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One Free Death Certificate for a Veteran’s Relative — and Nothing Else Is Free

The State Registrar must furnish the relative of a veteran, one time, a certified copy of the veteran’s death certificate free of charge. Ordinary copies run up to $25. Active military and their spouses are separately exempt from the $25 marriage certificate fee.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

The State Registrar must furnish the relative of a veteran, one time, a certified copy of the veteran’s death certificate free of charge. Ordinary copies run up to $25. Active military and their spouses are separately exempt from the $25 marriage certificate fee.

What it's worth: One death certificate at no charge against a fee of up to $25 a copy

  • The ordinary fee is set as not to exceed $25 for each certified or noncertified copy, or for a search of the records where no copy is made.
  • A certified marriage licence or certificate copy is $25, of which $15 goes to the Domestic Violence Fund — and active military members and their spouses are excepted from that fee.
  • The veteran free copy is once, and it is the death certificate. Additional copies are charged.
  • The free copy is conditioned on the certified copy being essential to the settlement of a claim involving the settlement of the veteran’s affairs.

Who is entitled to it

  • The free copy goes to a relative of the veteran; the marriage-record exemption goes to active military and their spouses.
  • Your home is in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Ask for the free copy explicitly and say what claim it is being used to settle — the section conditions the waiver on the copy being essential to settling the veteran’s affairs.
  2. 2Take the one free copy for the claim that most needs it. It is once, not once per claim.
  3. 3Order any additional copies at the ordinary charge, which the section caps at $25 each.
  4. 4If you are an active member of the military or the spouse of one and you need a certified marriage record, claim the separate exemption in the same section — the $25 marriage certificate fee is excepted for you.
  5. 5Do not expect a free birth certificate. The section grants none, and no other section in the subchapter does either.
File with
The State Registrar of Vital Statistics
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionThe free copy is a DEATH certificate, once. Guides that promise a veteran a free birth, death and marriage certificate are describing another state — the subchapter read here grants a free birth certificate to nobody.
Worth knowingThe marriage-record exemption is not a veteran benefit at all. It runs to ACTIVE military members and their spouses, so it closes at separation, while the death-certificate waiver only opens on a death.
Worth knowingHolders of the state personal credential card are separately excepted from certification copy fees, which can be the cheaper route for someone who already holds one.

Sources

Why only one source type: The section carries the fee ceiling, the marriage-record exception for active military and their spouses, and the veteran free-copy provision in one place. No agency page is needed to establish a rule the statute states.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.