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.

Recorded office hours

• Accuracy in death registration (YouTube) December 2025
• First death registration office hours (YouTube) July 2025

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.