How to Get a Death Certificate in Florida

How to get a death certificate in Florida is simpler and cheaper than in most states, with the lowest state fee in this guide and some of the fastest mail times for recent records. The trade-off is that older records take longer, and the state office sits in Jacksonville, so families elsewhere in Florida usually order by mail or online. This guide gives the official fees, times, and addresses from the Florida Department of Health.

How to get a death certificate in Florida by mail

Mail is the standard route for most families. Download and complete form DH727, the Application for a Death Record, from the Department of Health website, in English or Spanish, and mail it with payment to the Florida Department of Health, Vital Statistics, P.O. Box 210, Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042. The fee structure is set by the state: a $5 search fee is included in all orders and is nonrefundable, and that $5 covers one certified copy. Each additional certified copy ordered at the same time costs $4. If you do not know the exact year of death, the search fee is $2 per calendar year searched, up to a maximum of $50. A $1 shipping and handling fee applies.

Normal processing time for death certificates from 2009 to the present is 3 to 5 business days, not including shipping time. That is the processing time at the office, so allow a few extra days for mail in both directions. Records before 2009 require additional processing time, because older records may need to be retrieved from archives. If you need a rush order, add the $10 rush fee and mark the outside of the envelope RUSH; rush orders are given priority processing, but all orders are mailed by standard mail unless you provide a special prepaid delivery envelope.

Ordering in person in Jacksonville

Walk-in service is available at the Bureau of Vital Statistics, 1217 N Pearl Street, Jacksonville, with lobby hours Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Walk-in payments may be made by cash, check, money order, Visa, or Mastercard, though contactless and tap-to-pay are not accepted. For records from 2009 to the present, walk-in service can often be completed the same day. For records before 2009, same-day walk-in service requires the $10 rush fee and depends on availability, so call ahead if your record is old and your trip is long.

Ordering online through VitalChek

Florida’s online orders run through VitalChek, the state’s contracted vendor. The state fee stays the same, but vendor processing and shipping fees are added on top, so the total is higher than a mail order. Online ordering suits families who live outside Florida or who want to pay by card and track the order. The same 3 to 5 business day processing window for recent records applies, with shipping time added. If you are ordering for an estate with a deadline, weigh the vendor fee against the value of a faster, trackable order.

What to include with your request

The DH727 form asks for the details needed to find the record: the full name of the person who died, the date of death, and the county where the death occurred. Give the exact year of death if you know it, since an unknown year triggers the per-year search fee of $2 up to $50. Include your own name, address, and relationship to the person who died, and follow the form’s instructions on identification. A wrong date or misspelled name can produce a no-record result, and the $5 search fee is nonrefundable even when no record is found, so check the form before mailing.

Copies for the whole estate

Because Florida’s copies are cheap, this is one state where ordering extra copies up front costs very little. Each additional copy is only $4 when ordered at the same time, so a set of eight copies costs $5 for the first plus $28 for the rest, before shipping and any rush fee. That is far less than reordering later, which starts a new search fee and a new wait. Banks, insurers, courts, and benefits offices usually keep the copy they receive, so count the agencies that will ask for one and add a spare or two for the file.