death certificate

noun

: an official document that gives information about a person's death (such as when and how the death happened)

Examples of death certificate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The researchers used nationwide death certificate records from 1999 to 2022 to model what the suicide mortality would have been had the 988 line not launched. —Devi Shastri, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2026

Nolte’s death certificate lists the underlying causes of death as encephalopathy, sepsis and disseminated Mycobacterium chimaera infection. —Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 2026

Hernandez died of hypothermia a few hours later, according to her death certificate. —Jordan Rau, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026

Make sure to bring a death certificate. —Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 23 Apr. 2026

Legal Definition

death certificate

noun

: a document setting forth information (as age, occupation, and place of birth) relating to a dead person and including a doctor's certification of the cause of death

Note: Death certificates are issued by a particular public official, as a city or town clerk. A death certificate is required to document a person's death for certain purposes, as to file an estate tax return or to probate an estate.