Search Coffee County Death Records

Coffee County death certificates are on file at the health department in Enterprise. This is one of two counties in Alabama with two county seats, Elba and Enterprise. The state has kept death records in Alabama since 1908. You can get a copy of any death record for someone who died in Coffee County. This page shows how to get copies, what they cost, and who can ask for them.

Coffee County Health Department

The Coffee County Health Department is where you go to get death certificates in Coffee County. The office is on Neal Metcalf Road in Enterprise. Staff use the state ViSION system to look up death records. They can find deaths that took place anywhere in Alabama, not just in Coffee County.

You do not have to go to the county where the death took place to get a record. The Coffee County health department can pull records from the whole state database in Alabama.

How to Request Death Certificates

There are three ways to get Coffee County death certificates:

In Person

To get a death record in person, bring your ID to the health department in Enterprise. Fill out the form with the name and date of death. The staff will search for the record. They print copies while you wait. The whole thing takes about 20 minutes in Coffee County. You pay when you pick up your copy.

By Mail

To get a death record by mail, write a letter with the facts about the death. Put in the full name of the person who died, the date of death, and the place of death if you know it. Add your name and address so they know where to send the copy. Send a check or money order made out to Alabama Department of Public Health. Mail it to the address above. Wait one to two weeks for the copy in Coffee County.

Online

You can order Coffee County death records online through VitalChek. The site is linked from the Alabama Center for Health Statistics page. You pay by card. There is a service fee on top of the state fee. You can track your order on the site.

Who Can Request Records

Not all death records are open to the public in Alabama. Alabama Code Section 22-9A-21 says who can get copies of Coffee County death records.

Records more than 25 years old are public in Coffee County. Anyone can ask for them. You do not need to prove you are kin or give a reason.

Records less than 25 years old are not public in Alabama. Only some people can get them. The spouse of the person who died can get a copy. So can parents, children, siblings, and grandchildren. Estate lawyers and funeral homes can get them for their work. Government workers can get them for official duties. If you are not on the list, you need a court order to get the record in Coffee County.

Fees

The state sets death record fees for all counties in Alabama:

You save by getting more than one copy at a time in Coffee County. The first copy costs $15. Each extra copy in the same order is just $6. Fees are not refunded if no record is found in Alabama.

Coffee County Health Department in Enterprise handles death certificate requests.

Certificate Contents

A Coffee County death certificate has standard facts set by state law in Alabama. The first part lists basic info like the full name, birth date, death date, and place of death. It also has the home address, Social Security number, race, and sex of the person who died.

The second part has medical facts about the death. This shows the cause of death and other health issues that may have led to it. It says if an autopsy was done. The name of the doctor or coroner who signed it is there.

The third part tells what was done with the body in Coffee County. It says if there was a burial or cremation. The funeral home name is on it. So is the place where the remains were laid to rest in Alabama.

Alabama Law

Death records in Alabama fall under the Alabama Vital Statistics Act of 1992. The law is in Title 22, Chapter 9A of the Alabama Code. These parts apply to Coffee County death records:

Section 22-9A-14 says every death must be filed within five days in Alabama. The funeral home sends in the form. A doctor or coroner fills in the medical part.

Section 22-9A-21 keeps death records private for 25 years in Coffee County. After 25 years, they become public.

Section 22-9A-22 says a certified copy has the same legal force as the original in Alabama.

Historical Records

Alabama started keeping death records on January 1, 1908. There are no state records for deaths before that date in Coffee County. The state did not reach full compliance until 1925. Some deaths from 1908 to 1925 may not be on file in Alabama.

To find a death from before 1908 in Coffee County, you can try other sources. Church records often list deaths. Cemetery logs show when people were buried. Family bibles have death dates too. The Coffee County Probate Court may have estate files. The Alabama Archives can help with old records in Alabama.

Other Sources

The health department is the main place to get death records in Coffee County. But other offices have files that may help.

The Coffee County Probate Court keeps estate and will files that show death dates. You can search court records online at Alacourt.com.

Old newspapers ran obituaries. The Southeast Sun and Enterprise Ledger covered deaths in Coffee County for many years. Local libraries may have copies you can search in Alabama.

Fort Novosel is in Coffee County. Deaths of Army personnel may have separate records through the military. You can ask the Army for those records.

Cities in Coffee County

Coffee County has several towns. Enterprise is one of the two county seats. Elba is the other. New Brockton and Kinston are also in Coffee County. None of these towns has more than 50,000 people. All residents go to the county health department to get death records in Coffee County. The county borders Houston County, where the city of Dothan is found.

Nearby Counties