Most institutions keep the certified copy you send them, so you are surrendering one per institution rather than showing the same one around. Count what the estate actually contains and the number answers itself.
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere, and there is no email box on this page because there is nowhere for the answers to go. An organizational tool, not legal advice.
Count institutions, not accounts. Three accounts at one bank usually need one certified copy.
Two spares are included. A copy costs a few dollars; a second trip to the vital records office costs a week.
Take this to the funeral director — they file with the vital records office and can order the copies as part of that filing. Print it and log each one as it leaves; when an institution says six weeks later that it never arrived, this page is the difference between a phone call and starting over.
| Goes to | Version | Date sent | How sent | Back? |
|---|
An estimate, not a legal requirement. Requirements vary by state and institution. Some accept a photocopy; some return the original once recorded. Both are worth asking about, neither is worth relying on.
Where this comes from. The list follows the institutions that ordinarily require and keep a certified copy. The full guide explains who asks, who is allowed to order, and why many states issue two versions. Primary sources: USAGov on death certificates and USAGov on agencies to notify.
Nothing here was sent anywhere. This page makes no network requests. You can turn off your wi-fi and it will keep working exactly as it does now — the same way everything Quietkeep makes works.
Made with care by Quietkeep — private, offline organizers for life's hardest moments. If you are settling an estate, the Estate Settlement Companion tracks all of this and 47 guided tasks besides, on your own device.