Colorado Death Records: How to Perform a Colorado Death Records Search

Data from death records are usually relied on to develop public health intervention programs on the part of the government. 

Professionals in the health sector also engage these death records as sources of data for health-related research and funding provisions. 

But while government agencies are the official record custodians in Colorado, private persons have to meet certain conditions to be granted access to them.

So if you ever need to find death records for any reason in Colorado, you'd mostly need to show proof of tangible interest in the record. 

If you are in this situation, this article can direct you to the right places to check.

Colorado Death Records Explained

Colorado Death records are official documents drafted to account for the personal and death event-related information of a deceased person. 

They are created as soon as a person's corpse is deposited in a morgue and registered with the Vital Records Office a few days later. 

The documents can later be collected by eligible persons in paid copies designated as certified or informational.

Unlike most other states in the US, access to death records is not open to the general public. 

Per the Colorado Revised Statutes 25-2-117, only those persons who meet certain eligibility conditions will be allowed to view death records created more recently. 

The eligibility criteria include that the requester must be a direct relative or legal representative of the deceased or show tangible interest in the record. 

What Can I Find In A Colorado Death Record?

A death record, as seen in Colorado, is typically segmented into a few parts. 

One part of the document shows the personal information of the deceased. 

The others feature the names of the decedent's next of kin, the name of the funeral director, and the medical certifier.

A few relevant data related to the death are also captured in the document, including the place and death of death and the cause of death. 

You can also find a section assigned to take the decedent's occupation and residence prior to their death and their social security number. 

How Are Colorado Death Records Created?

The creation of Colorado death records is a process that takes transmits across three different stops. 

The first stop is the funeral home in whose custody the corpse is first deposited. 

There, the funeral director gets to record the personal information of the deceased person as provided by their family member. 

The information is documented with the Electronic Death Registration System (EDRS), an electronic database of sorts.

Next, the attending physician, associate physician, coroner, or any other authorized medical personnel will see to the medical certification. 

This part has to do with the documentation of the cause of death, the place of death, and other circumstances surrounding the death. 

The death record is later transferred to the local registrar or health department for final registration. 

At this point, the document will be officially recorded, certified, and retained by the State registrar. 

Where Can I Find Colorado Death Records?

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Colorado death records are documented in the Vital Records Section of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. 

The death records retained by this agency account for deaths recorded statewide since 1900. 

You can find them by visiting the agency or sending a mail order to the department.

First, you'll be made to print and accurately fill out the Colorado Death Certificate Request or Colorado Death Certificate Request (Spanish). 

You may also attach a copy of your valid government-issued ID, copies of proof of payment, and your relationship with the decedent in your application. 

The application and its contents can now be delivered in person or by mail to the address below:

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment,
Vital Records Section,
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South,
Denver, CO 80246

For any further inquiries, you may reach out by email at the address: [email protected] or call the number (303) 692-2200. 

Note that the cost of ordering the death certificate is $20 for the first copy and $13 for each extra copy. 

Third-Party Websites

To use a third-party website such as this one to find Colorado death records, you'd need to have a paid subscription on the platform. 

Once you launch the website, navigate the search portal and insert the search parameters in the designated fields.

The parameters are mostly pegged as the name of the deceased person and their last known residence, usually given as the state or county where the death record is filed. 

As soon as you click "search," you should be shown a number of results matching your query. 

You can now settle for the one of interest to you, view it on the screen, or have it emailed to you.