Certified copies of the death certificate are legal documents issued through city and town clerk offices located throughout the State and charged for by the State
of Rhode Island.Because they are legal documents, it is extremely important that you provide us with the correct information when we prepare the original certificate. Please note that photocopies without the raised
seal from the issuing clerk's office are not accepted as legal documents.
After the original death certificate has been signed by the attending physician or medical examiner and
completed by the cremation society, it is filed in the city or town in which the person has died. Generally, it takes seven days for the official death certificate to be filed. Certified death certificates are
issued by the city in which the person has died. The statewide fee for certified copies of death certificates is $15 for the first and $10 for each additional copy.
Copies of the death certificate can be ordered through the Cremation Society and will be sent by mail from the clerk's office to the family. Death certificates must be paid for prior to being issued. In Rhode
Island, death certificates are not public records. By law, only immediate family members and other interested legal parties such as attorneys and funeral homes can obtain death certificates. Once filed,
the Cremation Society does not maintain a copy of the death certificate.
In order to assist you in ascertaining the number of certified copies needed, we have provided a worksheet listing some areas requiring this document:
