If you need your loved one’s death certificate amended for any reason, please carefully read the below information:
Process For Amending Death Certificates:
The easiest way to correct a death certificate is to ask the funeral director to do it for you if it is within 12 months of the death.
If you are the next of kin or you are listed as the person who provided the information and you have a copy of the original death certificate, you can request the correction yourself by completing a death certificate correction application and following the instructions on the form. If you are unable to download the application, please call 311 or 212-639-9675 (outside New York City) to request one.
Please note:
- Death certificate correction applications must be submitted in person or by mail.
- Mailed applications must be notarized.
- Corrections require a $40 processing fee which covers multiple corrections submitted at the same time.
- Each corrected certificate costs $15.
How do I amend a death certificate so that it shows COVID-19 as the cause of death?
The informant listed on the death certificate and the person in control of disposition can submit a request to amend the cause of death on a death certificate.
To make a request:
- Submit a completed death certificate amendment application, current photo ID, $40 processing fee and $15 for each amended certificate requested.
- Provide a letter from a health care provider who treated the deceased person named on the death certificate. This letter must contain the following:
- Provider’s letterhead and signature
- Provider’s license number
- Name and date of birth of the decedent
- Dates showing when the provider started and stopped treating the decedent
- A statement from the provider that the cause of death was related to COVID-19
- Per FEMA’s guidance, the death certificate must indicate the death was caused by, may have been caused by, or was likely a result of COVID-19 or COVID-19-like symptoms. The letter may include similar phrasing.
- A statement from the provider that they reviewed the current cause of death on the death certificate
- Mail your completed application and all required documents to:
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Attn: FEMA death certificate amendment request
Corrections Unit125 Worth Street, Room 144, CN-4
New York, NY 10013
Standard processing times apply.
For more information, email correctionsunit2@health.nyc.gov, with “FEMA burial assistance” in the subject line.
Costs:
The Health Department charges a non-refundable $40 processing fee to correct most death certificates (see below). Copies of corrected certificates cost $15 each.
$40 Processing Fee Applies:
- Submitted by family or another informant
- Submitted by funeral director
- Submitted by hospital more than 12 months after death
- Resubmitted application more than 1 year after rejection
No Fee Applies:
- Administrative error by the Health Department
- Submitted by the hospital within 12 months of death
- Adding missing information
- Miscarriage or still birth certificate changes