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

To find a cause of death in Wyoming, look at the medical certification on the death certificate or the county coroner's autopsy report. Wyoming is a closed-record state, so the death certificate is restricted to eligible family and legal requesters for 50 years after the death, after which the record opens to the public at the Wyoming State Archives. In a coroner's case, the coroner's verdict and written docket state the cause and manner of death and are public records anyone can request.

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

You find a cause of death in Wyoming on the death certificate or in the county coroner's autopsy report. The death certificate is the primary legal record, and its medical certification section states the immediate cause of death and any underlying conditions.

For a death the coroner investigated, the autopsy report carries the detailed findings. The coroner determines the cause and manner of death after that investigation.

Because Wyoming is a closed-record state, you usually need to be an eligible requester to obtain these documents while they are confidential. The parent guide on Wyoming Death Records explains the access rules in full.

Is the Cause of Death Public in Wyoming?

It depends on which record you mean. The death certificate is not public during the confidential period, because Wyoming treats death certificates as closed records, so the certificate and the cause of death it contains stay confidential for 50 years after the date of death. In a coroner's case, though, the cause and manner of death are public immediately through the coroner's own records.

During those 50 years, the Wyoming Department of Health releases a certified copy only to entitled requesters. The same restriction applies to the cause of death printed on that copy.

Fifty years after the death, the record opens to the public. At that point anyone may access it for research, generally through the Wyoming State Archives rather than the Department of Health. For the national picture, see Are Cause of Death Records Public?

Coroner's cases are the exception, and they cover the deaths people most often ask about. Under W.S. 7-4-105(a), the coroner's verdict and written docket are public records that anyone may view or obtain by request to the coroner, and that docket gives the cause and manner of death, including relevant toxicological factors, along with a description of the deceased, the name if it can be determined, the age, and the date and time of death.

What the statute closes is narrower. Subsection (b) makes confidential a toxicology report, and any photograph, video recording, or audio recording made at the scene of the death or during a postmortem examination or autopsy.

Those confidential items may still be viewed and copied by a surviving spouse, surviving parent, adult child, personal representative, legal representative, or legal guardian. Listed officials and entities may obtain them on written request, including law enforcement, district attorneys, public health agencies, the workers' compensation division, insurance companies with a legitimate interest in the death, parties in civil litigation with a legitimate interest, and a treating physician. A court may also authorize any person to see them on a showing of good cause.

Where the Cause of Death Is Recorded

The cause of death is recorded in two main places in Wyoming: the death certificate and, when one is ordered, the autopsy report.

On the death certificate

The death certificate has a medical certification section completed by the certifying physician or the coroner. This section lists the immediate cause of death and the chain of underlying conditions that led to it, along with the manner of death.

This is the document most people use to confirm how someone died. It is the official legal record held by Wyoming Vital Statistics Services.

In the coroner's autopsy report

Each of Wyoming's counties has an elected coroner who investigates deaths that are violent, sudden, suspicious, unattended, or from an unknown cause. The coroner may appoint a physician to perform an autopsy under Wyoming law.

The autopsy and toxicology report contains the detailed medical findings behind the cause of death. The coroner's verdict and written docket, which state the cause and manner of death, are public records under W.S. 7-4-105(a).

The toxicology report and any scene or autopsy photographs, video, or audio are the confidential part under subsection (b). They go to a surviving spouse, surviving parent, adult child, personal representative, legal representative, or legal guardian, to the officials and entities the statute lists on written request, or to anyone a court authorizes for good cause.

How to Request Records That Show the Cause of Death

You request a Wyoming death certificate from Vital Statistics Services at the Wyoming Department of Health in Cheyenne. A certified copy costs $25 for the first copy and $20 for each additional copy ordered at the same time.

You can order online through the Wyoming Vital Statistics Services portal, by mail, or in person. Every request needs a valid photo ID, and you must show your relationship or legal interest because Wyoming is a closed-record state. The full ordering steps are covered in our Wyoming death certificate guide.

For coroner's findings, contact the coroner in the county where the death occurred. Anyone can request the coroner's verdict and written docket, which give the cause and manner of death.

The confidential items under W.S. 7-4-105(b), such as the toxicology report and any scene or autopsy images or recordings, go to the family members and representatives the statute names, to listed officials on written request, or to anyone holding a court order for good cause.

Finding the Cause of Death for Older or Historical Deaths

For deaths more than 50 years ago, the cause of death record is open to the public. These older Wyoming death certificates move to the Wyoming State Archives, where they can be searched for genealogical and historical research.

Wyoming death records are on file with the state since July 1909. The State Archives can help with verifications and research copies of these open records.

Before the 50-year mark passes, the obituary is often the most accessible public clue to a cause of death. A newspaper obituary, funeral home notice, or local news report may describe how a person died even when the certificate is still confidential.

The Social Security Death Index, drawn from the federal Death Master File, confirms the fact and date of death for many people. It is useful for genealogy, but it does not record the cause of death.

Disclaimer: This page is general information, not legal advice. Access rules, fees, and forms change, so verify the current requirements with Wyoming Vital Statistics Services or the county coroner before you request a record.

Sources

This page draws on the Wyoming Department of Health Vital Statistics Services, Wyoming State Archives, the Wyoming Vital Records statute, the Wyoming coroner records statute at W.S. 7-4-105, and CDC public health law on Wyoming coroners.

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