Alaska Death Records

An Alaska death record is a document that provides detailed information about an individual's death in the state. It includes information about when someone died, the cause of death, and the deceased's personal information. The age-adjusted death rate in Alaska is 823.5 per 100,000 residents, which is higher than the national average mortality rate of 805.6 per 100,000 United States residents. The state's mortality rate has been relatively stable over the last few years, with an average of 5,448 deaths recorded each year.

Alaska began the statewide recording of death in 1913, and currently, the major form of death records in the state is the death certificate. According to state law, for each death that occurs in Alaska, a death certificate (original copy) must be filed with the local registrar of the registration district where the death occurred within 3 days after death. Each death must be registered before the removal of the body from the state or final disposition of the body.

Once an original Alaska death certificate is filed, eligible individuals can request certified copies of the certificate for various purposes. A certified copy of a death certificate in the state has been verified with an official government seal and can be used for both legal and administrative purposes. On the other hand, an original death certificate is permanently filed with the local registrar of the district where the death happened or the state's Department of Health.

How Do I Get a Certified Copy of a Death Certificate in Alaska?

Interested and eligible persons may get certified copies of an Alaska death certificate by submitting their requests to the state's Department of Health through the Analytics and Vital Records Office in any of the following ways:

• Order by Mail or Fax - Follow the steps below to submit a certified copy of a death certificate request in Alaska by mail or fax:
• Complete the Alaska Death Certificate Request Form.
• Include a photocopy of a valid ID. Acceptable IDs include a state-issued ID, driver's license, military ID, passport, and tribal/BIA card bearing the requester's photo. An applicant who cannot provide any of these may contact (907) 465-3391 for further assistance on secondary IDs to provide.
• Pay the applicable copy fees. The first certified copy of a death certificate costs $30, while each additional copy of the same certificate of the same order at the same time costs $25. Payment can be made by check or money order made out to the Alaska Vital Records Office.
• Mail or fax the completed application form, appropriate payment, and a photocopy of ID to the state's Department of Health at:

• Order in Person - Certified copies of an Alaska death certificate may be obtained by taking the following steps:
• Fill out the Alaska Death Certificate Request Form.
• Pay the appropriate fee by check or money order. The requester can also pay cash at the point of submitting their application.
• Have a valid ID. This will be presented at the time of submitting the request.
• Submit the completed application in person at any of the following Health Analytics and Vital Records Offices:

Generally, processing times for certified copies of Alaska death certificates can vary, depending on the Vital Records Office's staff capacity and the volume of requests. However, applicants should expect about 3 to 3 months for requests submitted through mail or fax.

Are Alaska Death Records Public?

Alaska death records only become public information when 50 years have elapsed after the date of death, per Section 18.50.310 of the state's Statutes. In other words, access to death records less than 50 years old in the state is restricted to only certain individuals and government agencies.

Who Can Request an Original Death Certificate in Alaska?

Only copies of Alaska death certificates may be requested. This is because an original death certificate in the state is permanently filed with the state's Department of Health once a death event is officially registered. While any member of the public may request copies of certificates for death events that occurred over 50 years ago, access to those under 50 years is typically restricted to a few authorized persons and entities. Such persons and entities include the following:

• Parents are listed on the death certificate. A copy of the deceased's birth certificate listing a parent if the decedent was born outside Alaska is required.
• Spouse listed on the death certificate. A copy of the marriage certificate is required if the couple was not married in Alaska.
• The decedent's siblings. They must provide a copy of their birth certificate listing at least one parent in common to the deceased if such siblings were not born in Alaska.
• The deceased's children. A child born outside Alaska must provide a copy of their birth certificate listing the decedent as a parent.
• Attorneys and government agencies.
• Office of Public Advocacy. They must provide certified Delegated Power of Conservatorship/Guardianship papers.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Death Certificate in Alaska?

How long it takes to get copies of an Alaska death certificate after a person's death depends on a few things. Generally, if someone dies of a natural cause in the state, it is expected that the medical certification of death be completed and signed within 24 hours after death, while the original death certificate is registered within 3 days after death. Unless a death has been registered, no one can file a request to obtain a copy of the death certificate.

Once an original death certificate is registered with the Alaska Health Analytics and Vital Records Office, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to about 3 months for a person to get a copy of that certificate, depending on the method of request. However, this timeline may be extended in the case of an unusual or suspicious death. In such a case, an autopsy is typically needed to identify the cause and the manner of death.

When an autopsy is required to determine the cause of death, the original death certificate cannot be prepared or filed with the Health Analytics and Vital Records Office until a complete autopsy report is available. Generally, depending on the complexity, autopsy reports can be available anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. However, in cases requiring additional testing/investigation or in complicated cases, it may take several months before a complete autopsy report is available and before the final, original death certificate is registered. This generally affects how long it takes anyone to get a copy of such a death certificate after someone's death.

Can I View Alaska Death Records Online for Free?

Alaska death records may be viewed online for free using resources like FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com. These resources have vast collections of digitized death records and indexed images of death certificates. While other reliable third-party websites like Alaskapublicrecords.us also offer public access to publicly available death records in the state, users generally pay a small fee to be able to view or access their records of interest.

Alternatively, certain substitute records contain information about death events in Alaska and serve as free sources of death information, especially for deaths not officially registered. For instance, interested persons may look up obituaries, cemetery records, mortuary records, funeral or memorial cards, hospital records, tax records, probate records, church records, city directories, newspapers, and census records for death information in the state.

When Would You Require A Death Certificate in Alaska?

A copy of an Alaska death certificate is required for multiple purposes. In addition to being official proof of a person's death in the state, copies of a death certificate are usually needed for the following purposes:

• Filing insurance claims.
• Notifying a deceased person's credit card company about the person's death and canceling the decedent's credit cards.
• Notifying a decedent's insurance company, as well as certain government agencies like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) of an individual's death.
• Closing a deceased's bank accounts and moving the funds to an authorized beneficiary or estate administrator.
• Notifying a deceased person's mortgage lender or creditor of the person's death.
• Filing a petition with the relevant government agency to receive continuing pension payments, veterans' benefits, Medicaid benefits, and other retirement benefits.
• Transferring the ownership or title of a deceased's assets, including real estate and vehicles, to the decedent's family members.
• Arranging a funeral.
• Transferring the control of other financial accounts or assets to a deceased's designated beneficiaries.
• Terminating a deceased person's subscription to utility services like sewage services, water services, and telephone services.

How Many Death Certificates Do I Need in Alaska?

The number of copies of a death certificate needed by a person in Alaska depends on many factors. While this number varies by a person's specific needs, requesting 8 to 12 copies of a death certificate in the state is ideal and should be enough to address most of the legal and administrative purposes for which they are required.

To determine the actual number of copies of a death certificate to request from the Alaska Health Analytics and Vital Records Office, it is important to consider the size of the deceased's assets. In addition, the requester should consider the number of entities requiring a copy for different legal or administrative transactions or purposes. Generally, financial institutions, certain government agencies, insurance companies, pension administrators, creditors, and utility service providers are entities that may require a copy of a death certificate to verify a person's death to address specific legal or administrative matters.