How to Get a Vermont Death Certificate (2026)

A certified Vermont death certificate costs $10 per copy (plus a $2 fee online) and is issued by Vermont town and city clerks and the state Vital Records Office. Family members, estate representatives, court-appointed parties, the funeral home, and certain agencies such as the Social Security Administration may request one.

How Do You Get a Death Certificate in Vermont?

You get a Vermont death certificate from a town or city clerk or through the Vermont Department of Health Vital Records Office. Both certified and noncertified copies are available, and most Vermont town and city clerks can issue a certificate regardless of where the death occurred, because they print from the Statewide Registration System. Two limits are worth knowing: a town clerk may opt out of serving as an issuing agent by filing written notice with the State Registrar, and certificates registered before 1909 are not in the Statewide Registration System at all. Call the clerk's office ahead of a trip to confirm it can fill your request.

There are three main ways to request a copy.

Order in person at a town or city clerk

Visiting a Vermont town or city clerk is the fastest and cheapest way to get a copy. You can request a certified copy on the spot and skip the online processing fee.

Bring valid identification and the basic facts about the death, including the full name of the deceased and the date and place of death.

Order online

You can order a certified copy through the state ordering service at secure.vermont.gov/VSARA/vitalrecords. Online orders cost $10 per certificate plus a $2 processing fee.

Completed online orders ship by standard U.S. mail within 5 to 7 business days.

Order by mail

You may also apply by mail using the Application for a Certified Copy of a Vermont Birth or Death Certificate. Follow the instructions on the form and mail it to the address listed, along with the required fee and a copy of your valid identification.

Who Is Eligible to Request a Vermont Death Certificate?

Eligibility for a certified Vermont death certificate is set by statute. Under 18 V.S.A. § 5016(b)(2), the following may apply for a certified copy of a death certificate:

• The decedent's spouse, child, grandchild, parent, sibling, grandparent, or guardian, or the legal representative of any of these
• A person petitioning to open the decedent's estate, or a court-appointed executor or administrator
• A specific person named in a court order finding that a noncertified copy is not sufficient for that person's legal purpose
• An employee of a public agency authorized by the State Registrar
• The individual with authority for final disposition, or a funeral home or crematorium acting on that individual's behalf
• The Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• The decedent's insurance carrier, if it provides benefits to the decedent's survivors or beneficiaries

Applicants must show valid identification when requesting a certified copy. This identification requirement applies whether you order in person, by mail, or online.

If you do not fall into one of these eligible categories, you can still obtain a noncertified (informational) copy, which is available to the public at no charge. If a noncertified copy will not satisfy your legal purpose, the court order route listed above is the statutory path to a certified copy for someone outside the family and estate categories.

Vermont Death Certificate Cost and Processing Time

A certified Vermont death certificate costs $10 per certificate. If you order online, a $2 processing fee is added, bringing the online total to $12 per copy.

Two groups pay nothing. Under 18 V.S.A. § 5017(b), the State Registrar must waive the certified copy fee for an individual attesting to a lack of fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and for an individual between 18 and 24 years of age who resided in a foster home or residential child care facility between the ages of 16 and 18 under a child-placing agency placement.

Noncertified copies are available at no charge. Ordering in person at a town or city clerk avoids the online processing fee, making it the cheapest route for a certified copy.

Online orders ship by standard U.S. mail within 5 to 7 business days of the completed transaction. In-person requests at a town or city clerk are typically filled the same day.

Certified vs Informational Copy in Vermont

Vermont issues two kinds of death certificate copies, and the difference matters for how you can use them. A certified copy is printed on engraved security paper with a raised seal, while a noncertified (informational) copy is printed on plain paper with a watermark.

A certified copy is the official legal document. You need it for tasks such as settling an estate, claiming life insurance or pension benefits, transferring property, and closing financial accounts.

A noncertified copy is for personal reference and genealogy. It is available to the public at no charge but is not accepted as legal proof of death.

How to Get Additional or Replacement Copies

To get additional or replacement copies, place a new request through the same channels: a town or city clerk, the online ordering service, or by mail. Each additional certified copy costs the same $10 (plus the $2 online fee when applicable).

If you need several certified copies to settle an estate, request them together so you do not have to reorder later. Estate administration, insurance claims, and account closures often each require their own certified copy.

There is no separate discounted rate for extra copies in Vermont; the per-certificate fee applies to each one, unless the statutory fee waiver described above applies to the person requesting them.

Disclaimer: This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Fees, eligibility rules, and processing times can change. Always confirm the current requirements with the Vermont Department of Health Vital Records Office or your town or city clerk before submitting a request.

For the broader rules on who may access records and how Vermont treats death records, see Vermont Death Records and the national Death Records by State hub.

Sources

This page draws on Vermont Statutes Online (18 V.S.A. §§ 5000, 5016, and 5017), the Vermont Department of Health Vital Records Office, and the Vermont Secretary of State / State Archives, the .gov authorities that issue and govern Vermont death certificates.