The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services keeps every death registered in the state since 1904, and its vital records page states the eligibility rule for deaths in one sentence: a death certificate may be obtained only for a spouse, a parent or a child. Each applicant whose own name is not on the certificate proves the relationship with another vital record, a copy of the applicant's birth certificate to show a parent's name, or a copy of the marriage record for a spouse. A sibling, a grandchild, an executor or a creditor is told to call the office at 402-471-2871 before applying, because the regulation on proper purpose decides whether a search is even run. The $16 fee is kept if no record is found or if the right person has not asked, and the office says so in writing.
A change made on July 19, 2024 affects any death still under investigation. When a certificate has a state file number but the cause of death is still with the medical certifier, the office issues an Abstract of Death instead of the full certificate, automatically and on the same application. The Abstract of Death questions explain that it carries everything on the certificate except the cause of death, costs the same $16, lets a family close a bank account or transfer a car title, and will not satisfy a life insurer. Once the investigation ends the abstract cannot be exchanged; a full certificate means a new request and a new fee.
- Spouse, parent or child: the only three relationships the state names as able to order a death certificate, each proved with a birth or marriage record.
- $16, kept either way: the fee for each death certificate is retained when no record is found or when the applicant is not entitled.
- Abstract of Death: a death pending investigation produces an abstract without the cause of death, not refunded or exchanged once the cause is added.
- Deception is a felony: Section 71-649 makes it a felony to obtain, possess, use, sell or furnish a vital record for purposes of deception.
Written by SearchSystems.net from Nebraska's own systems: the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services vital records page, the Nebraska application for a certified copy of a death certificate, the department's Abstract of Death questions and answers, the department's vital records service options page, the department's family history and genealogy page, the Nebraska vital records online identification help page, each read on October 15, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
What the Nebraska application asks
Form HHS-92, the application for a certified copy of a death certificate, opens with the 1904 starting date and the warning that a death pending investigation will be issued as an abstract that is not refunded or exchanged. It asks for the full name of the deceased, with any married or other names a woman used, the city or town and county of death, and the month, day and year. If the exact date is unknown, the applicant gives the date the person was last known to be alive or a span of years to search.
The form then asks how the applicant is related and what the record is for, and notes that proof of relationship is needed unless the applicant is the informant or the spouse named on the record.
A second block exists to help the office find the right entry: the year of birth, the birthplace, the spouse's full name, the home address, both parents' full names and the funeral director and city. The applicant signs, prints a name, mailing address, daytime telephone and email, and encloses a photocopy of a current government photo identification. Payment is a check or money order payable to Vital Records for the exact amount, $16 per copy, since the office accepts nothing else by mail, and a stamped, self addressed business size envelope goes in with it. Mail goes to Vital Records, PO Box 95065, Lincoln, NE 68509-5065.
Fees, payment and the no refund rule
A death certificate costs $16 by every route, the same as a marriage or divorce certificate and a dollar less than the $17 birth certificate. Mailed applications paid by credit card are not accepted, and the office does not take faxed or emailed applications or send certificates by fax or email. Online applications through the state's own site can be charged to a Visa or MasterCard. If the certificate is not found, the search fee is not refunded, and the same applies when the applicant does not meet the proper purpose rule; the office notifies the applicant in writing either way.
How long each route takes
The service options page gives in-office processing times rather than promises. Regular mail takes a minimum of 15 days in the office before the certificate is mailed back. An online application takes a minimum of 7 days. A walk-in applicant at the Nebraska State Office Building, 301 Centennial Mall South, First Floor, in Lincoln, waits a minimum of 30 minutes. The fastest service is reserved for mail: an expedited request sent with a prepaid Postal Service Priority or Express envelope, or a FedEx or UPS envelope, is processed in 1 to 2 days and returned in that envelope, and the state website offers no expedited shipping for online orders.
There is also a view-only option at the counter for the same $16: the applicant reads the record in the office, takes notes, and may not photograph it, since the document stays with the office. Viewing requires a visit, a current government photo identification and the same proper purpose test as a certified copy.
Identification the office accepts
Proof of identification is a document issued by a federal, state or local government, a corporation or another entity that carries the applicant's photograph and identifying facts. The online identification help page lists a REAL ID or standard driver license or learner permit, a state identification card, a passport or passport card, a tribal card, a military card, a government employee card, an attorney bar card, a permanent resident card, an employment authorization card, a consular card, a pilot license, a concealed carry permit, a travel visa and even an inmate card valid for six months after release.
Without a photo document, the applicant sends two or more items, at least one from each of two lists, none expired. The first list holds professional licenses, a health insurance, Medicaid or Medicare card, a current school record or school card, an I-9 or W-4 from an employer file, current car insurance or registration, a voter registration or tribal enrollment papers. The second list holds documents issued within the last 30 days showing the applicant's name and current address, such as a utility bill, a bank statement, a pay stub, a signed traffic ticket, release papers from jail or a letter from a parole or probation officer, plus the previous year's W-2. The office keeps copies of the application and every alternative document.
Deaths 50 years old and older
Under regulation 3-004.06, any vital record may be released for genealogical purposes once the requester documents that the person has been dead for at least 50 years. The family history page warns that every genealogy request for a historical record takes up to 12 weeks of in-office processing and is never available the same day. Birth and death records start in 1904, marriage and divorce records in 1909, and some counties kept ledgers before those years.
The page adds that in 1985 birth and death certificates were sent to Vital Records in Lincoln, except for Lancaster and Douglas counties, and that a search producing no record ends with a no record letter and the fee kept. Census records are not held; researchers go to the Census Bureau.
Correcting a Nebraska death certificate
The vital records page links a separate Death Certificate Amendment Form, to be completed, printed and mailed to the department at the same PO Box 95065 address. The page gives no fee or processing time for a death amendment, so the applicant should confirm both with the office at 402-471-2871 or DHHS.VitalRecords@nebraska.gov before sending it. A certificate that was issued as an Abstract of Death because the cause was pending is not amended later; the full certificate is ordered fresh once the medical certifier finishes.
Where the other records live
The state office issues only certified copies of deaths that occurred in Nebraska. A death in another state goes to that state's office, and the stillbirth certificate is a separate $17 record available only to the parents. Probate of the estate runs through the county court, covered in the Nebraska court records guide, and land passes through the register of deeds described under Nebraska property records. Requests for other state files follow the Nebraska public records law guide, and the office's birth side, including the no fee certificate for voter identification, is in the Nebraska birth certificates guide.
Questions about Nebraska death records
Related Nebraska records
Nebraska pages that follow from this one: the Nebraska birth certificates guide, probate in the county courts under Nebraska court records, the registers of deeds under Nebraska property records, the Nebraska public records law guide, and the Nebraska county pages.