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How to order a Kentucky death certificate

Who holds it: Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, records from 19111

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. How to search and order
  2. Who may order and what is restricted
  3. Older records and indexes
  4. More details
  5. Related records in Kentucky
  6. How Kentucky handles it
  7. Death certificates in Kentucky counties with a full guide
  8. Official warnings
  9. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  10. Sources

Fee

$6 search/certified copy2

Who may order

Any applicant per KRS 213.136(1); application and fee required3

How to search and order

How to order
Same channels as birth (VitalChek, mail, in person); requires decedent name, date and county of death4

Who may order and what is restricted

Public after
Death records in the state registrar's custody become public records 50 years after death5

Older records and indexes

Older copies
KDLA issues uncertified photocopies of death certificates 1911-19576

More details

Autopsy
Autopsy reports: written request to county coroner4
Birth certificates: who holds it
Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics (Cabinet for Health and Family Services), Frankfort; records from 19111
Birth certificates: fee
$10 search/certified copy (search fee even if no record)2

How Kentucky handles it

  • Vital records split by date. June 1958 central registration1

Death certificates in Kentucky counties with a full guide

The local office, its official online search and its own fee, for each county with a full guide. Local fees can differ from the statewide figures above.

CountyOfficeSearch onlineFee
Boone CountyKentucky Office of Vital Statistics (state; records from 1911)7——
Campbell CountyKentucky Office of Vital Statistics, records from 19118—$6 search/certified copy9
Daviess CountyKentucky Office of Vital Statistics (from 1911)10—$611
Fayette CountyKentucky Office of Vital Statistics (statewide, deaths from 1911); $6 certified copy12——
Hardin CountyKentucky Office of Vital Statistics, records from 191113—$6 search/certified copy14
Jefferson CountyKentucky Office of Vital Statistics15—$616
Kenton County———
Madison County———
Warren CountyKentucky Office of Vital Statistics, records from 191117—$6 search/certified copy18

For any other county, see the county list on the Kentucky guide.

Official warnings

  • Consumer alert on vital record vendors (Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics (CHFS))1

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any Kentucky office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Rules in other states: death certificates in every state. Everything else in Kentucky: Kentucky public records guide.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Office of Vital StatisticsKentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Serviceschecked November 4, 2026
  2. 901 KAR 5:050 Fees for searches, certified copies of certificates and recordsKentucky Legislative Research Commissionchecked November 4, 2026
  3. KRS 213.136 – Certified copy of a vital record.Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (apps.legislature.ky.gov)checked November 4, 2026
  4. Death CertificatesKentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Serviceschecked November 4, 2026
  5. KRS 213.131 – Inspection of records -- Public records.Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (apps.legislature.ky.gov)checked November 4, 2026
  6. GenealogyKentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Serviceschecked November 4, 2026
  7. Office of Vital StatisticsKentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Serviceschecked November 4, 2026
  8. Office of Vital StatisticsKentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Serviceschecked November 7, 2026
  9. 901 KAR 5:050 Fees for searches, certified copies of certificates and recordsKentucky Legislative Research Commissionchecked November 7, 2026
  10. Office of Vital StatisticsKentucky CHFSchecked November 4, 2026
  11. 901 KAR 5:050 vital records feesKentucky Legislaturechecked November 4, 2026
  12. 901 KAR 5:050 Fees for vital recordsKentucky Legislative Research Commissionchecked November 4, 2026
  13. Office of Vital StatisticsKentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Servicesarchived copychecked November 4, 2026
  14. 901 KAR 5:050 Fees for searches, certified copies of certificates and recordsKentucky Legislative Research Commissionchecked November 4, 2026
  15. Office of Vital StatisticsKentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Serviceschecked November 4, 2026
  16. 901 KAR 5:050 Fees for searches, certified copies of certificates and recordsKentucky Legislative Research Commissionchecked November 4, 2026
  17. Office of Vital StatisticsKentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Serviceschecked November 7, 2026
  18. 901 KAR 5:050 Fees for searches, certified copies of certificates and recordsKentucky Legislative Research Commissionchecked November 7, 2026