Georgia Death Records: Are They Public and How to Get Them

Georgia is effectively an open-record state for death records. Any member of the public may order a Georgia death record and receive a plain-paper copy with the Social Security number redacted. Certified copies, whether or not they show the cause of death, are restricted to family and applicants with a direct and tangible interest. There is no waiting period before basic death records become public.

Are Death Records Public in Georgia?

Yes. Georgia treats the fact of death as a public record. Any member of the public may order the death record of a person who died in Georgia and receive a plain-paper copy with the Social Security number redacted.

This is what makes Georgia an open-record state. You do not have to prove a family relationship to obtain a basic, non-certified copy of a Georgia death record.

There is no statutory waiting period. Unlike closed-record states that seal certificates for 25, 50, 75, or 100 years, Georgia death records are accessible to the public from the date they are filed.

State law draws the line at certified copies rather than at access itself. Official copies of death records remain accessible to the public, while certified copies carry eligibility limits. See Are Cause of Death Records Public? for how this open-versus-restricted split works in other states.

Who Can Request a Georgia Death Record?

Anyone can request a basic Georgia death record, but only certain people can receive a certified copy. The state separates public access from certified access.

Members of the public receive a plain-paper copy with the Social Security number redacted. This copy confirms the fact, date, and place of death.

Certified copies are available only to applicants who have a direct and tangible interest in the record. The Georgia Department of Public Health lists eligible requesters as:

• The legal spouse of the decedent
• Adult children
• Adult siblings
• Parents
• Grandparents and grandchildren
• A legal representative of the family
• A person with a tangible interest, such as a named beneficiary or an insurance company

To receive a certified copy, you must submit a valid government-issued photo ID, such as a Georgia driver's license or state ID card, along with the proper fee. Georgia law and Department of Public Health rules require the signature and photo ID of the requester.

How to Get a Georgia Death Certificate

You can order a Georgia death certificate online, by mail, or in person through the Georgia Department of Public Health, State Office of Vital Records. The state office holds death records from January 1, 1919 to the present.

The fee is $25.00 for the first certified copy, which includes a 3-year record search. Each additional copy ordered at the same time costs $5.00. Georgia law requires prepayment, and fees are non-refundable once a service has been provided.

Order online

Online orders are placed through the state's authorized vital records vendor. Expedited shipping is available for online orders for an additional fee. Online ordering is generally the fastest option.

Order by mail

Mail requests are submitted with a copy of your photo ID and the required fee. Mail orders to your county vital records office or to the State Office of Vital Records, 1680 Phoenix Boulevard, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30349. Regular mail orders are shipped up to 10 weeks after they are received.

Order in person

You can also visit a county vital records office or the state office in person. For emergency or urgent travel needs, the Department of Public Health directs requesters to their nearest vital records office.

Is the Cause of Death Public in Georgia?

Cause of death is not what limits access in Georgia. Under Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-1-3-.33(5), a certified copy of a Georgia death certificate is issued only to a child, parent, legal living spouse, or other next of kin of the decedent, to a person appointed or applying in good faith to become executor or administrator of the estate, or to a person who shows the copy is needed to establish a legal right or claim. That limit applies whether or not the cause of death appears on the copy, and the same rule provides that on request the cause of death may be omitted from either a certified copy or a plain-paper copy.

Omitting the cause of death does not open a certified copy to the general public, because the eligible-applicant list is the same either way. The route open to the general public is the plain-paper copy described above, which the state may issue to any applicant with the Social Security number redacted.

This mirrors how many states handle medical detail. For related coverage, see Are Autopsies Public Records?, which explains how cause-of-death findings and autopsy reports are released separately from the death certificate itself.

How Far Back Do Georgia Death Records Go?

Georgia death records at the state level go back to January 1, 1919, when statewide death registration began. Before 1919, deaths were not recorded by the county or the state, though some cities recorded deaths earlier, including Savannah, Macon, and Atlanta.

Pre-1919 records, where they exist, are held at the county level or by the Georgia Archives rather than the State Office of Vital Records.

On a national level, there is no federal death-records database. The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics confirms that death records are issued and held by individual states, not the federal government.

For genealogical lookups, the Social Security Administration's public Death Master File is a separate national index. Under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, the public version of that file excludes deaths that occurred within the previous three calendar years. For other state vital records, see Death Records by State and Are Birth Certificates Public Records?.

Georgia Death Records: Quick Facts

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about public records access in Georgia and is not legal advice. Eligibility rules, fees, and processing times change. Verify current requirements with the Georgia Department of Public Health, State Office of Vital Records, before you order.

Sources

This page is based on official guidance from the Georgia Department of Public Health, the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A. Title 31, Chapter 10), the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, and the Social Security Administration, listed below.