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 death certificate also notes that Oseguera Cervantes was to be buried, standard practice in cases of violent deaths to allow for additional forensic evidence to be gathered if needed in the future. —CNN Money, 3 Mar. 2026

The death certificate for Katherine Elizabeth Hartley, which was obtained by TMZ, includes a field denoting how the injury occurred. —Assistant Editor, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2026

O'Hara died in January from a pulmonary embolism, with rectal cancer as the underlying cause, according to a death certificate obtained by Fox News Digital. —Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 2 Mar. 2026

The death certificate also notes that Oseguera Cervantes was to be buried, standard practice in cases of violent deaths to allow for additional forensic evidence to be gathered if needed in the future. —ABC News, 2 Mar. 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.