Find Chandler Death Records

Death records for Chandler come from Maricopa County, not the City of Chandler. The Chandler City Clerk at 175 South Arizona Avenue handles city business but not vital records like death certificates. Arizona law puts vital records under county and state control. If you need a death certificate for someone who died in Chandler, contact Maricopa County Public Health or the Arizona Department of Health Services. Maricopa County has five Valley offices where Chandler residents can get certified death certificates in person, with the closest locations in Mesa and Phoenix.

Death Records Handled by Maricopa County

Chandler does not issue death certificates. No Arizona city issues vital records. State law assigns that job to county public health departments and the state health agency. The Chandler City Clerk's office on South Arizona Avenue handles city documents. They keep council minutes, business licenses, and other city records. But for birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage records, you need to contact the county or state.

Chandler is in Maricopa County. That means Maricopa County Public Health runs the vital records office for Chandler residents. The county has five locations across the Valley. The closest offices to Chandler are in Mesa and Phoenix. The Mesa office is at 331 East Coury Avenue, just a short drive from central Chandler. This location serves the East Valley area and has parking on site. The Phoenix office at 1645 East Roosevelt Street is another option if you are coming from north Chandler or central Phoenix.

All five Maricopa County offices connect to the same state database. They can all print the same death certificates. You can go to whichever location works best for your schedule. Other county offices include Peoria, Glendale, and Goodyear. These serve the West Valley and northwest areas. Staff at any of these offices can help you apply for a death certificate, check eligibility, and explain what documents you need.

For full details on Maricopa County vital records offices, visit the Maricopa County death records page. You can also check the Maricopa County Vital Records website for current hours and wait times.

Chandler City Clerk Office

The Chandler City Clerk is at 175 South Arizona Avenue on the first floor of City Hall. This office does not handle vital records. They manage city business. You can get city council agendas, meeting minutes, ordinances, resolutions, and other city documents. They also process business licenses and maintain official city records. Office hours are Monday through Friday during regular business hours. The phone number is 480-782-2181.

If you call the City Clerk asking about death certificates, staff will refer you to the county or state. The Chandler City Clerk website does not list vital records services. It focuses on city records, public records requests for city documents, and city business licensing. For vital records like death certificates, birth certificates, and marriage records, you must contact Maricopa County or the Arizona Department of Health Services.

The city clerk cannot access the state vital records database. They cannot print or issue death certificates. This is the same across all Arizona cities. No city clerk has authority over vital records under Arizona law. Knowing this ahead of time can save you a trip to City Hall when you need a death certificate.

How Chandler Residents Get Death Certificates

Chandler residents have three ways to get death certificates. First, you can visit a Maricopa County vital records office in person. The Mesa office is the closest to Chandler at 331 East Coury Avenue. Bring a government photo ID like a driver's license or passport. You also need proof of your relationship to the person who died. This might be a birth certificate showing you are a child or parent, a marriage certificate if you are the spouse, or court documents proving legal interest. Fill out the application at the office. Pay the $20 fee with cash, check, money order, or credit card. Most requests are processed the same day if the death record is in the system and you meet eligibility requirements under Arizona law.

The second option is ordering by mail. Download form VS-159 from the Arizona Department of Health Services website. This is the death certificate application. Fill it out with all the details you know about the person who died. Include a copy of your photo ID and proof of relationship. Send a check or money order for $20 per copy made out to Bureau of Vital Records. Add a self-addressed stamped envelope. Mail it to PO Box 6018, Phoenix, AZ 85005. The state office handles mail requests for all Arizona deaths. Processing time is 10 to 15 business days after they receive your complete application.

Third, you can order online through VitalChek. VitalChek is the official online partner for Arizona vital records. Fill out the application on their site. Upload a photo of your ID. Pick your shipping speed. Standard mail takes 7 to 10 business days. Expedited shipping costs more but delivers in 3 to 5 days. VitalChek charges service fees on top of the $20 state fee. But it is faster than regular mail and convenient if you cannot visit an office during work hours.

Arizona limits who can get death certificates. You must be 18 or older. You must be family, a legal representative, or someone with legal interest in the record. Common eligible persons include the spouse, parents, adult children, siblings, attorneys, funeral directors, insurance companies, banks, and government agencies. If you do not fit one of these categories, you may need written permission from an eligible family member.

Note: All applications require government photo ID and proof of relationship to the deceased person.

Death Certificate Costs and Wait Times

A certified death certificate costs $20 in Arizona. This is the standard fee under Arizona Revised Statutes § 36-341. Each copy you order costs $20. There is no bulk discount. If you need four copies, you pay $80. Corrections or amendments to a death certificate cost $30 for the first corrected copy, plus $20 for each additional copy of the amended record.

Wait times depend on how you apply. Same-day service is usually available at Maricopa County offices if you go in person. The office can print your death certificate while you wait as long as the record is in the state database and you have the right documents to prove eligibility. But if the death happened very recently, it might not be in the system yet. Funeral homes have up to seven days to file a death certificate under ARS § 36-325. The state registrar then has 72 hours to register it. So a death that occurred a few days ago may not be ready for another week or so.

