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

In Massachusetts, the cause of death is written on the death certificate, which is a public record. Anyone may order a certified copy from the city or town clerk where the death occurred or from the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, so the cause of death is accessible without proving a family relationship. The fuller autopsy report is not public.

How Do You Find Someone's Cause of Death in Massachusetts?

The most direct way to find someone's cause of death in Massachusetts is to order a certified copy of the death certificate. The cause of death is printed on the certificate itself, and the record is open to the public.

You can request the certificate from the city or town clerk where the death occurred, the clerk in the town where the person lived, or the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics (RVRS). RVRS holds death records from 1936 to the present.

If the death was sudden, violent, or unexplained, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) likely investigated it and may have produced an autopsy report. That report is held separately and is not open to the general public.

For everyday situations, the death certificate is the source most people use. Obituaries and newspaper notices sometimes mention a cause, but those are not official and are often vague.

Is the Cause of Death Public in Massachusetts?

Yes. The cause of death is public in Massachusetts because it appears on the death certificate, and Massachusetts treats death certificates as open records. Any member of the public may order a certified copy, and there is no statutory waiting period.

This is consistent with how the parent record works. See Massachusetts Death Records for the full access rules governing certified copies.

The openness of the certificate is what makes the cause of death accessible. You do not need to be a relative, an estate representative, or have a legal interest to receive a standard certified copy.

The autopsy report is the exception. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 38, Section 2, the chief medical examiner sets rules for releasing autopsy reports, and the statute states that those reports "shall not be deemed to be public records." So while the bottom-line cause on the certificate is public, the detailed forensic report behind it is not.

To see how this compares with other states, read Are Cause of Death Records Public?.

Where the Cause of Death Is Recorded

The cause of death is recorded in two different places in Massachusetts, and they have very different access rules.

The Death Certificate

The death certificate carries the official cause of death in its medical certification section. A physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or medical examiner completes this part. Because the certificate is a public record, this is the version of the cause of death most people can obtain.

The certificate states both the cause of death (the disease or injury that led to death) and the manner of death (natural, accident, suicide, homicide, or undetermined).

The Autopsy Report

When the OCME performs an autopsy, it produces a detailed autopsy report and, often, a toxicology report. These documents go far beyond the one-line cause printed on the certificate.

Under MGL Chapter 38, Section 2, autopsy reports are not public records. The statute directs the chief medical examiner to set the rules for releasing them, and it names who is entitled to receive one: the decedent's surviving spouse, a person in the first degree of consanguinity (a parent or a child) or, if there is no surviving spouse and no first-degree relative, the person entitled to receive the body.

Under the rules the chief medical examiner adopted, 505 CMR 1.03, the OCME may provide a copy at its discretion to the surviving spouse or next of kin, who have priority in that order. Neither the statute nor the regulation publishes a longer ranked list of relatives, so siblings and more distant relatives are not slotted into a fixed statutory tier.

Where the death is unnatural or suspicious and the district attorney or a law enforcement representative is directing and controlling the investigation under MGL Chapter 38, Section 4, 505 CMR 1.03 adds one more condition: the district attorney must have determined in writing that he or she does not object to releasing the report.

How to Request Records That Show the Cause of Death

To get the cause of death, start with the certified death certificate, then request the autopsy report only if you are eligible and need the detail.

For the death certificate, you can order through RVRS or the local clerk. RVRS accepts requests online, by phone, by mail, and in person, and standard certified copies show the cause of death. Confirm current fees and processing times directly with the office, since rates change.

For the autopsy report, the surviving spouse or next of kin submits a written request to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Boston, using the OCME family request form, along with an affidavit signed under the pains and penalties of perjury verifying the requester's relationship to the decedent. The written request and the affidavit are both conditions set by 505 CMR 1.03. OCME states that most reports are completed within about 90 days of death.

If you are not the next of kin, you generally cannot obtain the autopsy report itself, but the cause of death on the public death certificate is still available to you.

Finding the Cause of Death for Older or Historical Deaths

For older or historical Massachusetts deaths, the cause of death usually appears on the archived death record, and access depends on where the record is held.

RVRS holds death records from 1936 to the present. The Massachusetts Archives holds vital records from 1841 to 1935, and these older death records are open for research and frequently list a cause of death.

For deaths before 1841, look to town clerks, church records, and local historical and genealogical society collections, which often preserve early death information.

The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is a useful supporting tool, but it only confirms the fact and date of death. It does not list the cause of death, so you still need the certificate or archived record for that detail.

Disclaimer: This page is general information, not legal advice. Access rules, fees, and procedures change. Verify current requirements with the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics or the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner before relying on them.

Sources

This page draws on the Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 38, and the Massachusetts Archives.

Back to Massachusetts Death Records or browse Death Records by State.