# How do you find out HOW someone died?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-out-how-someone-died/499355>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 10, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-out-how-someone-died/499355 "2009-06-10T17:28:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-out-how-someone-died/499355/21 "2009-06-11T00:35:23Z")

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Death records used to be public records but over the years, like so many other records, they slowly are losing ground. This varies from state to state. For instance in Illinois death records are not public record and to get one you have to show some sort of “personal right” or “property right” to the deceased.

However there are things like Geneological records, which in Illinois deaths that occured 20 years ago and greater. These will include a death certificate but it won’t necessarily list things like cause of death.

Again that is for Illinois.

But then again, it’s easy to pretend to be someone your not and get the information.

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**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-out-how-someone-died/499355/22 "2009-06-11T10:16:03Z")

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> [@Una\_Persson](#):
>
> I believe all States I’ve contacted allow you to view the certificate in person, but not to copy it unless you meet certain criteria which, of course, vary from State to State.

Pennsylvania — no viewing unless you’re next of kin or have some legal justification. Wisconsin, you can look at it, but unless you’re next of kin you can’t see the cause of death portion until 20 years have passed.

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**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-find-out-how-someone-died/499355/23 "2009-06-11T15:48:04Z")

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> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#):
>
> Actually, a similar question came up a while back concerning death records in the state of Wisconsin. They will be released some fifty or seventy-five years after the date of death. Morbid curiosity is not a FOIA classification yet, I’m afraid.

That was my [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=512509). Here anyone can get a death certificate, but not the “_extended facts of death_” that includes the cause of death. So a a death certificate wouldn’t do the OP any good.

My thread was started because I was in the same situation **DudleyGarrett** was in. I stumbled upon the obituary of someone I used to know who died rather young. I wasn’t really close to anyone who knew them, and I didn’t want to upset anyone by asking nosy questions. So I just went to the court house to look at the death certificate. This is where I learned I wasn’t in a position to see what they died of. And trying to see the “extended facts of death” certificate under pretext is a crime. So I never did find out what my former acquaintance died of.

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