Mail requests to the state office take 10 to 15 business days. This includes the time it takes for your application to arrive, get processed, and have the death certificate mailed back to you. VitalChek online orders arrive in 7 to 10 business days for standard shipping. You can pay extra for expedited shipping to cut that time down to 3 to 5 days. During busy times, processing may take longer. Call ahead if you need the death certificate by a certain date for legal matters or insurance claims.

Arizona State Vital Records Office

The Arizona Department of Health Services Bureau of Vital Records is the main state agency for death certificates. This office is at 150 North 18th Avenue, Suite 120, in Phoenix. The bureau keeps records for all Arizona deaths from 1909 to the present, plus some older records dating back to 1877 from county sources. You can call them at (602) 364-1300 or toll-free at (888) 816-5907 with questions about death certificates or to check if a record is available.

The state office no longer offers walk-in service. That ended during COVID-19. Now the only way to get death certificates from the state office is by mail or online through VitalChek. For in-person service, you need to go to a county vital records office instead. Maricopa County is the best choice for Chandler residents because the county has five locations and can usually print your certificate the same day.

The state office does handle certain requests that counties cannot process. If you need to correct a death certificate for a death that occurred before 2008, you must go through the state office. County offices can only amend records from 2008 forward. The state also handles special requests for genealogy research, delayed death certificates, and presumptive death certificates ordered by a court. Mail these requests to PO Box 6018, Phoenix, AZ 85005.

Arizona Death Certificate Laws

Arizona vital records are governed by state law, not city law. The main statutes are in Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36, Chapter 3. State law defines key terms like "certificate," "certified copy," and "vital record." It explains that a death certificate is a record that documents a death and becomes a vital record once it is registered by the state or a local registrar.

ARS § 36-325 sets the timeline for death certificate registration. A funeral home or responsible person must complete the death certificate within seven days of taking possession of human remains. They must get the medical facts from a physician or medical examiner, fill in the personal details, and submit the certificate to a local registrar or the state registrar. The registrar then has 72 hours to register the certificate if it is accurate and complete.

ARS § 36-342 is the confidentiality law. It says that vital records are not public records in Arizona. Local registrars, deputy registrars, the state registrar, and their employees cannot permit inspection of a vital record or disclose information from a vital record except as authorized by law. This makes Arizona a "closed record" state for vital records. You cannot just walk in and ask for a copy of any death certificate like you might request a court record or property deed. You must prove you are eligible under the law and have a legal right to the record.

Arizona Administrative Code R9-19-314 and R9-19-315 spell out the eligibility rules in more detail. These regulations list the categories of people who can get certified death certificates and what documents they need to prove their status. The rules apply statewide, so the same eligibility requirements apply whether you request a death certificate from Maricopa County, the state office, or any other county in Arizona.

Genealogy Research for Old Chandler Deaths

If you need a death record for family history research and the death occurred more than 50 years ago, you can use the Arizona Genealogy Record Search. This is a free online database run by the state. It covers deaths from 1870 through 1970. You can search by name, date, and location to find old Chandler death records without proving a family relationship.

The search tool is at genealogyapp.azdhs.gov. Enter the name of the person who died and any other details you know. The system will return a list of matching records. Click on a result to view an image of the original death certificate. These images are not certified copies. They do not have the official seal and cannot be used for legal purposes. But they work fine for building family trees and tracing your Chandler ancestors.

Under ARS § 36-351, the state makes these old records available to the public for genealogy purposes. If you find an error in the data or have a confidentiality concern, you can contact the Bureau of Vital Records at 602-364-1300 or send an email to the address listed on the genealogy website.

Other Vital Records in Chandler

Just like death certificates, other vital records in Chandler come from the county or state level. Birth certificates are issued by Maricopa County Public Health and the Arizona Department of Health Services. Marriage licenses and marriage certificates come from the Maricopa County Clerk of the Superior Court. Divorce records are court records kept by the Clerk of the Superior Court. You cannot get any of these records from the Chandler City Clerk.

Maricopa County Public Health handles both birth and death certificates at the same five Valley locations. So if you need a birth certificate and a death certificate, you can get both in one trip to the Mesa office on East Coury Avenue. The eligibility rules and fees are similar for both types of vital records.

For marriage and divorce records, you need to contact the Maricopa County Superior Court. The court has a records department that handles requests for marriage licenses, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, and other family court records. These are separate from vital records and have their own fees and procedures. The court is at 201 West Jefferson Street in downtown Phoenix.

Death Records in Nearby Cities

Other cities near Chandler also refer residents to Maricopa County for death certificates. Cities do not issue vital records anywhere in Arizona. If you live in a neighboring city, you can still use the same Maricopa County offices to get death records. The five Valley locations serve all Maricopa County residents no matter which city you live in.

Cities near Chandler with death records available through Maricopa County include:

• Mesa - has a county office at 331 E. Coury Ave.
• Gilbert - served by the Mesa office
• Tempe - close to both Mesa and Phoenix offices
• Phoenix - has a county office at 1645 E. Roosevelt St.
• Scottsdale - served by all five Maricopa County offices

Each of these cities follows the same system as Chandler. City clerks do not handle vital records. Residents must go to Maricopa County Public Health or the state vital records office to get certified death certificates.