Missouri · 115 counties
When someone dies in Missouri
Two things matter first: getting certified death certificates, and, if money is short, reaching the burial assistance program in the county where the death happened. Pick your county below for exact contacts.
The paperwork
Death certificates in Missouri
Certified copies come from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Bureau of Vital Records, or your local public health agency (official site).
Go local. Any local public health agency in Missouri can issue death records from 1980 to the present, and that is much faster than the state office. Copies are $14 for the first and $11 for each additional one ordered at the same time, collected by whichever office serves you. Mail requests need a NOTARIZED application, so do not skip that step. Missouri law only allows certified copies to go to someone with a direct and tangible interest in the record. The Bureau of Vital Records is 573-751-6387.
Planning ahead
Nobody has died yet? Set up a power of attorney
If someone you love is aging or ill, the cheapest protection your family can get is a power of attorney, and it must happen while they can still sign. We cover Missouri's exact rules and official forms.
Missouri power of attorney rulesPick your county
Missouri counties (115)
Adair CountyAndrew CountyAtchison CountyAudrain CountyBarry CountyBarton CountyBates CountyBenton CountyBollinger CountyBoone CountyBuchanan CountyButler CountyCaldwell CountyCallaway CountyCamden CountyCape Girardeau CountyCarroll CountyCarter CountyCass CountyCedar CountyChariton CountyChristian CountyClark CountyClay CountyClinton CountyCole CountyCooper CountyCrawford CountyDade CountyDallas CountyDaviess CountyDeKalb CountyDent CountyDouglas CountyDunklin CountyFranklin CountyGasconade CountyGentry CountyGreene CountyGrundy CountyHarrison CountyHenry CountyHickory CountyHolt CountyHoward CountyHowell CountyIron CountyJackson CountyJasper CountyJefferson CountyJohnson CountyKnox CountyLaclede CountyLafayette CountyLawrence CountyLewis CountyLincoln CountyLinn CountyLivingston CountyMacon CountyMadison CountyMaries CountyMarion CountyMcDonald CountyMercer CountyMiller CountyMississippi CountyMoniteau CountyMonroe CountyMontgomery CountyMorgan CountyNew Madrid CountyNewton CountyNodaway CountyOregon CountyOsage CountyOzark CountyPemiscot CountyPerry CountyPettis CountyPhelps CountyPike CountyPlatte CountyPolk CountyPulaski CountyPutnam CountyRalls CountyRandolph CountyRay CountyReynolds CountyRipley CountySaline CountySchuyler CountyScotland CountyScott CountyShannon CountyShelby CountySt. Charles CountySt. Clair CountySt. Francois CountySt. Louis CountySt. Louis CitySte. Genevieve CountyStoddard CountyStone CountySullivan CountyTaney CountyTexas CountyVernon CountyWarren CountyWashington CountyWayne CountyWebster CountyWorth CountyWright County