North Carolina Vital Records, part of the Department of Health and Human Services in Raleigh, sells a search rather than a certificate. The $24 fee buys a look through one three year period and includes one copy if the record turns up, and it is not refunded when the search comes back empty. Each further three year period costs another $24. That pricing matters for anyone who is unsure of the year, and it is why the office tells genealogists not to make it their first stop. Extra copies of a certificate that was found cost $15 each.
The other peculiarity is the route a paper application takes. The state's death certificate application, in its current form, is processed with LexisNexis VitalChek, so a mailed request is addressed to North Carolina Vital Records, attention VC Certificate Orders, but the check or money order is made out to VitalChek and a VitalChek processing fee is added to each application. Online and telephone orders go to VitalChek directly. The only way to deal with the state office without the vendor is an in person appointment in Raleigh, and the faster alternative for most families is the register of deeds in the county where the death occurred, which can usually hand over a copy the same day.
- $24 per three year search: includes one copy if found, kept if not; each extra copy of the same certificate is $15.
- VitalChek on every remote order: online and phone orders total $37.95 with regular mail, and mailed forms also carry a VitalChek fee.
- 1930 at the state: Vital Records holds death certificates from 1930; earlier ones go to the State Archives, with a few delayed records back to 1909.
- Medical examiner limits: since October 1, 2025, files on deaths under criminal investigation and deaths of children under 18 are confidential with narrow exceptions.
Written by SearchSystems.net from North Carolina's own systems: the NC Vital Records order a certificate page, the NC Vital Records fees and payment page, the NC Vital Records processing dates page, the NC Vital Records research page, the state application for a copy of a North Carolina death certificate, as posted for mail orders, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner document request page, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner notice on G.S. 130A-385, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner questions for families, the State Archives of North Carolina Bible records collection page, each read on October 15, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
Who may have a certified copy, and the paperwork for each
The application sets the minimum ordering age at 18 and lists, in a table, both who is entitled and what each must send besides identification. A current spouse qualifies only if named on the death certificate. A parent or stepparent sends a copy of the marriage certificate to the named parent. A child or stepchild sends a certified birth certificate, the parent's marriage certificate, or a notarized statement naming them as the child or stepchild.
A sibling sends a birth certificate showing the relationship, a grandparent sends a copy of their own child's birth certificate, and a grandchild sends both their own birth certificate and the parent's. A legal guardian or custodian sends the certified court order.
A lawyer acting for a family sends an attorney ID and bar card plus the retainer agreement or a typed letter on the firm's letterhead authorizing retrieval. Anyone else must prove a tangible interest or legal need with court, insurance or estate settlement documents, and the form defines a direct and tangible interest as a need tied to personal or property rights. Applicants who do not qualify can still tick the other box, but the form warns they may not be entitled to a certified copy; the research page explains that in that case the office provides an uncertified copy, with General Statute 130A-93 setting who receives which. Making a false statement on the form is a felony under G.S. 130A-26A.
Identification rules that return applications
Because of identity theft, the state returns any request that arrives without identification. A legible photocopy of one primary photo ID is the standard: a current driver's license or state ID card whose address matches the address on the application, a passport or visa with a photo, a military ID, a Department of Corrections ID dated within the last year, a government agency ID for official requests, or a student ID together with a transcript.
Without one of those, two secondary documents showing full name and current address will do, from a list that includes a utility bill, vehicle registration, bank statement, a pay stub from the last 60 days, the prior year's W-2, a recent government letter or a concealed weapon permit. If the name on the ID differs from the name on the certificate, the applicant adds a certified marriage certificate, divorce decree or court order tracing the change.
What an order costs by each route
Online at VitalChek or by telephone at 1-800-669-8310, the bill is the $24 state search fee plus a $13.95 VitalChek processing fee, $37.95 in all with free regular mail, or $57.95 with $20 UPS overnight delivery in the continental United States; UPS needs a street address and a person to sign. On the paper form the same $24 and $15 copy prices apply, delivery by UPS ranges from $20 next day air to $37 worldwide expedited, and a separate VitalChek fee is charged for each application, with one application per certificate.
Mail it to North Carolina Vital Records, ATTN: VC Certificate Orders, 1903 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1900, and do not send cash, an overpayment or an expedite fee.
In person service at the state office is by appointment only, weekdays from 8:30 a.m., with the last 30 minute slot at 2:30 p.m., booked online or at 919-733-3000, option 3. It carries a $15 expedite fee on top of the standard charges, and there the office takes cards, electronic checks and, only face to face, cash. Amending a death certificate costs $15. The fees page notes that any payment above the $24 search fee can be refunded if the record is not found and the order is canceled.
How long it takes, and the conflicting estimates
The state's processing dates page, measuring from the day an order is keyed in to the day it ships, gives an average of 2 business days for death certificates from 2022 onward and 11 business days for those from 1930 to 2021. The paper application tells a different story, warning that requests are processed in the order received and can take up to four months plus mailing, and its delivery box says 120 days or more. Both are official statements, and anyone on a deadline is better served by the county register of deeds or an appointment in Raleigh.
Before 1930, and research uses
The research page lists the office's holdings: death certificates from 1930 to the present. For anything earlier the instruction is to contact the State Archives of North Carolina, and the office adds that a few delayed death records reach back to 1909. Statewide registration of births and deaths began on October 1, 1913, according to the Archives, which collects copies of pre 1913 family Bible entries to fill the gap. For family history the office recommends starting with the register of deeds in the county where the death happened, or the State Archives and State Library, because a state search requires specific details and costs $24 for each three year period whether or not anything is found.
Data for medical studies goes through the State Center for Health Statistics, which reviews each protocol.
Medical examiner records and the 2025 change
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner investigates deaths from injury or violence and natural deaths that are suspicious, unusual or unattended, and it takes document requests online for recent deaths, a form its heading limits to deaths since 1975 and its page title to deaths since 1976. Session Law 2025-70, effective October 1, 2025, amended G.S. 130A-385 to make medical examiner records confidential, regardless of the date of death, in two groups of cases: deaths under criminal investigation or prosecution, and deaths of children under 18.
Limited release is allowed to people such as the personal representative of the estate, a beneficiary of a benefit or claim, the surviving spouse and, depending on the case, children or parents, and a personal representative proves the role with certified letters of administration or letters testamentary from the clerk of court.
The office's questions page explains why a certificate may show the cause of death as pending: where tests or investigation are still under way, the cause and manner are left open until the final report, and a pending certificate can still prove the death for closing utility accounts. Families whose insurer will not accept a pending certificate may ask the office for an expedited amendment, which it grants when the case allows, and disagreements with the stated cause go by email to its Decedent Affairs team at ocme.decedentaffairs@dhhs.nc.gov.
Questions about North Carolina death records
Related North Carolina records
The same office also issues North Carolina birth certificates, and the North Carolina vital records page covers marriage and divorce. For records outside the vital statistics law, see North Carolina public records law, and for each county register of deeds start at North Carolina.