the medical person complete the Medical Information section of the death certificate. Call ahead to make sure he/she is in the office before showing up to have the death certificate completed. Also, because doctors are used to using EDRS there may be some confusion as to why a paper death certificate is being used.
3. Return the completed death certificate form (if using paper). A member of the deceased’s immediate family or other authorized person (see NOTE below) should return the completed death certificate worksheet form to the office where it was picked up as soon as possible after the death, but at least within eight days of the death (Health and Safety Code Section 102775). Office personnel will review the information for completeness, mistakes or any medical information that may necessitate involving the Coroner.
If the death certificate is processed using EDRS, the office personnel will review for completion electronically and will review to determine if any medical information received necessitates involving the Coroner.
If there are no problems, the death certificate will be filed and the family member or authorized person may purchase certified copies. It may not be possible to file the death certificate and purchase certified copies the same day, so be prepared to make yet another visit to the office to pick up the certified copies. Or you can do it by mail.
4. Request certified copies. Here are the websites for forms and instructions to request certified copies of death certificates for Yuba County, Nevada County
Cost: There is no cost to file the death certificate. The cost of a certified copy of the death certificate is $21 in all counties . It is usually recommended that several certified copies be purchased, as there are a variety of entities (banks, insurance companies, etc) that may require them.
NOTE: Health & Safety Code 103526 authorizes the following persons to receive certified copies of birth or death certificates. (The “registrant” for death certificates is the deceased.)
(1) The registrant or a parent or legal guardian of the registrant.
(2) A party entitled to receive the record as a result of a court order, or an attorney or a licensed adoption agency seeking the birth record in order to comply with the requirements of Section 3140 or 7603 of the Family Code.
(3) A member of a law enforcement agency or a representative of another governmental agency, as provided by law, who is conducting official business.
(4) A child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner of the registrant.
(5) An attorney representing the registrant or the registrant's estate, or any person or agency empowered by statute or appointed by a court to act on behalf of the registrant or the registrant's estate.
(6) Any agent or employee of a funeral establishment who acts within the course and scope of his or her employment and who orders certified copies of a death certificate on behalf of any individual specified in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 7100.
5. Request a Permit for Disposition. At the same time the death certificate is filed, be sure to ask for a Permit for Disposition, also called a Burial Permit (there is a fee). The Disposition Permit is required in order to deliver the remains to a cemetery or crematory for final disposition. Be prepared to supply the name of the cemetery or crematory where the body will be delivered. You may transport the remains yourself if you have a Disposition Permit.
III. When Death Occurs in an Institution
Death Certification
If a person dies in an institution such as a nursing home or a hospital, the institution will file the death certificate using the State of California Electronic Death Registration System (EDRS). There is a place in this electronic form to indicate who will be making the disposition arrangements for the body. Usually they want the name of a mortuary for this, but the name of the family member who will be directing the arrangements may be supplied instead. California Health and Safety Code, Section 102875(a)(6) specifies that for disposition of the remains the “name of the funeral director, or person acting as such” be provided in the death certificate.
Disposition of Remains
Institutions often have regulations that specify that they only release the remains to a mortuary. No law requires this, but the institution faces some liability if they release the remains to a family member and subsequent controversy arises among family members about the body. The institution may therefore refuse to release the remains to a family member.
If possible, the family or agent should consult with the institution before the death occurs about their specific regulations regarding releasing the body, trying to arrive at some arrangement whereby the body can be released to the family or to a particular family member. There may be waivers or hold-harmless agreements to sign in order for the institution to agree to what they consider to be a non-standard arrangement.
If the family has physical custody of the body and will be transporting it for burial, a Permit for Disposition will be required, along with certified copies of the Death Certificate. The death registration will already have been filed by the institution, so it is just a matter of getting the certified copies.
The information provided using this web site is only intended to be general summary information to the public. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
