Phoenix Death Records

Death records for Phoenix residents come from Maricopa County, not the City of Phoenix. The Phoenix City Clerk does not handle vital records like death certificates. Arizona cities do not issue or maintain vital records under state law. If you need a death certificate for someone who died in Phoenix, you must contact the Maricopa County Public Health Office of Vital Registration or the Arizona Department of Health Services Bureau of Vital Records. Maricopa County runs a vital records office on East Roosevelt Street in Phoenix, which is one of five Valley locations where you can get certified death certificates in person.

Death Records Are Handled by Maricopa County

The City of Phoenix does not issue death certificates. This is true for all cities in Arizona. State law puts vital records under the control of county public health departments and the state health agency. The Phoenix City Clerk's office at 200 West Washington Street handles city business like council minutes, public records requests for city documents, and business licenses. But when it comes to birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage records, you need to go to the county or state level.

For Phoenix residents, that means Maricopa County Public Health. Maricopa County runs the Office of Vital Registration, which gives out certified copies of death certificates for any death that occurred in Arizona. The county has five offices across the Valley. The main Phoenix office is at 1645 East Roosevelt Street near downtown. This location is easy to reach from anywhere in Phoenix and has parking on site. Staff there can help you apply for a death record and answer questions about fees, eligibility, and what documents you need to bring.

Other Maricopa County offices include Mesa, Peoria, Glendale, and Goodyear. If you live in north Phoenix or the northern edge of the city, the Peoria office at 8088 West Whitney Drive might be closer. For west Phoenix, the Glendale or Goodyear offices could save you drive time. All five locations can access the same statewide database and issue the same certified death certificates.

The Maricopa County death records page has full details on each office location, hours, fees, and what you need to apply. You can also visit the Maricopa County Vital Records website to check current wait times and confirm hours before you go.

Phoenix City Clerk Office

The Phoenix City Clerk is on the 15th floor of City Hall at 200 West Washington Street. This office handles public records requests for city documents, but not vital records. You can get copies of city council agendas, meeting minutes, ordinances, resolutions, and other city paperwork. The City Clerk also processes business licenses and keeps official city records. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon, but you need to call ahead and make an appointment before you visit. The phone number is 602-262-6811.

When people call the City Clerk asking about death certificates, staff refer them to the state health department. The Phoenix City FAQ page includes a link to the Arizona Department of Health Services vital records portal. This state website has information on how to request birth certificates, death certificates, and other vital records. It also lists all the county offices where you can apply in person.

If you show up at the Phoenix City Clerk's office asking for a death certificate, the staff will tell you to go to the Maricopa County office on East Roosevelt Street instead. The city does not have access to the state vital records database and cannot print or issue death certificates. This saves you time if you know in advance where to go for death records in Phoenix.

How Phoenix Residents Get Death Certificates

You have three main ways to get a death certificate as a Phoenix resident. The first option is to visit the Maricopa County vital records office in Phoenix at 1645 East Roosevelt Street. Bring your government photo ID like a driver's license or passport. You also need proof of your relationship to the person who died. This could be a birth certificate showing you are a child or parent of the deceased, a marriage certificate if you are the spouse, or other documents that prove you are an eligible family member under Arizona law. Fill out the application at the office. Pay the $20 fee. Most requests are filled the same day if the death certificate is in the system and you meet all eligibility requirements.

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

The third way is to order online through VitalChek. VitalChek is the official online partner for Arizona vital records. You fill out the application on their website and upload a photo of your ID. The system lets you pick your shipping speed. Standard mail takes 7 to 10 business days. Expedited shipping costs extra but can get the death certificate to you in 3 to 5 days. VitalChek charges service fees on top of the $20 state fee. But it is faster than mailing your own request and more convenient if you cannot visit an office in person during business hours.

Arizona law sets strict rules on who can get death certificates. You must be at least 18 years old. You must also be a family member, legal representative, or person with a 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 to get a copy.

Death Certificate Costs and Wait Times

A certified death certificate costs $20 in Arizona. This is the standard fee set by state law under Arizona Revised Statutes § 36-341. Each copy you order costs $20, with no discount for multiple copies. If you need three copies, you pay $60. 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 the Maricopa County office in Phoenix 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 all 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 took place a few days ago may not be ready for another week.

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, all these time frames can stretch longer. Call ahead if you need the death certificate by a certain date.

Note: Processing delays can occur if your application is missing required documents or if the fee amount is incorrect.

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, just a few miles west of downtown. 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 used to offer walk-in service, but 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 Phoenix 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. This law keeps the process moving so families can get copies when they need them for funeral arrangements, insurance claims, and estate matters.

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 Phoenix 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 Phoenix 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 Phoenix 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. The state updates the database regularly as more old records are scanned and indexed.

Other Vital Records in Phoenix

Just like death certificates, other vital records in Phoenix 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, not the city. Divorce records are court records kept by the Clerk of the Superior Court. You cannot get any of these records from the Phoenix 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 office on East Roosevelt Street in Phoenix. 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, which is just a few blocks from the City Clerk's office at 200 West Washington Street.

Death Records in Nearby Cities

Other cities in the Phoenix metro area 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 Phoenix with death records available through Maricopa County include:

• Mesa - served by the East Valley office at 331 E. Coury Ave.
• Scottsdale - served by all five Maricopa County offices
• Tempe - close to the Mesa office in the East Valley
• Glendale - has a dedicated county office at 5141 W. Lamar Rd.
• Chandler - served by the Mesa office
• Gilbert - served by the Mesa office
• Peoria - has a county office at 8088 W. Whitney Dr.
• Surprise - served by the Peoria or Glendale offices

Each of these cities follows the same system as Phoenix. 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.