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 news follows the May 24 death of owner Napoleon Deval Isom, according to a death certificate on file with the Mecklenburg County register of deeds. — Melissa Oyler, Charlotte Observer, 26 June 2026

Each new technology arrived with a death certificate already signed. — Mitt Mehta, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026

Provide a copy of the death certificate to each bureau. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 June 2026

But her death certificate listed a pulmonary embolism as the main cause, with rectal cancer as the underlying cause. — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 14 June 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.