Fayette County Death Index

Fayette County death certificates are at the county health department in the city of Fayette. The office connects to the state ViSION database. Staff can search and print death records for anyone who died in Alabama. State records date back to 1908. Fayette County death certificates more than 25 years old are public. Deaths in the past 25 years stay restricted in Alabama.

Fayette County Health Department

The Fayette County Health Department handles vital records for the county. This includes death certificates and birth records. The office is on 1st Avenue NW in the city of Fayette. Staff can search the state database. They can print certified copies while you wait. Most walk-in visits take about 20 to 30 minutes if you have the basic facts ready in Alabama.

Bring a valid photo ID when you visit. This is a must. For Fayette County death records from the past 25 years, you also need proof that you qualify. Family members should have papers that show their tie to the person who died. Legal reps need court papers in Alabama.

How to Request a Death Certificate

Fayette County residents have a few options for getting death certificates. Each has different trade-offs on time and cost in Alabama.

Visit the Health Department

Going to the Fayette County Health Department in person is the fastest way. Staff can look up the record. They can print your copy while you wait. Bring cash, check, or money order to pay. You need the full name of the person who died. You need their date of death or a close guess. You need the county where they died in Alabama.

Mail Order to State Office

The Center for Health Statistics in Montgomery takes mail requests for Fayette County death records or any county in Alabama. Download form HS-14 from the state health site. Fill it out. Mail it with a check to P.O. Box 5625, Montgomery, AL 36103-5625. Make the check out to Center for Health Statistics. Processing takes about 7 to 10 days, plus mail time both ways.

Online Through VitalChek

VitalChek handles online orders for Alabama vital records. You can pay by card. You can pick your shipping speed. VitalChek adds service fees beyond the state fee. Total runs around $40 or more. Standard orders take 7 to 10 days to arrive in Fayette County.

Fayette County Death Certificate Fees

Alabama Code Section 22-9A-23 gives the State Board of Health authority to set vital records fees. The same rates apply at all county health departments in Alabama. They apply at the state office too.

Fees are not refundable in Fayette County. If the search finds no match, you get a Certificate of Failure to Find. Make sure your info is right before paying in Alabama.

Who Can Get Fayette County Death Records

Rules for accessing death certificates depend on when the person died in Alabama. Under Alabama Code Section 22-9A-21, death records stay private for 25 years. After that, they become public. Anyone can request old Fayette County death records.

For deaths in the past 25 years, only certain people can get Fayette County death certificates:

• Spouse of the person who died
• Parents of the person who died
• Adult children of the person who died
• Brothers and sisters of the person who died
• Grandchildren of the person who died
• Legal reps with court documents
• The informant named on the certificate

Others with direct stakes may also qualify in Fayette County. Insurance companies often have valid reasons. Funeral homes do too. Attorneys handling estates can often get records in Alabama. Government agencies can access records for official work.

Historical Death Records in Fayette County

Alabama started requiring death registration on January 1, 1908. Compliance was slow at first. By about 1925, roughly 90 percent of deaths were being recorded in Alabama. For Fayette County deaths before 1908, you need other record types.

Probate court records often contain death info in Fayette County. Estate files, wills, and guardianship papers often mention death dates. Church burial records are another source. Cemetery records and grave markers can also give dates in Alabama.

The Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery holds microfilm of early county records. Staff can help you search newspapers, census records, and other sources. They offer free use of Ancestry.com in their research room for Fayette County research.

FamilySearch has a free online database called Alabama Deaths, 1908-1974. You can search by name. You can see images of the original certificates at no charge. The collection includes over 1.8 million names in Alabama.

Death Investigation in Fayette County

Most deaths in Fayette County follow a routine process. The doctor certifies the cause of death. The funeral home files the certificate within five days per Alabama Code Section 22-9A-14.

When someone dies from violence, an accident, suicide, or suddenly without a doctor, the Fayette County Coroner investigates. The coroner is an elected official in Alabama. They look at the facts. They decide if an autopsy is needed. The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences does autopsies when ordered.

Fayette County falls under the Birmingham region served by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. When the coroner orders an autopsy, the body goes to the right lab. The coroner then uses those findings to complete the death certificate for Fayette County.

Nearby Counties

Fayette County sits in northwest Alabama. These nearby counties also have health departments. You can request death certificates from anywhere in Alabama at any of them.

Cities in Fayette County

Fayette County includes the city of Fayette, Berry, and other small towns. Fayette is both the county seat and the largest city. No cities in Fayette County reach the 50,000 threshold for a city page.

For Fayette County death records of anyone who died here, visit the health department at the address above. The nearest major city with its own page is Tuscaloosa. It is about 40 miles to the south in Alabama.