Find Greenwich Death Certificates

Death records in Greenwich are maintained by the Greenwich Town Clerk for any death that happens in town. Greenwich is in Fairfield County and has a population of about 64,600 people. The town clerk office issues certified death certificates to anyone who is 18 years old or older. If you need a death record for someone who died in Greenwich, you can get it from the town hall or through the state vital records office. The town office is usually faster, with most requests handled in one to three business days. Online ordering through VitalChek is also available if you prefer to submit your request on the internet and pay with a credit card.

Greenwich Town Clerk Vital Records

The Greenwich Town Clerk handles all vital records for deaths that occur in Greenwich. This office is in Greenwich Town Hall at 101 Field Point Road. You can go to the town hall in person during business hours or mail a request with a money order. The town clerk staff can help you fill out the form and answer questions about what documents you need to get a death certificate in Greenwich.

Greenwich Town Hall is on Field Point Road near the center of town. There is parking at the town hall for visitors. If you take public transit, several bus routes serve the area around town hall. When you visit the clerk office, bring a valid photo ID. The clerk will ask to see your ID before they give you a certified copy of a death certificate. Most walk-in requests are completed the same day or within a few business days in Greenwich.

You can also request death records from the Connecticut Department of Public Health State Vital Records Office in Hartford. The state office has all death records from July 1, 1897 to the present. Processing time at the state level is up to twelve weeks. The fee is the same, but it takes much longer. Most people prefer to go to the Greenwich Town Clerk for faster service on deaths that happened in Greenwich.

Who Can Request Death Certificates

Any person who is 18 years old or older can purchase a certified copy of a death certificate in Connecticut. This rule is in state law under C.G.S. § 7-51a. You do not have to be related to the person who died. You do not need to give a reason in most cases. Connecticut allows open access to death records for any adult.

There is one exception. For deaths that occurred on or after July 1, 1997, only the surviving spouse or next of kin can get a copy of the death certificate that shows the Social Security number. All other people will get a certified copy with the Social Security number redacted. The rest of the information on the death certificate is the same. This rule protects the privacy of the deceased person's Social Security number while still letting the public access death records in Greenwich.

Funeral directors who handled the body can also get a copy of the death certificate with the Social Security number if they make the request within 60 days of the date of disposition. After 60 days, the funeral director gets a copy with the Social Security number redacted just like everyone else. This is to help funeral directors complete the paperwork they need right after a death happens in Greenwich.

How to Get a Death Certificate in Greenwich

To request a death certificate in Greenwich, you need to give the town clerk certain information. The clerk uses this information to search the vital records system and find the right death record. The more details you can provide, the easier it is for the clerk to locate the record and issue the certificate quickly.

You must provide:

• Full name of the deceased person (put the last name in capital letters)
• Date of death
• Place of death (should be Greenwich)
• Sex of the deceased
• Date of birth
• Names of the parents, including the mother's maiden name
• Your name and mailing address
• Your relationship to the deceased
• Reason you need the record
• Your signature and the date of your request

If you do not know some of these details, call the Greenwich Town Clerk at (203) 622-7897 before you send in the form. The staff can help you figure out what information is required and what you can leave blank. In some cases, the clerk can search by name and approximate date if you do not have exact details about the death in Greenwich.

Note: The fee for a certified death certificate in Greenwich is $20 per copy.

Request Forms and Payment Options

Connecticut has a standard form for requesting death certificates at the town level. You can download the form from the state website and print it at home. Fill out the form completely and sign it before you submit it to the Greenwich Town Clerk. The form is free to use. You can get the town death certificate request form at this link: Town Death Certificate Request Form.

Payment must be made by money order payable to the Town of Greenwich. Personal checks are not accepted for vital records in Connecticut. The fee is $20 for each certified copy you order. If you need three copies, the total cost is $60. You can pay by cash if you go to the town clerk office in person. Some town clerk offices accept credit cards or debit cards with an extra service fee, but this varies by town. Ask the Greenwich Town Clerk if card payments are an option when you visit or call.

