Pennsylvania · 67 counties
When someone dies in Pennsylvania
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 Pennsylvania
Certified copies come from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Vital Records (official site).
A death certificate costs $20 each no matter how many you order, plus a $10 service fee if you order online. Pennsylvania's only authorized online vendor is mycertificates.health.pa.gov. Mail applications go to the Division of Vital Records, Death Certificate Processing Unit, PO Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103, with a check or money order payable to VITAL RECORDS. Allow 2 to 3 weeks. Under Act 137 of 2024 there is a fee waiver for members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their spouses, including a widow or widower who has not remarried, so ask about it if it applies.
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 Pennsylvania's exact rules and official forms.
Pennsylvania power of attorney rulesIf money is tight
Statewide burial assistance
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services runs a statewide Burial and Cremation Services Payment program that pays funeral directors directly for eligible deceased residents who lacked sufficient resources to cover funeral costs. Eligibility generally applies to people who were receiving SSI, cash assistance, or certain nursing home benefits before death, and it is administered locally through your County Assistance Office (CAO). Because the funeral home must be an enrolled Medicaid provider and the request is normally made before burial, families should contact their county assistance office before signing a contract with a funeral home.
Pick your county
Pennsylvania counties (67)
Adams CountyAllegheny CountyArmstrong CountyBeaver CountyBedford CountyBerks CountyBlair CountyBradford CountyBucks CountyButler CountyCambria CountyCameron CountyCarbon CountyCentre CountyChester CountyClarion CountyClearfield CountyClinton CountyColumbia CountyCrawford CountyCumberland CountyDauphin CountyDelaware CountyElk CountyErie CountyFayette CountyForest CountyFranklin CountyFulton CountyGreene CountyHuntingdon CountyIndiana CountyJefferson CountyJuniata CountyLackawanna CountyLancaster CountyLawrence CountyLebanon CountyLehigh CountyLuzerne CountyLycoming CountyMcKean CountyMercer CountyMifflin CountyMonroe CountyMontgomery CountyMontour CountyNorthampton CountyNorthumberland CountyPerry CountyPhiladelphia CountyPike CountyPotter CountySchuylkill CountySnyder CountySomerset CountySullivan CountySusquehanna CountyTioga CountyUnion CountyVenango CountyWarren CountyWashington CountyWayne CountyWestmoreland CountyWyoming CountyYork County