About Death, Stillbirth, and Miscarriage Records

The Department of Health and Welfare issues certified copies of death, stillbirth, and miscarriage records of events that occurred in Idaho.

A death certificate may be necessary for a variety of legal reasons, such as claiming life insurance, applying for a spouse's pension or Social Security benefits, changing financial accounts, and remarrying. The department maintains death certificates filed since July 1911.

A stillbirth certificate is filed for stillborn children who are at least 20 weeks gestation or weigh at least 350 grams.

A miscarriage certificate may be filed at the request of a parent if the miscarriage has been certified by a physician.

In Idaho, death, stillbirth, and miscarriage certificates are legally confidential for 50 years.

Information about obtaining records for events in other states may be found at the National Center for Health Statistics.

Under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, FEMA is providing financial assistance for COVID-19 related funeral expenses incurred after Jan. 20, 2020. Visit https://www.fema.gov/disasters/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance for details .

A copy of the death certificate that attributes the death directly or indirectly to COVID-19 is required. Ordering instructions can be found by selecting the “Order a Record” link to the left. Contact the medical certifier listed on the death certificate if you think a correction to the cause of death is needed. If you are not an immediate family member or the official representative of the decedent’s estate, you will need to provide the following to establish your right to receive a copy of the certificate for this purpose:

• Funeral expenses documents (receipts, funeral home contract, etc.) that includes the applicant’s name, the deceased person’s name, the amount of funeral expenses, and the dates the funeral expenses happened.