How to Get a Tennessee Death Certificate (2026)

You get a Tennessee death certificate from the Tennessee Department of Health, Office of Vital Records. Certified copies cost $15 each (first and additional copies). Records are restricted, so you must be an eligible requester such as a family member, legal representative, or someone with a documented interest.

How Do You Get a Death Certificate in Tennessee?

You get a Tennessee death certificate from the Tennessee Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, located in the Andrew Johnson Tower in Nashville. Local county health departments can also issue death certificates for any death registered statewide.

There are four main ways to request a certified copy.

In person. Visit the state Office of Vital Records or any county health department. No appointment is needed, and certificates are typically issued the same day.

By mail. Send the completed Application for Certified Copy of a Tennessee Certificate of Death (Form PH-1663), the fee, and a photocopy of your ID to Tennessee Vital Records, Andrew Johnson Tower, 1st Floor, 710 James Robertson Parkway, Nashville, TN 37243.

Online. Order through VitalChek, the only vendor authorized by the state of Tennessee to process online credit and debit card orders.

At a county health department. Because Tennessee registers deaths in a statewide system, any county health department can print a certified copy regardless of where the death occurred.

Who Is Eligible to Request a Tennessee Death Certificate?

Tennessee death records are restricted, so certified copies are released only to entitled requesters. Qualified applicants generally include the decedent's immediate family members, such as a parent, child, or spouse.

If you are not an immediate family member, you must provide documentation supporting your right to the record. Acceptable proof can include custody orders, letters of testamentary, an insurance policy naming you as a beneficiary, or other legal documents showing your interest.

A version of the death certificate that shows the cause of death is even more limited. Cause of death is released only to the decedent's parent, child, or spouse, or to an attorney or agency acting on behalf of the estate or a qualifying family member.

Every requester must verify their identity. Unless your mailed application is notarized, you must include a photocopy of a valid government-issued photo ID that shows your signature.

Tennessee Death Certificate Cost and Processing Time

A certified Tennessee death certificate costs $15. That $15 fee covers the search of the records and includes one copy if the record is located.

Each additional copy ordered at the same time also costs $15. The search fee is non-refundable, even if no record is found, in which case you receive a letter stating no record exists.

Do not send cash. Mailed payments must be a check or money order payable to Tennessee Vital Records. Online orders through VitalChek accept credit and debit cards and may add a separate processing and shipping charge.

Processing time depends on the method. In-person requests at the state office or a county health department are usually filled the same day. As of its June 23, 2026 update, the Office of Vital Records posts a processing time of about 3 days for both mailed and online certificate orders, and it cautions that these time frames change with the volume of requests and workforce demands. Mailing and shipping time is on top of that. To check on an order, the office directs requesters to email its Issuance Unit.

Certified vs Informational Copy in Tennessee

A certified copy is the official document used for legal and financial matters. It carries the seal of the Office of Vital Records and is accepted for settling estates, claiming life insurance, closing accounts, and similar purposes.

Tennessee restricts certified copies to entitled requesters. Because access is limited, the state does not offer a general public informational copy of recent death certificates the way some states do.

For older records, public access is broader. Death records more than 50 years old are transferred to the Tennessee State Library and Archives, where they become public records that anyone can order, primarily for genealogy and historical research.

If you only need to confirm that a death is on file rather than obtain a full copy, Tennessee offers a verification of death facts through a separate application.

How to Get Additional or Replacement Copies

To get additional copies at the time of your request, simply indicate the number of copies on the application. Each copy is $15, so a request for three certified copies would total $45.

If you need a replacement copy later, you submit a new application the same way you ordered the first one. There is no discounted reorder rate; each new certified copy is $15.

Replacement and additional copies follow the same eligibility and ID rules. You will again need to be an entitled requester and provide a photocopy of valid government-issued identification, or have the application notarized.

Disclaimer: This page provides general information about obtaining a Tennessee death certificate and is not legal advice. Fees, forms, and eligibility rules can change. Always verify current requirements with the Tennessee Department of Health, Office of Vital Records before submitting a request.

Sources

This page is based on the Tennessee Department of Health Office of Vital Records, the official Application for Certified Copy of a Tennessee Certificate of Death (Form PH-1663), and the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

For the parent overview, see Tennessee Death Records, and to compare other states see Death Records by State.