Georgia Coastal Health District

Death Certificates from the Chatham County Vital Records Office

Who is eligible to receive a death certificate?

• Parents
• Guardian
• Legal spouse
• Next of kin
• Legal representative of the person listed on the death certificate (lawyer or trustee).
• The court of competent jurisdiction upon its written court order or subpoena, or any government agency, state or federal, provided that such certificate shall be needed for official purposes.
• Financial institutions and insurance companies*

* Financial institutions and insurance companies requesting copies of death certificates are required by Georgia law to provide written justification for their requests.

Any person other than immediate family requesting a death certificate must have a direct and tangible interest for the certificate and must be able to demonstrate a valid reason for their request in accordance with Georgia law 31-10-26(a)(1).

How do I get a death certificate from Chatham County Vital Records?

You may obtain a death certificate from Chatham County Vital Records in one of these ways:

Come to the office in person

The Chatham County Vital Records Office is located inside the Chatham County Health Department at 1395 Eisenhower Drive in Savannah. The telephone number is (912) 356-2138 or toll free 1-866-667-3236.

For same-day fulfillment of your request, you must arrive at least 30 minutes before the office closes. This applies to lunchtime closures, and end-of-day closures. This will give our staff time to locate the record and create the certified copy.

Office hours are:

• Monday – Wednesday 8a – 12p (arrive by 11:30a) and 1p – 5p (arrive by 4:30p)
• Thursday 8a – 12p (arrive by 11:30a) and 1p – 7p (arrive by 6:30p)
• Friday 8a – 2p (arrive by 1:30p)

*The Chatham County Health Department is closed on the last day of every month for staff training.

Methods of Payment

There is a $25 fee for obtaining a copy of a death record, and $5 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. We accept:

• Cash
• Money orders from the post office or financial institutions (banks/credit unions)
• Visa and Mastercard (we do not accept Discover or American Express)

We do not accept checks. A valid picture ID is required to purchase a death record.

Write to the office, mailing in the fee and information

For mail-in death certificate requests, please write to us and include the following information:

• Full name on the certificate
• Date of death
• Place of death (i.e. Savannah/Chatham County)
• Relationship to the decedent
• The requestor’s daytime telephone number
• The requestor’s name and mailing address
• Name of the funeral home
• A copy of your state-issued driver’s license or picture ID

The fee is $25 for one record, plus $5 for each additional copy of the same record requested at the same time. For mail-in requests, the fee can be paid as a U.S. Postal Service money order or cashier’s check made payable to Vital Records Office.

Mail the above information and the fee to:

Vital Records
PO Box 14257
Savannah, GA 31416

Place your order over the telephone and pay with a credit card using the Vitalchek service

Vitalchek is a telephone service that can be used for ordering death records. The fee to use Vitalchek is $12.50 plus the $25 certificate fee (a total of $37.50).

If you need the record quickly, you can have your record shipped by Federal Express for an additional $20 fee (for a total of $57.50). Federal Express usually delivers the next business day.

The Vitalchek telephone number is 1-877-400-4439. You can also access Vitalcheck online at vitalchek.com.

Questions? Give us a call at (912) 356-2138
or toll free 1-866-667-3236