As with other public records, death records are governed at state level. That means they are subject primarily to state laws within which are variations from state to state. On the whole, Free Death Records are public information and hence retrievable by any member of the public as long as requirements are observed and met. They are mandated by law (Freedom of Information Act, 1966) to be made available as a public service by the authorities, side by side with private sources.

Within Public Death Records, the most important document is the Death Certificate. It must be produced to make insurance claim, execute a will or testament, apply for burial permit or even marriage license and so forth. It can be touchy especially if the cause of death is irregular and may affect the family’s reputation or standing such as AIDS, alcoholism, suicide or other stigmas. Death certificates are classified as protected information in some states. For example, there are requirements to be met for requesting those for deaths within the past 25 years in Texas.

A great deal of information is found in death records. Personal particulars of the deceased, name of informant, place and date of death, cause of death, burial site, obituary and records of surviving immediate family members are examples of what could be found in death records although the cause of death is considered confidential in certain instances and only immediate family members are eligible to request that information.

There are different ways to Find Death Records. One can write in, walk in, telephone, fax, or log in online to the respective government offices or commercial information providers. Expectedly, the most widely employed method is by logging in online via the internet. It is fast, easy and convenient, the information age being largely propelled by digitization, so why not?