If you mail your request, include a self-addressed stamped envelope so the clerk can mail the death certificate back to you. Write your phone number on the request form in case the clerk needs to contact you about your order. Mail the completed form, the money order, and the return envelope to the Greenwich Town Clerk at the address listed above. Processing by mail usually takes one to two weeks from the time the town clerk receives your request in Greenwich.

Order Death Certificates Online

VitalChek is the only third-party vendor approved by the Connecticut Department of Public Health to process online orders for death certificates. You can use VitalChek to order a death certificate from anywhere at any time. The website is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You pay with a credit card or debit card. VitalChek adds a processing fee and a shipping fee on top of the state fee of $20. The total cost depends on how fast you want the certificate shipped to you.

Visit www.vitalchek.com to place an order. You will fill out an online form with the same information that is on the paper form. VitalChek asks for the name of the deceased, the date and place of death, and your contact information. You also choose the shipping method. Standard shipping is cheaper but takes about a week. Express shipping costs more but gets the certificate to you in two to three business days.

VitalChek sends your request to the Connecticut State Vital Records Office, not to the Greenwich Town Clerk. This means the processing time may be longer than if you went to the town clerk in person. If you need the death certificate right away, it is better to visit the Greenwich Town Clerk office. If you can wait a week or two, the online option is convenient for people who live far from Greenwich or who cannot visit during regular business hours.

Free Death Certificate for Veterans

Connecticut law lets the spouse, child, or parent of a deceased veteran get one free certified copy of the veteran's death certificate. This applies to deaths in Greenwich if the deceased was a veteran. You must bring proof of your relationship and a valid government-issued photo ID. The veteran status must be indicated on the death certificate for the fee waiver to work. This is required by C.G.S. § 7-74.

Proof of relationship can be a marriage certificate if you are the spouse, your birth certificate if you are the child, or the veteran's birth certificate if you are the parent. Bring these documents to the Greenwich Town Clerk office along with your photo ID. The clerk will check your documents and issue one free certified copy if everything is in order. If you need more than one copy, you must pay the regular fee of $20 for each extra copy of the death certificate in Greenwich.

Funeral directors who are handling the arrangements for a deceased veteran can also get one free copy at the time of death. This helps the family avoid paying for a certificate when the funeral director needs it to complete the paperwork. Ask the Greenwich Town Clerk about the veteran fee waiver when you make your request if you think you qualify.

Older Death Records in Greenwich

Death records from before 1897 are not kept at the Greenwich Town Clerk office. These older records are at the Connecticut State Library in Hartford. The Barbour Collection at the state library has vital records from before 1850. There is also a Death Records Index that covers the years 1897 to 2001. You can use this index to search for deaths that happened in Greenwich during that time period. The index gives you the name, date, and place of death.

The Connecticut State Library is located at 231 Capitol Avenue in Hartford. You can visit the library to look at old records in person. Some records are also available online. Go to libguides.ctstatelibrary.org to see the Death Records Index. This is helpful if you are researching family history or looking for a death that happened a long time ago in Greenwich.

For deaths from 1897 to the present, the Greenwich Town Clerk and the state vital records office have copies. For anything older than 1897, you need to contact the state library. The library staff can help you search for old death records and tell you how to get copies if the records are available for Greenwich.

Fairfield County Death Records

Greenwich is in Fairfield County. Fairfield County does not have a central office for death records. Each town in the county has its own town clerk who handles vital records for that town. There are 23 towns in Fairfield County, and each one keeps death certificates for deaths that happened in that town. For more information about how death records work in Fairfield County, visit the county page.

View Fairfield County Death Records

Nearby Cities

If you need death records from towns near Greenwich, contact the town clerk in the town where the death occurred. Some larger towns close to Greenwich include Stamford and Port Chester (in New York). Each town handles its own vital records. The fee and process are the same across Connecticut, but you must request the certificate from the correct town.