Hartford Death Certificates

Death records for Hartford are managed by the Hartford Town and City Clerk for all deaths that happen in the city. Hartford is the state capital and has a population of about 122,000 people. The city is in Hartford County. When a death occurs in Hartford, the town and city clerk office receives a copy of the death certificate and issues certified copies to anyone who needs them. You can get these vital records at Hartford City Hall, through the state vital records office, or online via VitalChek. The city clerk office typically processes requests much faster than the state office, with most requests completed in one to three business days for deaths in Hartford.

Hartford Town and City Clerk Office

The Hartford Town and City Clerk handles all vital records for deaths that occur in Hartford. This office is in Hartford City Hall at 550 Main Street in Room 103. You can visit in person during business hours or send a request by mail. The clerk staff can help you with the request form and answer questions about getting death records in Hartford.

Hartford City Hall is on Main Street in downtown Hartford. You can park in nearby parking garages or use street parking with meters. CT Transit bus routes serve the downtown area, so you can reach city hall without a car. When you visit in person, bring a valid photo ID. The clerk must see your ID before issuing a certified copy of a death certificate. Most walk-in requests are completed the same day or within a few business days in Hartford.

Hartford also offers online ordering through its own website. Go to hartfordct.permitium.com to submit a request online and pay with a credit card. This is a city-run service that is separate from VitalChek. You can also get death records from the Connecticut State Vital Records Office in Hartford. The state office has all death records from July 1, 1897 to the present. Processing at the state level takes up to twelve weeks, which is much slower than the city clerk office.

Who Can Request Death Certificates

Any person who is 18 years old or older can buy a certified copy of a death certificate in Hartford. This is set by Connecticut state law under C.G.S. § 7-51a. You do not need to be related to the deceased person. You do not have to explain why you need the record in most cases. Connecticut allows open access to death records for any adult.

There is one restriction. 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. Everyone else will receive a certified copy with the Social Security number redacted. The rest of the information on the certificate is the same. This rule protects the privacy of the deceased person's Social Security number while still giving the public access to death records in Hartford.

Funeral directors who handled the disposition of the body can also get a copy with the Social Security number if they request it 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 helps funeral directors complete the paperwork they need right after a death happens in Hartford.

How to Get a Death Certificate

To request a death certificate in Hartford, you need to provide the city clerk with certain details. The clerk uses this information to search the vital records system and locate the correct death record. The more details you can give, the faster the clerk can process your request and issue the certificate for a death in Hartford.

You must provide:

• Full name of the deceased person (put the last name in capital letters)
• Date of death
• Place of death (should be Hartford)
• Sex of the deceased
• Date of birth of the deceased
• 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 have all of these details, call the Hartford Town and City Clerk at (860) 757-9755 before you send in the form. The staff can tell you what information is required and what you can leave blank. In some cases, the clerk can search by name and an approximate date if you do not know the exact date of death in Hartford.

Note: Each certified death certificate copy costs $20 in Hartford.

Request Forms and Payment

Connecticut has a standard form for requesting death certificates at the town and city level. You can download the form for free from the state vital records website. Print the form and fill it out completely. Sign the form before you submit it to the Hartford Town and City Clerk. The form asks for all the information the clerk needs to find the death record in Hartford.

Get the town death certificate request form here: Town Death Certificate Request Form. You can fill out the PDF on your computer before you print it, or you can print it and fill it out by hand. Both methods work for requests in Hartford.

Payment must be a money order made payable to the City of Hartford. Personal checks are not accepted for vital records in Connecticut. The fee is $20 for each certified copy. If you need three copies, the total cost is $60. If you go to the clerk office in person, you can pay by cash. Hartford also accepts credit cards and debit cards through its online ordering system at hartfordct.permitium.com.

If you are mailing 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 form in case the clerk needs to contact you about your request. Mail the completed form, the money order, and the return envelope to the Hartford Town and City Clerk at the address listed above. Processing by mail usually takes one to two weeks from when the clerk receives your request in Hartford.

Online Ordering Options

Hartford offers two online ordering options for death certificates. The first is through the city's own website at hartfordct.permitium.com. This service is run by the city and lets you order death certificates and pay with a credit card. There is a $7 expedite fee on top of the $20 certificate fee. This is a good option if you want to order directly from the Hartford Town and City Clerk without using a third-party vendor.

The second option is VitalChek, which is the only third-party vendor approved by the Connecticut Department of Public Health. VitalChek is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can order at www.vitalchek.com. VitalChek adds a processing fee and a shipping fee on top of the $20 state fee. The total cost depends on how fast you want the certificate delivered.

When you use VitalChek, your request goes to the Connecticut State Vital Records Office, not to the Hartford Town and City Clerk. This means processing may take longer than if you ordered through the city website or visited the clerk office in person. If you need the death certificate right away, use the city's online system or visit the clerk office in Hartford. If you can wait a week or two, VitalChek is convenient for people who live far from Hartford or who cannot visit during regular hours.

Veteran Fee Waiver

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 Hartford if the deceased was a veteran. You must bring proof of your relationship to the veteran and a valid government-issued photo ID. The veteran status must be shown on the death certificate for the fee waiver to apply. 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 Hartford Town and City 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 Hartford.

Funeral directors can also get one free copy on behalf of the family at the time of death. This helps the family avoid paying for a certificate when the funeral director needs it to finish the arrangements. Ask the Hartford Town and City Clerk about the veteran fee waiver when you make your request if you think you qualify.

Older Death Records in Hartford

Death records from before 1897 are not kept at the Hartford Town and City 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 1897 to 2001. You can use this index to search for deaths that happened in Hartford during that time period. The index gives you the name, date, and place of death.

The Connecticut State Library is 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 doing family history research or looking for a death that happened a long time ago in Hartford.

For deaths from 1897 to the present, the Hartford Town and City Clerk and the state vital records office have copies. For anything before 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 Hartford.

Hartford County Death Records

Hartford is in Hartford County and is the county seat. Hartford County does not have a central office for death records. Each of the 29 towns in Hartford County has its own town clerk who handles vital records for that town. For deaths in other towns near Hartford, you would contact the town clerk in that town. For more information about how death records work in Hartford County, visit the county page.

View Hartford County Death Records

Nearby Cities

If you need death records from towns near Hartford, each town clerk office handles its own vital records. Some of the larger towns close to Hartford include West Hartford, East Hartford, Manchester, and Glastonbury. Each town has the same fee and the same process, but you must go to the right town where the death occurred to get the certificate.