Kentucky Death Records: Are They Public + How to Get Them

Kentucky is an open-record state for death certificates. Under KRS 213.136(1), the state registrar issues a certified copy of a vital record to any applicant, so anyone who pays the fee and supplies enough information to identify the record can buy a certified copy from the Office of Vital Statistics. Older death records in the state registrar's custody become fully public 50 years after the date of death.

Are Death Records Public in Kentucky?

Yes. Kentucky is an open-record state for vital records. Under KRS 213.136(1), the state registrar "shall upon receipt of an application issue a certified copy of a vital record in the registrar's custody or a part thereof to any applicant." The Office of Vital Statistics makes the same point in its guidance for local registrars: anyone who pays the proper search fee and supplies enough information to identify the record may obtain a certified copy of a death certificate.

This makes Kentucky more open than many states, where certified copies are restricted to family members or people with a documented legal interest until a waiting period passes. In Kentucky, eligibility is not the gatekeeper; correct identifying information and the fee are.

Access to vital records is governed by Kentucky's vital-statistics law, not by the general Open Records Act. Two sections work together. KRS 213.131(1) makes it unlawful to permit inspection of, disclose, copy, or issue a copy of a vital record "except as authorized by this chapter," and KRS 213.136(1) supplies that authorization for certified copies by directing the registrar to issue one to any applicant. KRS 213.141 governs the fee, which the cabinet sets by administrative regulation.

There is still a long-term public-record threshold. Under KRS 213.131(5), once 50 years have elapsed after the date of death, death records in the custody of the state registrar become public records. That provision applies specifically to records held by the state registrar.

For the bigger picture on how cause-of-death information is treated across states, see our overview of whether cause of death records are public.

Who Can Request a Kentucky Death Record?

In practice, any requester can. Because Kentucky is open-record, the Office of Vital Statistics issues certified death certificates to applicants who provide the information needed to locate the record and pay the fee.

Ordering means completing the state's VS-31 application, which asks for more than the bare name and date. Sections 1 through 5 cover the record itself: the decedent's full name at death, the month, day, and year of death plus age at last birthday, the Kentucky city or town and county of death and the name of the hospital if any, the attending physician's name, and the funeral service provider's name, address, and telephone number. Sections 7 through 11 cover you: printed name, phone number with area code, mailing address, city, state, and ZIP, and your signature. Section 12 is where you enter how many certified copies you want.

Section 6 asks a question worth flagging in advance: "What is your relationship to the person whose certificate is being requested?" Answering it is part of completing the form, but it is not an eligibility test. KRS 213.136(1) directs the registrar to issue a certified copy to any applicant and does not condition issuance on the answer.

This contrasts with closed-record states, where the office first checks whether you are the surviving spouse, a parent, an adult child, or a legal representative before releasing a certified copy. Kentucky does not impose that eligibility screen for death certificates.

That said, providing accurate identifying details matters. If the office cannot match your request to a specific record, it cannot issue a certified copy, and search fees are non-refundable.

How to Get a Kentucky Death Certificate

Certified Kentucky death certificates come from one place: the Office of Vital Statistics (OVS), part of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Local county offices and online vendors route to the same state system.

The fee is $6.00 for each certified copy, with no discount for additional copies. KRS 213.141 directs the cabinet to set vital-record fees by administrative regulation, and the Office of Vital Statistics currently lists $6.00 per certificate as a non-refundable search fee. Payment is made by check or money order payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer.

Ordering Methods

By mail. Send a completed application and payment to the Office of Vital Statistics, 275 East Main Street 1E-A, Frankfort, KY 40621. Mailed and drop-box requests can take up to 30 working days to process from the date payment is posted.

In person. Visit the OVS lobby at 275 East Main Street in Frankfort, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, excluding state holidays.

By phone. Call the toll-free line at (800) 241-8322 and choose option 1. Orders are accepted around the clock; a charge-card fee and shipment fee apply on top of the $6.00 copy fee.

Online. Internet orders are placed through the state's authorized vendor with a credit card or check; additional service and shipping fees apply. UPS overnight and weekend delivery are available for an extra charge.

The OVS does not issue photocopies, faxed copies, non-certified copies, or electronic copies. Every record it releases is a certified copy.

Is the Cause of Death Public in Kentucky?

Cause of death is recorded on the Kentucky death certificate. Because Kentucky is an open-record state, that information appears on the certified copy alongside the fact of death.

This differs from states that issue a restricted "long form" with the cause of death only to family or legal representatives, while offering a "short form" without it to the general public. Kentucky's open-record framework does not split the certificate that way for general death-record access.

Cause-of-death details on a certificate originate with the certifying physician or coroner. For deaths investigated by a coroner, related records such as autopsy reports follow separate rules. See our guide on whether autopsy reports are public records for how those documents are handled.

If you are comparing how different vital documents are released, our explainer on whether birth certificates are public records shows how birth records are treated more restrictively than deaths in most states, including a longer 100-year threshold in Kentucky.

How Far Back Do Kentucky Death Records Go?

Statewide death registration in Kentucky began in January 1911, when the Office of Vital Statistics started keeping birth and death records. Records from 1911 forward are held by the state registrar.

Under KRS 213.131(5), death records in the state registrar's custody become public records 50 years after the date of death. That public-record status applies to the older, historical end of the collection.

There is no federal death-records database. The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) compiles national mortality statistics, but the actual certificates are issued by each state, so Kentucky records come from Kentucky.

For deaths nationwide, the Social Security Administration maintains a Death Master File. Its public version excludes deaths that occurred within the most recent three calendar years, a limit set by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, so it is not a substitute for a recent certified Kentucky certificate.

Kentucky Death Records: Quick Facts

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about access to Kentucky death records, not legal advice. Records-access rules, fees, and processing times change. Always confirm current requirements with the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics before submitting a request.

For certified copies in every other state, see our Death Records by State directory.

Sources

This page draws on the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS Chapter 213), the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, and the Social Security Administration; full citations are listed below.