Minnesota editionIn your inbox within a minute30-day money-back promise
The End of Life Plannerby Valoren

General information · not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.

Free · general informationMinnesota

Death certificates in Minnesota

What a certified copy of the death certificate costs in Minnesota and how one is ordered, in the official words. No figure on this page is ours; each is the office’s or the statute’s, with the date it was checked.

  • Every fact dated, in the official words
  • Each state’s own law

Every quotation checked October 24, 2026

The free first-week checklist

Pages taken from the planner, by email: who to phone first, and a blank records sheet.

We use your email address to send the checklist and those emails, and for nothing else. We do not sell it. We first send one email asking you to confirm your address. Privacy notice

Every quotation on this page is the official body’s own words, as they stood on the day we read them. The date is beside each one.

Filing the death record: where, and how soon

A death record for each death which occurs in the state shall be filed with the state registrar within five days after death and prior to final disposition.

Minnesota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Minn. Stat. §144.221, subd. 1

Who completes and files the death record

a death record must be completed and filed for every known death by the mortician, funeral director, or other person lawfully in charge of the final disposition of the body.

Minnesota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Minn. Stat. §149A.90, subd. 1(a)

The two parts of the fee in the statute: processing, and the surcharge on each record

The fee for the administrative review and processing of a request for a certified vital record or a certification that the vital record cannot be found is $9.

there is a nonrefundable surcharge of $4 for each certified and noncertified birth, stillbirth, or death record

Minnesota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Minn. Stat. §144.226, subd. 1(b), subd. 4

Where to order: a county office in person, not the state office, or by mail or fax with a notary

For fastest service, request your records in person at a county vital records office

MDH does not offer in-person service.

If ordering products by mail or fax, for most requests you must sign forms in front of a notary public attesting to your eligibility to receive the record.

Minnesota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MDH Office of Vital Records

The extra fees allowed for ordering by telephone or online, and the cap on the convenience fee

The state registrar may charge and permit agents to charge a convenience fee and a transaction fee for electronic transactions and transactions by telephone or Internet

The convenience fee may not exceed three percent of the cost of the charges for payment.

Minnesota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Minn. Stat. §144.226, subd. 7

The same page for other states

A family on a boat dock in Florida: a grandfather fishing, a girl pointing at a heron
An older couple on a porch swing under a flag, mugs in hand, a neighbor raking leaves below
Three generations peeling potatoes at a kitchen table while snow falls outside
FAQ

Common questions

Certified death record issued on security paper

$13 All vital records offices*

Minnesota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MDH Office of Vital Records

The fee for the administrative review and processing of a request for a certified vital record or a certification that the vital record cannot be found is $9.

there is a nonrefundable surcharge of $4 for each certified and noncertified birth, stillbirth, or death record

Minnesota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Minn. Stat. §144.226, subd. 1(b), subd. 4

For fastest service, request your records in person at a county vital records office

MDH does not offer in-person service.

If ordering products by mail or fax, for most requests you must sign forms in front of a notary public attesting to your eligibility to receive the record.

Minnesota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MDH Office of Vital Records

All Minnesota death records are public, so anyone may buy a noncertified (informational only) death record.

Minnesota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MDH Office of Vital Records

For fastest service, request your records in person at a county vital records office

MDH does not offer in-person service.

If ordering products by mail or fax, for most requests you must sign forms in front of a notary public attesting to your eligibility to receive the record.

Minnesota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MDH Office of Vital Records

The state registrar may charge and permit agents to charge a convenience fee and a transaction fee for electronic transactions and transactions by telephone or Internet

The convenience fee may not exceed three percent of the cost of the charges for payment.

Minnesota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Minn. Stat. §144.226, subd. 7

A death record for each death which occurs in the state shall be filed with the state registrar within five days after death and prior to final disposition.

Minnesota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Minn. Stat. §144.221, subd. 1

a death record must be completed and filed for every known death by the mortician, funeral director, or other person lawfully in charge of the final disposition of the body.

Minnesota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · Minn. Stat. §149A.90, subd. 1(a)

For anyone who would rather their family found it all in one place than went looking.

A couple. A parent. An adult child and a parent, doing it together. One sitting starts it; keep it current, and tell someone where it is.

A man on the telephone with the planner's pages open on the table