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

Florida death records provide a source of data that is crucial to the work of professionals involved in the health, statistics, insurance, and legal sectors, among others. 

If you are one of such persons or a relative of the deceased person, you should find this article helpful in your quest to find their death records. 

Florida Death Records Explained

A Florida death record serves up officially listed data related to the persons whose deaths occurred in the state. 

The data covered in these records include the decedent's personal information and those provided by medical personnel. 

If the death records are less than 50 years old, certain information in them or the death record itself may be sealed.

They may only be available to persons related to the deceased, their representatives, or others who can produce a court order or a document showing their interest in the record. 

The death records are registered at the state's vital records office and the local health departments at the county level. 

What Can I Find In A Florida Death Record?

Florida death records cover a range of data related to the record owner and the facts surrounding the death. 

A few of the information recorded in these records are listed below:

* The deceased person's full name
* Their age, residence, and occupation at the time of death
* Gender, race or color, and other statistical information 
* Name of parents, spouse, siblings, or children
* Cause of death
* File number

How Are Florida Death Records Created?

First, a legally authorized informant (usually the decedent's relative) provides the decedent's personal information to the funeral director. 

The information is recorded using the EDRS system. Next, medical certification of the death is provided by an authorized medical examiner or physician. 

Lastly, the local register gets to register the death record, mostly within five days of the death being reported.

Where Can I Find Florida Death Records?

The Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics

This office is directly responsible for the custody and dissemination of its death records. 

These records may be obtained by mailing a record application to their office address or visiting to make a direct request. 

Your application must include information such as your full name, signature, phone number, mailing address, and relationship with the deceased, among other things.

You'd be required to complete the DH727 Application  Death Application (English PDF 55KB) or DH727S Death Record Application (Spanish PDF 71KB) with the appropriate information. 

The service charge, $15 per copy and $4 per additional copy requested must be attached to the application in its cheque or money order equivalent.

If you want expedited action on your request, you'll have to pay an extra $10 RUSH fee and label the envelope "RUSH" on its outer part. 

A valid government-issued ID card must also be submitted with the application, especially if you need to know the decedent's cause of death. You can now apply to the address:

Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics,
P.O. Box 210,
Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042

Those who intend to personally request the death record also visit the above address and present their application. 

However, this application, the DH727 Application for a Death Record (English PDF 55KB) or the DH727S Application for a Death Record (Spanish PDF 71KB), could be replaced with a written application. 

Either way, you'd have to follow most of the above guidelines for mail-in requests.

County Health Department Offices

Alternatively, you can stop by the local County Health Department Offices in the county where the death was reported and then request to inspect the related death record. 

You'd only be allowed access to those death records dating back to 2009 and may be restricted from viewing certain information if you're not related to the deceased. 

The website of the Florida County Health Department can provide you with relevant information about the service charges and application requirements. 

You can now mail your application to the related county health department or drop it off at their office.

Online Search Via the Bureau of Vital Records

The bureau of vital records provides online access to the death records in its custody via a partnership with the online vendor platform, VitalChek. 

You'd have to pay a couple of service charges to be allowed access to the death records available on this platform. 

They include a $7 fee for identity verification, receipt of ordering information, and for downloading your request to the bureau of vital statistics.

Other fees include the standard $15 fee for a copy of the requested certificate and $4 for an extra copy. 

You can arrange to have the death record delivered via UPS for an extra charge or via mail for free. Place an online order by contacting VitaChek using the number 1-877-550-7330 or 1-615-372-6800 when calling from outside the US. 

Third-Party Websites

A third-party website is a website that has no known affiliation with a government source. 

You'd most likely need to set up an account with the platform you settle for and then pay their registration or subscription fee. 

Next, navigate to the search portal and enter the name of the deceased person and their last known address in the designated search fields.

You should be very quickly shown several results matching your search entry in varying degrees of accuracy. 

You can pick out the one of interest to you and view the information provided in the death record.