Death Registration Resources

Morticians and funeral home staff must be authorized users of Minnesota Registration and Certification (MR&C) to register deaths in the system. Complete the Mortician or Funeral Home Staff User Agreement for MR&C (PDF) to add a new user. When an MR&C user leaves your employment, email health.MRCAdmin@state.mn.us with their name so we can disable their account.

Use these guides to accomplish tasks in MR&C: 

• Change or Cancel a Death Certificate Order (PDF)
• Correct a death record (PDF)
• Enter a death record(PDF)
• Manage records and certificate requests (PDF)
• Print death worksheet and other documents (PDF)
• Request death certificates (PDF)

Training

Death Registration 101 (YouTube)—Our 37-minute video demonstrates how to register a death record in MR&C. This video should be viewed by all new funeral home staff who will be using MR&C.  

Please take our training tracker survey any time you’ve completed a training session. It helps us gauge the reach of our classes and shows facilities which of their staff have been trained. 

Office hours

Office hours is a virtual opportunity for both new and experienced funeral home staff to learn more about a featured topic, ask questions, and share information. Each session includes topic presentations, resources, and open forum discussion.

July Office Hours

Thursday July 24, 2025, 8 - 9 a.m.

The Office of Vital Records will present tips for registering death promptly and provide updates on OVR's work. All funeral home staff who use Minnesota Registration and Certification are invited to attend.

• Join via Microsoft Teams — Click to register. Pre-registration is not necessary but will trigger reminder emails and provide an appointment to save to your calendar. You will need to click "register" to sign into the meeting.

Practice using MR&C

Practice entering birth records using fictitious records, in the MR&C training environment. Email health.vitalrecords@state.mn.us to request access. Include your first and last name, the facility you represent, and your work email address.  

Delayed registration

A death registered a year or more after the date of death is considered a delayed registration and must be handled by the Office of Vital Records. Contact health.vitalrecords@state.mn.us or 651-201-5970 for information about delayed registrations. 

Permits

• Fetal Death Disposition Permit (PDF)
• Temporary Disposition Permit (PDF)—Use this permit only when MR&C is unavailable.

Links

• Funeral Director's Handbook: Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting, 2019 Revision (PDF)
• Guidelines for Reporting Occupation and Industry on Death Certificates (PDF)
• Minnesota Department of Health Mortuary Science program—Licensing and regulation of funeral establishments, crematories, morticians, interns, and funeral directors
• FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance
• National Vital Statistics Mortality Data—Minnesota sends death record information to the National Vital Statistics System at the CDC. The compiled data from U.S. jurisdictions help guide health-related research and public health efforts.