How Michigan Death Records Work

Michigan death records are unrestricted — any requester can order a full certified copy, cause of death included. The cost is the catch: $34 for the first copy is among the highest in the country. Full certified copies are open to all requesters.

County clerks hold duplicate records, the state file runs from 1867 with spotty pre-1897 coverage, and Detroit's own vital records office closed in 2013 — Wayne County handles those now. Content reviewed July 30, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.

Where to Order

Michigan Division for Vital Records & Health Statistics
Official Free
The official custodian. Application forms, current fees, eligibility rules, and processing times — order direct and skip the third-party markup.
🌐 michigan.gov
CDC — Where to Write for Vital Records
Official Free
The federal directory of every state's vital records office — the authoritative answer to 'where do I order' for any state and any year.
🌐 www.cdc.gov
Michiganology Death Certificate Images
Official Free
Free images of Michigan death certificates 1897–1952 are on the Archives of Michigan's Michiganology platform.
🌐 michiganology.org

Frequently Asked Questions

When do Michigan death certificates become public?
Michigan death records are unrestricted — any requester can order a full certified copy, cause of death included.
Can I get a copy if I'm not family?
Full certified copies are open to all requesters.
Is there a free Michigan death index online?
Free images of Michigan death certificates 1897–1952 are on the Archives of Michigan's Michiganology platform.
What if I just need to confirm a death or find an obituary?
Skip the certificate entirely: newspaper obituaries (many are indexed by library databases), the Social Security death index carried on the big genealogy platforms, and probate case files in the county court that handled the estate all confirm a death without touching the vital records queue.

Related Michigan Records

The Michigan vital records page covers the full birth-marriage-death picture; birth certificates follow their own (usually longer) privacy clock; probate lives in Michigan court records; and people search shows how death records fit a full person lookup. County pages list the local offices that issue copies.