How to Get a Nebraska Death Certificate (2026)

You get a Nebraska death certificate from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Vital Records office in Lincoln. Each certified copy costs $16.00. Certified copies go to the decedent's spouse, parent, or child, and to a legal representative or other applicant whose request meets one of the proper purposes listed in Nebraska's vital records rules, with proof of eligibility required.

How Do You Get a Death Certificate in Nebraska?

You get a Nebraska death certificate through the DHHS Vital Records office, which holds statewide death records. Douglas County is an exception to the state-level route: the Douglas County Health Department's vital records office in Omaha also issues certified death certificates for deaths that occurred in Douglas County. Nebraska law recognizes county-level registration of births and deaths in a county that contains a city of the metropolitan class, so for an Omaha-area death you can use either office. Confirm that office's current fee, hours, and accepted request methods with the county directly.

There are three ways to request a certified copy.

Order Online

You can order a death certificate online through the state portal at nevitalrecords-dhhs.ne.gov. The online system accepts Visa and MasterCard. This is usually the fastest method because it avoids mail transit time.

Order by Mail

Mail a completed Application for a Certified Copy of a Death Certificate, a photocopy of your government-issued photo ID, and a $16.00 check or money order payable to Vital Records to:

Nebraska Vital Records, P.O. Box 95065, Lincoln, NE 68509-5065.

Credit cards are not accepted for mail-in applications.

Order in Person

You can apply in person at the Vital Records office at 301 Centennial Mall South, First Floor, Lincoln, Nebraska. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID and payment.

Who Is Eligible to Request a Nebraska Death Certificate?

The deceased person's spouse, parent, or child, a legal representative, or another applicant whose request fits one of the proper purposes in Nebraska's vital records rules may obtain a certified copy of a Nebraska death certificate. Under Nebraska Revised Statute 71-612, the department supplies a certified copy to an applicant for any proper purpose as defined by its rules, and DHHS tells the general public that you may only get a death certificate for your spouse, your parent, or your child.

Those rules, at 174 NAC Chapter 3, set out the proper purposes as a closed list: personal use by the registrant or the registrant's spouse, child, or parent; use by a legal representative for a legal purpose; use with the registrant's notarized written consent; scientific or medical research; law enforcement and government agency use; genealogical research once the person has been deceased 50 or more years; historical research; governmental record-keeping; news media use; and funeral home use. The applicant carries the burden of proving to the department that a proper purpose exists. Nebraska restricts certified death records this way to protect the identity and privacy of the deceased.

You must prove your relationship to the deceased. For example, an adult child may need a birth certificate listing the parent, and a surviving spouse may need a marriage certificate.

If your request does not fit one of those purposes, you generally cannot obtain a certified copy on your own. Several of the categories do reach beyond immediate family, though. Genealogical requests are allowed once the person has been deceased 50 or more years, and law enforcement, government, research, and news media requests each have their own category. Funeral home employees may also obtain certified copies for the decedent's family, and that request can be made up to one year from the file date of the death record.

Nebraska Death Certificate Cost and Processing Time

A Nebraska death certificate costs $16.00 for each certified copy. Under Nebraska Revised Statute 71-612, the state charges $16.00 for each certified copy or record search, so every additional copy you order is charged the same $16.00.

The fee pays for the search itself. If Vital Records cannot locate the certificate, the $16.00 search fee is non-refundable.

Processing time depends on the method you choose. Online orders are typically the quickest, while mail requests take longer because of postal transit on both ends. Contact Vital Records at 402-471-2871 if you need to confirm current turnaround times.

Certified vs Informational Copy in Nebraska

Nebraska Vital Records issues certified copies of death certificates, which are official documents bearing the state seal. A certified copy is what you need for legal purposes such as settling an estate, claiming life insurance, closing financial accounts, or transferring property.

Nebraska does not market a separate informational (non-certified) death certificate to the public the way some states do. The standard product is the certified copy.

In limited situations, an Abstract of Death may be issued while a death is still under investigation. That abstract is non-refundable and non-exchangeable, and it is replaced by the full certified certificate once the record is complete.

How to Get Additional or Replacement Copies

To get additional or replacement copies, you submit another request the same way you ordered the first one. Each copy is treated as a separate certified copy and carries its own $16.00 fee.

If you know in advance that you will need several copies, ordering them together in one application saves you a second round of mail or online processing.

If a certified copy is lost or damaged, you do not amend the record. You simply request a fresh certified copy from Vital Records, again paying the $16.00 per-copy fee and providing your photo ID and proof of relationship.

Disclaimer: This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Fees, eligibility rules, and processing times can change. Always verify the current requirements with the Nebraska DHHS Vital Records office before ordering.

Sources

The information on this page comes from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Vital Records office, Nebraska Revised Statute 71-612, and the department's vital records rules at 174 NAC Chapter 3.

For more on access rules and record types, see Nebraska Death Records. To compare other states, visit Death Records by State.