term:

Death Certificate

death certificate n

:

a document setting forth information (as age, occupation, and place of birth) relating to a dead person and including a doctor's certification of the cause of death NOTE: Death certificates are issued by a particular public official, as a city or town clerk. A death certificate is required to document a person's death for certain purposes, as to file an estate tax return or to probate an estate.

Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.