The frequently asked questions of Wyoming Vital Records Services say it plainly: Wyoming is a closed record state, and death records open to the public only after 50 years have passed. Until then the applicant must be entitled and may have to prove it. For a death the entitled parties are an immediate family member, meaning a parent, the current spouse or a child the page says must be over 18, a lawyer representing the immediate family, or an entity paying a policy or death benefit on the decedent. The application form spells that last group out as a bank, the executor of the estate, an insurance company or anyone requiring a certificate to pay a policy or death benefit, and adds that in some cases a person or organization determining a personal or property right may be authorized, with the applicant having to demonstrate the need in each starred case.
The form prices a death record at $25 for the first copy and $20 for each additional copy, against $25 for every birth, marriage or divorce copy, and the office keeps death records on file from July 1909. The counter at 2300 Capitol Avenue in the Hathaway Building in Cheyenne is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and on Friday by appointment only, and the office cannot take a payment over the telephone, so a card works only online or at the counter. Checks must come from the person applying; third party checks are refused, and so are electronic submissions of any amendment.
- $25 then $20: the first certified copy of a death record is $25 and each additional copy ordered with it $20.
- Entitled parties: a parent, current spouse or child, a lawyer for the immediate family, or a bank, executor or insurer that must pay a benefit on the decedent.
- Closed 50 years: death records open to anyone who can identify the record 50 years after the event; a closed record can be verified in redacted form for genealogy.
- Four days a week: the Cheyenne counter opens 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Friday by appointment, and takes no telephone payments.
Written by SearchSystems.net from Wyoming's own systems: the Wyoming Vital Records Services request for a certified copy of a vital record, Form 1a, the Wyoming Department of Health vital records frequently asked questions, the department's genealogy information page, the department's page on amending a vital record, the department's page on how to order certificates, the department's vital records forms page, each read on October 15, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
Filling in Form 1a for a death
The single application covers birth, marriage, divorce and death records, and the death block asks for the full name as it appears on the record, the date and place of death by city or county, and the date of birth, followed by the number of copies at $25 for the first and $20 for each more. The requestor section takes the applicant's full name, mailing address, telephone or email, the relationship to the person on the certificate and the purpose of the request, and the signature line is reserved for someone 18 or older.
The birth side carries an excessive copies rule, a notarized form once four or more certified birth copies have been requested in a lifetime, which does not apply to deaths.
Identification or a notary
The applicant attaches a photocopy of a valid government issued picture identification that includes a permanent signature, such as a driver license, state identification card, passport or tribal card, copying both sides if the signature is on the back, and the office accepts a card expired by fewer than 60 days. The form asks for clear tape rather than staples. In place of the identification, the applicant can have the signature on the front of the form notarized, and the forms page carries a separate Notarized Signature Statement and a Permission to Receive Certificate form for someone collecting on another person's behalf. Vital Statistics Services decides whether the identification offered is valid.
Ordering in person, by mail or online
The how to order page offers three routes: online, in person and by mail. The mailed application goes to Vital Statistics Services, 2300 Capitol Avenue, Cheyenne, WY 82002, with a money order or a personal check from the applicant payable to Vital Records Services; cash is accepted only in person and a credit card only online or in person. The counter in the Hathaway Building serves walk-ins Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays, and Fridays by appointment, reached at (307) 777-7591 or wdh.vss@wyo.gov.
A death that happened in another state is ordered from that state, and the office points to the federal Where to Write list for the addresses.
Genealogy and the 50 year rule
The genealogy page says death records on file date back to July 1909 and that after 50 years from the date of death anyone who provides enough information to locate the record may request it; births open after 100 years and marriages and divorces, on file from May 1941, after 50. For a closed record, the application describes a written verification for genealogical research: the requester proves that the people on the record are dead, with copies of death certificates, and proves the relationship with birth and marriage records, and receives a redacted version that may not carry everything on the original.
Open records for historical research are also held by the Wyoming State Archives at 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne, (307) 777-7826, while official certificates on security paper come only from Vital Records Services. The Wyoming county pages list the county clerks for records older than 1909.
Amending a death record by mail
Every amendment goes through the mail; forms and payments cannot be sent electronically. The amending page sets three tracks. A court ordered amendment needs a certified copy of the order, a photocopy of the applicant's current identification, the Application for Correction and a $55 fee, with some orders needing further evidence. A correction within the first year needs the application and an identification copy, and fees may apply.
A correction after the first year adds evidence such as a medical record, military record, insurance policy, school record or a notarized statement from an officiant, and costs $20 for the correction alone or $25 when a new certificate is also wanted. Third party checks are refused here too. Death and divorce corrections have their own specialist at (307) 777-6943.
Marriage, divorce and the courts
Marriage and divorce certificates come from the same office for events since May 1941 at $25 a copy, either party on the record being entitled, and divorce decrees themselves are court papers held by the district court clerk, which the Wyoming court records guide covers together with probate. The county clerks who hold the deeds appear in the Wyoming property records guide, which is also where an executor files the death certificate to clear a title.
Births and the Public Records Act
The same form and the same counter issue birth certificates, with their 100 year rule, the excessive copies form and the paternity affidavits, all covered in the Wyoming birth certificates guide. Because the state defines death records as confidential for 50 years, a request under the Wyoming Public Records Act will not produce a recent one; the Wyoming public records law guide sets out what that act reaches.
Questions about Wyoming death records
Related Wyoming records
Other Wyoming guides: Wyoming birth certificates on the same Form 1a, the district courts under Wyoming court records, the county clerks under Wyoming property records, the Public Records Act under Wyoming public records law, and the 23 counties on the Wyoming county pages.