How to Find a Cause of Death in North Carolina (2026)

In North Carolina you find a cause of death on the death certificate, which anyone can obtain as an uncertified informational copy under N.C.G.S. 130A-93(a), and in the medical examiner's autopsy report. The cause of death is effectively public: the uncertified copy shows it and omits only the Social Security Number.

How Do You Find Someone's Cause of Death in North Carolina?

You find a cause of death in North Carolina by obtaining the death certificate or the medical examiner's autopsy report. The certificate's medical-certification section states the immediate cause, the underlying conditions, and the manner of death.

The fastest no-barrier route is an uncertified informational copy of the death certificate. Under N.C.G.S. 130A-93(a), the State Registrar or a county register of deeds furnishes a copy of a vital record to any person on request.

For deaths the medical examiner investigated, the autopsy report gives a far more detailed cause-of-death finding. You request that separately from the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME).

Many people never request a record at all. An obituary, funeral-home notice, or newspaper report often states the cause, and historical deaths are frequently documented in genealogy collections once the records are public.

Is the Cause of Death Public in North Carolina?

The cause of death is effectively public in North Carolina because it appears on the uncertified death certificate that anyone may obtain. North Carolina restricts only certified copies; it is not a flatly closed-record state.

This ties directly to the state's certificate-access rule. Under N.C.G.S. 130A-93(a), the register of deeds or State Registrar furnishes a copy or abstract of a vital record "to any person upon request," with no ID and no proof of relationship.

That uncertified copy is marked as not valid for identity or legal purposes, and it omits only the Social Security Number. It still shows the cause of death.

There is one important narrowing. Effective October 1, 2025, Session Law 2025-70 amended N.C.G.S. 130A-385 so that autopsy and investigative records tied to an active criminal investigation are confidential until that case is closed. The death certificate cause-of-death entry is not what that change restricts; it limits the detailed OCME file during an open criminal case.

For the broader rule across states, see Are Cause of Death Records Public?.

Where the Cause of Death Is Recorded

The cause of death lives in two distinct documents. The first is the death certificate; the second is the autopsy report.

The Death Certificate

Every North Carolina death certificate carries a medical-certification section completed by the certifying physician or medical examiner. It lists the immediate cause, the sequence of underlying conditions, and the manner of death (natural, accident, suicide, homicide, or undetermined).

Because the uncertified informational copy reproduces this section, the cause of death is visible on the copy anyone can request. Statewide death registration in North Carolina began in October 1913 (a few delayed county records run back to 1909), and the state NC Vital Records office holds certificates from 1930 to the present.

The Autopsy Report

When the OCME investigates a death, it prepares an autopsy, investigation, and toxicology report. This is the most detailed cause-of-death record and explains the medical examiner's findings well beyond the one-line certificate entry.

The OCME investigates deaths due to injury or violence and natural deaths that are suspicious, unusual, or unattended by a medical professional. Finalized reports are normally available through the OCME, subject to the 2025 confidentiality rule for active criminal cases.

How to Request Records That Show the Cause of Death

You request a death certificate from N.C. Vital Records (part of NCDHHS) or a county register of deeds, and an autopsy report from the OCME. Each has its own process.

For the certificate, choose certified or uncertified. A certified copy is limited to the deceased's spouse, sibling, direct ancestor or descendant, stepparent, stepchild, a legal representative, or someone with a legal property or personal-rights interest. The uncertified informational copy is open to anyone.

The state fee is $24 for a search plus one copy per three-year period searched, with additional copies of the same record $15 each. You will need the decedent's name, date of death, and the city or county of death.

For an autopsy report, use the OCME Document Request form for deaths since 1976, or call the office. The OCME generally provides these reports at no fee once finalized, unless an active criminal investigation keeps the file confidential under the 2025 law.

Finding the Cause of Death for Older or Historical Deaths

For older deaths, the cause of death is found in archived certificates, registers of deeds, and genealogy collections rather than a quick online order. North Carolina death certificates begin statewide in October 1913, though the state NC Vital Records office only holds them from 1930 onward.

County registers of deeds hold local death records and can produce uncertified copies that show the cause of death. For deaths between 1913 and 1930 (and the few delayed records back to 1909), the State Archives of North Carolina and county records are the main avenues.

Older deaths are also widely documented in published genealogical and historical record sets compiled from official certificates. The Social Security Death Index can confirm the fact and date of death, but it does not list a cause of death.

Disclaimer: This page is general information, not legal advice. Access rules, fees, and confidentiality provisions change. Verify the current process with N.C. Vital Records, the county register of deeds, or the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner before relying on it.

Sources

This page draws on North Carolina Vital Records (NCDHHS), the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and the North Carolina General Statutes (N.C.G.S. 130A-93 and 130A-385, as amended by Session Law 2025-70).

Up to North Carolina Death Records and the hub Death Records by State.