Death Registration

The Office of the Registrar General will provide death certificates or certified copies of a death registration for:

Settlement of estates
Insurance
Access to, or termination of, other government services (i.e., health card, pensions, voter’s list)

Genealogy searches

Death registrations are a permanent, legal record of death of an individual. Information from death registrations is used for medical and health research and statistics.

For more information visit the Provincial webpage: https://www.ontario.ca/page/what-do-when-someone-dies

Families can make arrangements themselves without using a funeral service provider.

Consult the Bereavement Authority of Ontario’s Guide to Death Care in Ontario for general information when making arrangements.

How to register a death

To register a death:

Registering a death requires two documents:

Medical Certificate of Death, a form that the attending doctor or a coroner completes. It outlines the cause of death.
Statement of Death, a form that the funeral director and an informant (usually a family member) completes. It includes personal information about the deceased, such as family history, age at death and place of death.

The two documents are available in Customer Service, first floor of City Hall and once completed will be brought into the Customer Service department for registration and to obtain a burial permit. The City will send both documents to the office of the registrar general for completion on registration.

You need an Ontario burial permit before the body can be moved

If the death happens outside of Ontario, but the burial or cremation is to take place in Ontario:

You need a burial, transit or removal permit from the jurisdiction where the death occurred

How to get a death certificate

To order a death certificate, you will need:

  • first and last name of the person who died
  • sex of the person who died
  • date of death
  • name of city or town in which death took place
  • parental information about the person who died
  • spouse or partner information of person who died, if applicable

There are two ways to get a death certificate:

Apply online at Service Ontario to get a death certificate

Pick up a Request for Death Certificate form from Customer Service department or print the Request for Death Certificate form. You must send the form and payment to the Office of the Registrar General by:

Mail: Office of the Registrar General, P.O. Box 4600, 189 Red River Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 6L8
Fax: 807-343-7459

Registration of a death by the Office of the Registrar General can take up to 90 days.

How to get old death records

The Office of the Registrar General has records from the past 70 years for deaths in Ontario. For death records older than 70 years:

Check the Archives of Ontario
Call the Vital Statistics Hotline at 416-327-1593

How to get a death certificate for another province

Contact the Registrar’s Office for the province where the death was registered.