A death certificate is a legal document completed by the funeral director, medical examiner, coroner or physician who attended to the patient while in the hospital. The funeral director is responsible for completing the demographic information on the decedent. The medical examiner, coroner and/or physician is responsible for completing the medical certification section of the death certificate.
How to obtain a certified copy of a death certificate
You will not automatically receive a certified copy of a certificate of death unless you have made arrangements with the funeral director. You may obtain a certified copy of a death certificate at any county health department in Alabama once it has been filed with the State of Alabama. You may also obtain a certified copy of a death certificate by writing to the Center for Health Statistics, P.O. Box 5625, Montgomery, Alabama 36103-5625 or visit Alabama Department of Public Health for more information.
Fee for certified death certificate
The fee for a certified copy of the death certificate is $15 for one certified copy and $6 for each additional copy ordered at the same time.
Changes to the medical certification section of the death certificate
The medical examiner, coroner or physician who originally signed the death certificate can make changes to the immediate cause and underlying cause of death. After the medical examiner, coroner or physician completes the Medical Certification Request Form, it is mailed to the Center for Health Statistics to amend the cause of death on the death certificate.
How to contact a hospital death certificate representative
Medical Records Department
Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
(256) 265-6944
How to contact the Center for Health Statistics
Alabama Department of Public Health
Center for Health Statistics
P.O. Box 5625
Montgomery, Alabama 36103-5625
(334) 206-5418
