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

You find a cause of death in Pennsylvania through the coroner or medical examiner, who must release a decedent's name and the cause and manner of death as public information, or through a death certificate with medical information, which is restricted to eligible family and representatives until the record turns 50 years old.

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

You find a cause of death in Pennsylvania through one of two official channels. For a death the county investigated, you ask the coroner or medical examiner, who must release the name, cause, and manner of death as public information. For any death, the cause also appears on the with-medical-information death certificate, which only eligible requesters can obtain.

Start with the obituary, which often states a cause or links to the funeral home. Then decide whether you qualify to order a certificate or whether the death was investigated by a coroner, which opens a separate public route.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Vital Records issues death certificates statewide. County coroners and medical examiners investigate and certify deaths that are sudden, violent, suspicious, or otherwise unexplained.

Is the Cause of Death Public in Pennsylvania?

It depends on the source. The death certificate is a closed record for the first 50 years, so the cause printed on a certified copy is not open to the general public. But the coroner's core findings are public.

Pennsylvania's Vital Statistics Law of 1953 keeps death certificates confidential until 50 years after the date of death, and only eligible applicants may obtain a certified copy before then. This is the same closed-record rule explained on the parent Pennsylvania Death Records page.

Separately, the Right-to-Know Law treats a decedent's name and the cause and manner of death as public records available for immediate access from the coroner or medical examiner. So even while the certificate is restricted, you can often confirm the cause through the county official who investigated the death. For the national picture, see Are Cause of Death Records Public?.

Where the Cause of Death Is Recorded

The cause of death lives in two official documents in Pennsylvania: the death certificate and, for investigated deaths, the coroner or medical examiner's autopsy file.

On the Death Certificate

A medical certifier, which can be a physician, certified registered nurse practitioner, physician assistant, coroner, or medical examiner, completes the cause-of-death section of the certificate. Part I lists the chain of events leading directly to death, and Part II lists other significant conditions that contributed.

Pennsylvania issues two versions of the certificate. The with-medical-information copy shows the cause and manner of death; the without-medical-information copy, available only for deaths after 2019, leaves them off.

In the Autopsy or Coroner Report

When a coroner or medical examiner investigates, the autopsy report, toxicology report, and coroner's report document how the cause was determined. Under the Coroners' Act these are official records, but it is the Right-to-Know Law, at 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(20), that exempts the full autopsy report from public release.

The law that exempts the autopsy report still does not hide the bottom line. The name of the deceased and the cause and manner of death remain public, which is why a coroner can confirm a cause without handing over the entire file.

How to Request Records That Show the Cause of Death

You request the cause of death through the coroner for a public summary, or through Vital Records for a certified certificate. The two paths suit different needs.

To get the public cause and manner of death, contact the county coroner or medical examiner that handled the death and ask for the public information report. Coroners must make this information available under the Right-to-Know Law, and many post or release a standard public report.

To get a certified certificate showing the cause, order a with-medical-information copy from the Department of Health, Division of Vital Records. You must be an eligible requester, such as a spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or legal representative. Each copy costs $20, and online orders through the state vendor add a one-time $10 fee. The full ordering steps are on the Pennsylvania Death Records page, and you can compare other states from the Death Records by State hub.

Finding the Cause of Death for Older or Historical Deaths

For older deaths, the certificate itself eventually becomes public. A Pennsylvania death record loses its confidential status 50 years after the date of death and transfers to the Pennsylvania State Archives.

The State Archives holds original death certificates from 1906 to 1975, with searchable death indexes spanning that period and digitized certificate images online for 1906 to 1972. Anyone may request an uncertified copy from the Archives, currently for a $5 fee, and these copies show the cause of death recorded at the time.

For a quick fact check, the Social Security Death Index confirms whether and when a person died, drawn from Social Security Administration records. It never lists a cause of death, so use it to verify the death, then turn to the certificate or coroner for the cause.

Disclaimer: This is general information, not legal advice. Access rules and fees change, so confirm details with the county coroner or the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Vital Records before you rely on them.

Sources

This article cites the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Pennsylvania State Archives, the Office of Open Records, and the Social Security Administration; verify current rules and fees with those offices before relying on them.