Death Certificates

Register a Death

All deaths that occur in Butte County are registered by Public Health Vital Records Office within 8 days of death.

Funeral Home staff work with the family to obtain personal information regarding the decedent, and the cause of death from the physician, and enter the information into the California Department of Public Health Electronic Death Registration System. All death certificates are reviewed by Public Health staff prior to registration. Once the death certificate has been accepted and registered locally, a disposition permit for human remains will be issued by Public Health Vital Records Office. The California Department of Public Health State Registrar will then register the death certificate. Once the death is registered at the California Department of Public Health, certified copies of the death record can be purchased.

Obtain a Certified Copy of a Death Certificate

Please note: To obtain a death certificate for any death older than two years, you will need to contact and obtain the certificate from the Butte County Clerk Recorder.

Death Certificates can be ordered in person at the Public Health Vital Records Office. You will be asked to complete the Death Certificate Application (PDF) and pay the fee. The certified death certificate will be printed while you wait.

Certified death certificates can also be ordered by mail. Complete the Death Certificate Application (PDF), have the applicant's signature notarized by a Notary Public, include a check or money order for the fee and mail it to:

Butte County Public Health Vital Records Office
202 Mira Loma Drive
Oroville CA 95965

Death Certificate Amendments

Incorrect information that appears on a death certificate can be amended, including spelling errors, birth dates, and other entries. Contact the funeral home that created the death certificate as they may be able to create the amendment electronically, on the family's behalf. Refer to the California Department of Public Health pamphlet Affidavit To Amend A Death Record (PDF) for information about death certificate amendments.

All vital record forms are available at the Butte County Public Health Vital Records Office.

Disposition of Human Remains

An Application and Permit for the Disposition of Human Remains is required for every decedent before disposition can occur. Disposition includes burial, cremation, scattering of cremains, scientific use, temporary enactment, disinterment, shipping into California from another state or country, and transit outside of California. Whenever cremains are split into multiple containers or keepsake urns, a separate permit is required for each split. Funeral homes and family members can request a permit for the disposition of human remains.