Death certificate

An official death certificate is usually required to be provided when applying for probate or administration of a deceased estate.

In cases where it is not completely clear that a person is dead (usually because their body is being sustained by life support), a neurologist is often called in to verify brain death and to fill out the appropriate documentation.

The failure of a physician to immediately submit the required form to the government (to trigger issuance of the death certificate) is often both a crime and cause for loss of one's license to practice.

[2] When someone dies in England and Wales, a doctor involved in their care completes a "medical certificate of cause of death" (MCCD).

[7] In most of the United States, death certificates are considered public domain documents and can therefore be obtained for any individual regardless of the requester's relationship to the deceased.

Eddie August Schneider 's (1911–1940) death certificate, issued in New York .
Death Certificate Rev. 1945 issued on April 5, 1948 in the Philippines
A video on how industry and occupation data in death certificates is used for public health research, and procedures for funeral directors to report these accurately
Death certificate issued for Elizabeth II in Scotland