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

Louisiana is a closed-record state for death certificates. Under La. R.S. 40:41, the state registrar issues a certified copy only to the person named, the immediate or surviving family, succession representatives, and named beneficiaries. A separate statute, La. R.S. 40:36(G), lets the registrar transfer death records over 50 years old to the Louisiana State Archives, where they are available to genealogists and the general public.

Are Death Records Public in Louisiana?

No, not the records the state registrar holds. Louisiana is a closed-record state for recent deaths. Under Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:41, the state registrar may issue a certified death certificate only to people on a defined eligibility list, and the general public cannot simply buy a recent Louisiana death certificate.

Older records reach the public by a separate route. La. R.S. 40:36(G) provides that the state registrar may annually transfer records of death over fifty years old to the secretary of state's division of archives, records management and history, and that those records shall be available for use by genealogists and the general public.

Read that provision carefully, because it is narrower than it is often described. The transfer is permissive rather than mandatory, and public availability attaches to records the archives has actually received, not to every record on the mere passage of fifty years. In practice the Louisiana State Archives is where researchers find older Louisiana deaths, but a given record is public once the archives holds it.

This is different from many open-record states, where any member of the public can purchase a certified death certificate at any time. In Louisiana, access to a record still held by the Vital Records Registry depends on your relationship to the deceased.

Who Can Request a Louisiana Death Record?

For a death record still held by the state registrar, only specific people may obtain a certified copy. La. R.S. 40:41(C) sets that list.

The eligible requesters include:

• The person named in the certificate
• A member of the immediate or surviving family of the person named
• A person named in a court proceeding as a member of the immediate or surviving family
• A succession representative, or a universal or general legatee in a judgment of possession
• A beneficiary of the deceased person's insurance policy or trust
• A beneficiary of the deceased person's public pension, private retirement plan, or payable-on-death account
• An attorney or notary assisting with a small succession, on submitted credentials
• An agent for the surety when the person named was a party to a criminal bail bond

The statute stops at "a member of the immediate or surviving family" and does not define the term, and neither does the chapter's definitions section at La. R.S. 40:32. Which relatives qualify, and what proof they need, is set by Louisiana Department of Health application rules rather than by the statute, so check the current Vital Records instructions before ordering.

A funeral director may also obtain a certified copy when acting at the request of the immediate or surviving family, up to one year following the date of death.

If you are not on this list, you can still obtain the record if an eligible person signs an Authorization Release of Records form on your behalf. Every request requires a valid photo ID.

How to Get a Louisiana Death Certificate

Louisiana death certificates are issued by the Vital Records Registry, part of the Louisiana Department of Health. The standard certified copy fee is $7.00 per copy.

You can order in several ways:

• By mail: Send a completed application, a copy of your photo ID, and the fee to Vital Records Registry, PO Box 60630, New Orleans, LA 70160. A $0.50 state charge is added to mail orders. Plan for roughly 8 to 10 weeks.
• In person: Visit the Vital Records Central Office at 1450 Poydras Street, Suite 400, New Orleans, LA 70112, open 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on business days.
• Online or phone: Order through VitalChek, the state's authorized vendor, at 1-877-605-8562 or vitalchek.com. Additional vendor fees apply.

Clerks of court in some parishes can also issue certified death certificates, though that copy costs $26.00. The Vital Records Registry only handles deaths that occurred in Louisiana. If the death happened in another state, contact that state's vital records office.

For questions about fees, forms, or processing times, the Vital Records customer service line is 504-593-5100.

Is the Cause of Death Public in Louisiana?

No, not while the state registrar holds the record. The cause of death is printed on the certified Louisiana death certificate, and that certificate is restricted to eligible requesters under La. R.S. 40:41.

Because the cause of death is part of the restricted record, it is available only to the same eligible requesters listed above. The general public cannot pull cause-of-death information on a recent Louisiana death.

Once a record over fifty years old has been transferred to the State Archives under La. R.S. 40:36(G), the cause of death listed on the historical certificate is accessible along with the rest of the document. For a broader overview, see Are Cause of Death Records Public? and Are Autopsies Public Records?, which are governed by separate coroner and medical-examiner rules.

How Far Back Do Louisiana Death Records Go?

Louisiana death records over 50 years old are the ones that can reach the public. La. R.S. 40:36(G) authorizes the state registrar to transfer them to the secretary of state's archives division, and records that have been transferred are available for use by genealogists and the general public. The Louisiana State Archives maintains a searchable index of these historical deaths.

For genealogy and historical research, this archive is the primary state resource. Newer deaths remain with the Vital Records Registry under the confidentiality rules described above. The same statute runs a longer clock for birth certificates: La. R.S. 40:36(G) reaches birth records only after 100 years.

There is no national 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. The Social Security Administration publishes a public Death Master File, but under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that public file excludes deaths within the most recent three calendar years.

Louisiana Death Records at a Glance

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about accessing public records in Louisiana, not legal advice. Records-access rules, fees, and processing times change. Always confirm current requirements with the Louisiana Vital Records Registry before submitting a request.

For rules in other states, see Death Records by State.

Sources

This article relies on the Louisiana Department of Health Vital Records office, Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:41 and 40:36, and federal CDC/NCHS and Social Security Administration guidance, all listed below.