Arizona Death Records: Are They Public + How to Get One

Arizona is a closed-record state for death certificates. Only the immediate family, legal representatives, and others who can document a relationship or tangible interest may buy a certified copy from the Arizona Department of Health Services. Death records become public for genealogy research 50 years after the date of death.

Are Death Records Public in Arizona?

No. Arizona is a closed-record state for death certificates. A certified copy is not available to just anyone who asks. Access is limited to people who can show a qualifying relationship to the deceased or a documented legal interest.

This rule comes from Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36. Under A.R.S. 36-342, vital records are confidential, and registrars may not allow inspection or issue copies except as authorized by law.

A death record only becomes a true public record once it ages out of the confidential period. In Arizona, that happens 50 years after the date of death, when the record opens for noncommercial genealogy research.

For a national overview and links to every other state, see our Death Records by State guide.

Who Can Request an Arizona Death Record?

Eligible requesters are people with a defined relationship to the deceased or a tangible interest in the record. The official application from the Arizona Department of Health Services asks you to identify your relationship and to attach proof.

The relationship categories on the state form include:

• Parent of the deceased
• Spouse of the deceased
• Grandparent of the deceased
• Other relative of the deceased
• Government agency acting in an official capacity
• Other person who can document a tangible legal or property interest

You must provide proof of relationship, such as a birth certificate, marriage certificate, or certified court document. You also need a clear photocopy of the front and back of a valid, signed government photo ID, or you can have your signature notarized.

Funeral directors, attorneys, insurers, and others acting on behalf of a family member can also obtain a certificate when they document their role and authorization.

How to Get an Arizona Death Certificate

You order an Arizona death certificate from the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), Bureau of Vital Records, or from a participating county vital records office. The fee is $20 for a certified copy.

There are three main ways to request a copy:

By mail

Mail a completed Request for Copy of Death Certificate (form VS-159) to the State Bureau of Vital Records, PO Box 6018, Phoenix, AZ 85005. Include proof of relationship, a copy of your photo ID (or a notarized signature), the $20 fee per copy (no cash), and a self-addressed stamped envelope.

In person

Many county health department vital records offices, including Maricopa and Pima counties, offer same-day walk-in service. Accepted payment types vary by office, so confirm hours and fees with the local office first.

Online

You can order online through VitalChek, the state-approved vendor linked from the ADHS website. VitalChek charges its own service fees in addition to the state fee.

Bring or include exact details: the full name on the certificate, date of death, place of death, and your relationship to the deceased. Missing information or proof can delay or reject your request.

Is the Cause of Death Public in Arizona?

No. Cause of death is part of the medical certification section of the death record, and nothing in that section is open to the general public while the record is confidential.

Whether the copy you receive actually shows the cause of death is a separate question, and Arizona's two sources of authority do not line up. A.R.S. 36-324(A) tells a registrar to issue a certified copy to an eligible requester "except the portion of the certificate that contains medical information," then names licensed funeral directors separately in the next sentence. The department's own rule, A.A.C. R9-19-314(A), says a certified copy contains the information in R9-19-302(A)(1) and (3), and (3) is the medical certification section that carries the cause of death. If you need the certificate specifically for the cause of death, ask the Bureau of Vital Records or your county office what your copy will show before you pay.

Records released through the ADHS genealogy database after 50 years are certificate images for noncommercial research, and the database states plainly that those images do not constitute certified copies. For more on how states handle this, see Are Cause of Death Records Public? and Are Autopsies Public Records?.

How Far Back Do Arizona Death Records Go?

Arizona maintains statewide death records dating to the late 1800s. The state began centralized registration in 1909, and the genealogy index reaches back to roughly 1870.

Death records older than 50 years are searchable through the ADHS genealogy database. The 50-year mark comes from A.R.S. 36-351(B)(2), which sends a registered death certificate to the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records 50 years after the death. The genealogy search itself currently lists its death coverage as 1870 through 1970, so a death from the early 1970s may not turn up yet even though it is past the 50-year mark. Birth records open later, at 75 years, and that same search lists births from 1855 through 1945.

Images released for genealogy are informational only and do not count as certified copies. If you need a certified record for a legal or estate matter, you must use the standard application even for older deaths.

For older or out-of-state research, two national resources help. The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics points people back to the states, noting that the federal government does not distribute certificates, files, or indexes with identifying information for vital records, so a certified copy comes only from the state where the death happened. NCHS does run a National Death Index, but it is open only to approved researchers for statistical purposes in public health and medical studies, not to the public for legal, administrative, or genealogy use. The Social Security Administration publishes a public Death Master File, but under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 it excludes deaths within the most recent three calendar years.

Closely related records often have their own rules. To compare, see Are Birth Certificates Public Records?.

Arizona Death Record Facts

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about public-records access in Arizona, not legal advice. Eligibility rules, fees, and processing times change, and individual situations vary. Always confirm current requirements with the Arizona Department of Health Services, Bureau of Vital Records, before you rely on this information.

Sources

This guide draws on official Arizona Department of Health Services vital-records pages, Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36, and federal CDC/NCHS and Social Security Administration sources, all listed below.