How to Find a Cause of Death in Louisiana (2026)

In Louisiana you find a cause of death on the medical certification of the death certificate or in the parish coroner's report. The certificate is a closed record for 50 years, so only eligible family and legal parties can get the cause during that window, while the coroner's public report lists cause and manner of death.

How Do You Find Someones Cause of Death in Louisiana?

To find a cause of death in Louisiana, start with the parish coroner and the death certificate. The coroner who investigated the death can release a public report stating the cause and manner of death, and the certified death certificate carries the full medical certification of cause.

If you are an eligible family member or legal representative, you can order a certified death certificate from the Louisiana Vital Records Registry, which shows the cause of death. If you are not eligible, the coroner's public report and the published obituary are usually your best routes.

For unexplained, violent, or suspicious deaths, the elected parish coroner conducts an investigation or autopsy and states the cause and manner of death. That coroner's finding becomes the legally accepted cause of death on the certificate under La. R.S. 13:5713.

Is the Cause of Death Public in Louisiana?

The cause of death on the death certificate is not public in Louisiana for recent deaths. Louisiana is a closed-record state under La. R.S. 40:41, which limits certified copies to eligible requesters. Under La. R.S. 40:36(G), the state registrar may transfer death records over fifty years old to the secretary of state's division of archives, where they are available to genealogists and the general public, so the certificate and the cause on it are generally restricted for about 50 years.

During that 50-year window, only eligible requesters can obtain the certified certificate and the cause of death printed on it. The general public cannot simply buy a recent Louisiana death certificate to learn the cause.

There is an important exception. For deaths the coroner investigates, the coroner's report listing cause and manner of death is a public record under La. R.S. 44:19. So the cause of death can be publicly available through the coroner even while the death certificate itself stays restricted.

This matches the access rule on our Louisiana Death Records page: the certificate is closed for 50 years, then opens to anyone. For the wider picture, see Are Cause of Death Records Public?.

Where the Cause of Death Is Recorded

In Louisiana the cause of death is recorded in two main places: the death certificate and the coroner's file. Knowing which one to ask for saves time.

On the death certificate

Every Louisiana death certificate includes a medical certification section completed by the certifying physician or coroner. This section lists the immediate cause of death, any underlying conditions, and the manner of death. A certified copy from the Vital Records Registry shows this information, but only eligible requesters can obtain it during the 50-year window.

In the coroner or autopsy file

When the parish coroner investigates a death, the cause and manner of death come from that investigation, and an autopsy may be performed. Under La. R.S. 13:5713 the coroner states the cause and manner of death. The coroner's public report (cause and manner) is open under La. R.S. 44:19. The full post-mortem forensic medical examination report (the autopsy report) is not a public document under La. R.S. 44:19(E)(4), but it is available to the decedent's spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandchild, niece, nephew, aunt, uncle, or next of kin, to the decedent's physician, and to law enforcement, and a court of competent jurisdiction can order it opened to the public. There is a significant exception in La. R.S. 44:19(E)(6): an autopsy report used in the investigation of criminal activity, or in the death of a person in the custody or control of a law enforcement or corrections entity, is a public record.

How to Request Records That Show the Cause of Death

To request records showing the cause of death, choose the route that matches your eligibility. There are three practical paths.

First, if you are eligible, order a certified death certificate from the Louisiana Vital Records Registry, part of the Louisiana Department of Health. Certified copies cost $7.00 each, and you must provide photo identification. Eligible requesters include the surviving spouse, parents, adult children, siblings, grandparents, adult grandchildren, named beneficiaries, succession representatives, and their attorneys.

Second, contact the parish coroner's office where the death occurred. The coroner's report with cause and manner of death is a public record under La. R.S. 44:19, so even non-relatives can usually obtain that summary. Next of kin can also request the autopsy report, and under La. R.S. 44:19(E)(6) anyone can request it when it was used in a criminal investigation or the death happened in law enforcement or corrections custody.

Third, check the published obituary or newspaper death notice. Obituaries are public and sometimes describe the cause of death or the circumstances, even though they are not official records.

Finding the Cause of Death for Older or Historical Deaths

For older Louisiana deaths, the cause of death becomes much easier to access once the record reaches the state archives. La. R.S. 40:36(G) authorizes the state registrar to transfer death records over fifty years old to the division of archives, records management and history, where they are available to genealogists and the general public.

At that point, anyone can request the older record, generally through the Louisiana State Archives, and the cause of death on the historical certificate is open to the public. Note that the statute says the registrar "may" transfer these records annually, so availability at exactly 50 years is not automatic; check what the Archives actually holds for the year you need. This is the main route for genealogy and family-history research into how an ancestor died.

For the fact and date of death, the Social Security Death Index is a useful free starting point. It confirms that a person died and when, but it does not list the cause of death, so you still need the certificate or coroner record for that detail.

Disclaimer: This page is general information, not legal advice. Eligibility rules, fees, and procedures change. Confirm the current requirements with the Louisiana Vital Records Registry or the parish coroner's office before you rely on them.

Sources

This page draws on the Louisiana Department of Health Vital Records Registry and the Louisiana Revised Statutes governing disclosure of vital records (La. R.S. 40:41), transfer of death records over fifty years old to the state archives (La. R.S. 40:36(G)), coroner duties (La. R.S. 13:5713), and coroner records (La. R.S. 44:19).