death certificate

American  

noun

death certificates plural

1. a certificate signed by a doctor, giving pertinent identifying information, as age and sex, about a deceased person and certifying the time, place, and cause of death.

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death certificate British  

noun

1. a legal document issued by a qualified medical practitioner certifying the death of a person and stating the cause if known

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• death certificates
  plural

Example Sentences

Kianty and Conor Simpson, from Lincolnshire, have yet to scatter son Jacob's ashes as no inquest has been held into his death and they still do not have a death certificate for him.

From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026

According to his death certificate, Busch died from hemorrhagic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation after complications from bacterial pneumonia led to sepsis.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

If you were signing the death certificate, how many causes would you put there?

From Slate • May 5, 2026

You could be asked for probate documents, a letter from the executor and/or a death certificate to confirm this cash is from a legal source.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 26, 2026

An hour after the death certificate is signed, Lucinda is laid out in the water well of the hippopotamus car and hitched to a team of twenty-four black Percherons with feathers on their headbands.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen