Fairfield County Vital Records

Fairfield County death records are kept at the town level. Connecticut does not keep vital records at the county level. Each town and city in Fairfield County has a town clerk who holds death certificates for events that took place in that town. You can also get copies of death records from the state office in Hartford. Fairfield County has 23 towns and cities, and 11 of them have more than 25,000 people. The towns that hold death records include Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwalk, Danbury, and many others.

How Death Records Work in Fairfield County

Connecticut has a unique system for death records in Fairfield County. There is no central county office that holds these records. Each town or city keeps its own death certificates. The death must be filed where it took place. So if the death was in Stamford, you go to the Stamford Town Clerk. If it was in Norwalk, you need to ask the Norwalk office.

All town clerks in Fairfield County send a copy of each death record to the state. The State Vital Records Office in Hartford has records from July 1897 to now. This means you have two ways to get a death certificate from Fairfield County. You can ask the town where the death took place or you can ask the state. Town offices often give you the copy faster, while the state may take up to twelve weeks to send it to you.

Under C.G.S. § 7-51a, any person age 18 or over can get a certified copy of a death certificate from Fairfield County. You do not need to be a family member. For deaths that took place on or after July 1, 1997, only the spouse or next of kin can see the Social Security number. Everyone else gets a copy with that number blocked out.

Fairfield County Town Clerk Offices

The Bridgeport Town Clerk serves the largest city in Fairfield County with over 151,000 people. Their office is at City Hall, 45 Lyon Terrace, Bridgeport, CT 06604. You can reach them by phone at (203) 576-7278. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Bridgeport offers online ordering through VitalChek. The fee for one certified death certificate is $20, and you can pay in cash or with a money order.

Bridgeport provides detailed instructions for how to request vital records both in person and through the mail. The website offers all needed forms and answers common questions about the process.

The Stamford Town Clerk is at the Government Center Vital Records, 888 Washington BLVD, Stamford, CT 06901. Call (203) 977-4054 for help. Hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stamford also uses VitalChek for online requests. The cost for a death certificate is $20 per copy. Stamford has over 139,000 people and processes many requests each month in Fairfield County.

Norwalk, Danbury, Fairfield, Greenwich, and other towns in Fairfield County all follow the same fee schedule. The state sets the price at $20 per certified copy under C.G.S. § 7-74. Some towns take only cash or money order, while a few accept credit cards with an added fee. Each town has its own hours, so call ahead before you visit in Fairfield County.

How to Request a Death Certificate

You can get death records from Fairfield County by mail, in person, or online. Each method has its own steps and time frame. Pick the one that works best for your needs.

For in-person requests in Fairfield County, go to the town clerk office where the death took place. Bring photo ID with you. The clerk will ask you to fill out a form with the name of the deceased, date of death, place of death, and your relationship. You pay $20 per copy. Most towns give you the copy right away if the record is on file. Some smaller towns may need a day or two to find old records.

To request by mail, you must send a filled-out application, a money order for $20 per copy, and a copy of your ID to the town clerk in Fairfield County. The town clerk sends the death certificate to your address once they process your request. Town offices process mail requests faster than the state office does. You can find the town application form at portal.ct.gov/dph/vital-records/applications-and-forms. Make sure your money order is made out to the town name, not to a person.

The Fairfield Town Clerk website gives clear steps for how to get vital records. They list fees, required documents, and payment options for death certificates in Fairfield County.

Online ordering through VitalChek is the fastest way to get death certificates from Fairfield County. VitalChek is the only third-party vendor approved by the Connecticut Department of Public Health. You pay the $20 certificate fee plus processing and shipping costs. Most orders arrive in a few days. You can use any major credit card, and the site is open 24 hours a day.

Note: Some towns in Fairfield County have online ordering through their own websites, so check with the local town clerk before using VitalChek.

What You Need to Request Records

All requests for death certificates in Fairfield County need certain facts. Town clerks cannot search for a record without this information. Have it ready before you submit your request:

• Full name of the deceased person
• Date of death or at least the year
• Town where the death took place
• Names of the deceased person's parents
• Your name and address
• Why you need the record
• Your relationship to the deceased

If you do not have all of these facts, the town clerk may still search for the record. Give as much info as you can. The more details you provide, the faster they can find the death certificate in Fairfield County.

For in-person requests in Fairfield County, you must show valid photo ID. A driver's license, state ID, passport, or military ID will work. If you do not have one of these, bring two other forms of ID such as a Social Security card, utility bill, voter card, or car registration. Mail and online requests need a copy of your ID.

State Vital Records Office

You can also get Fairfield County death certificates from the state. The Connecticut Department of Public Health State Vital Records Office is at 410 Capitol Avenue, MS#11VRS, Hartford, CT 06106. Call (860) 509-7700 for help. The office is open for walk-ins on Monday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Friday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Phone service is on the same days but with slightly different hours.

The Milford Town Clerk provides a dedicated page for certified death certificates. This page explains the process for getting copies of vital records from Milford in Fairfield County.

The state charges $20 per copy, just like the town offices in Fairfield County. Processing time is up to twelve weeks, which is much slower than going to a town clerk. The state does not accept personal checks or credit cards in person. You must pay by cash or money order made out to Treasurer, State of Connecticut. Online orders through VitalChek do accept credit cards with extra fees added on.

The state office has death records from July 1, 1897 to now for all of Fairfield County. If you do not know which town the death took place in, the state office can search all towns. This is helpful when you only have a name and year but not the exact location in Fairfield County.

Free Death Certificates for Veterans

Connecticut law gives one free death certificate to certain family members of deceased veterans. Under C.G.S. § 7-74(c), the spouse, child, or parent of a veteran can get one free certified copy if they show proof of their relationship and the veteran status appears on the death certificate. This applies to all towns in Fairfield County.

To get the free copy in Fairfield County, you need a valid government-issued photo ID and proof of your relationship to the veteran. A marriage certificate works for a spouse. Your own birth certificate works if you are the child of the veteran. The veteran's birth certificate works if you are the parent. The fee waiver only applies if all documents are provided and the death certificate shows veteran status.

Funeral directors can also get one free copy for the veteran's family at the time of death in Fairfield County. This helps families who need death certificates right away for burial or benefits.

Amending Death Certificates

Errors on death certificates in Fairfield County can be fixed through an amendment process. Under C.G.S. § 19a-42, only certain changes are allowed to protect the integrity of vital records. You cannot change a death certificate just because you want different information on it. There must be an actual error or new facts that were not known at the time of filing.

Amendments for cause of death require special handling in Fairfield County. The original certificate is sealed and kept in a confidential file at the state office. A copy is made and the incorrect language is removed. The amended copy becomes the new public record. Only the Commissioner of Public Health can unseal the original.

For other types of amendments in Fairfield County, you work with the town clerk where the death took place. The clerk can tell you what documents you need to prove the correction. There may be a fee for the amendment, and then you pay $20 for each new certified copy with the corrected information.

Research and Historical Records

The Connecticut State Library holds historical death records for Fairfield County. The Death Records Index 1897-2001 lets you search by name, place, and date of death. This index has been moved to Connecticut Open Data and is free to use. It does not show the full death certificate, but it tells you where and when the death was recorded so you can order the official copy.

The Greenwich Town Clerk serves one of the wealthiest towns in Fairfield County. Their office processes vital records requests for deaths that took place in Greenwich.

For deaths before 1897 in Fairfield County, check the Barbour Collection at the state library. This collection has pre-1850 vital records from many Connecticut towns. The records are indexed and available for research. You can visit the library in person or contact them by phone at (860) 757-6580 for help finding old death records from Fairfield County.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health publishes an annual Registration Report with counts of births, deaths, fetal deaths, and marriages. These reports go from 1992 to the present. They show the number of events by state, county, health district, and town. You can use these to see trends in death rates across Fairfield County over time.

Major Towns in Fairfield County

Fairfield County has 11 towns with over 25,000 people. Each one keeps death records for deaths that took place within its borders. These are the largest towns in Fairfield County:

Other towns in Fairfield County include Bethel, Brookfield, Darien, Easton, Monroe, New Canaan, New Fairfield, Newtown, Redding, Sherman, Shelton, Weston, Wilton, and more. All of these have town clerk offices that maintain death records for their area.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Fairfield County. If you are not sure which county a town is in, check a map or call the State Vital Records Office for help: