Californians: Quickly Get a Death Certificate Online with VitalChek Services
By Marissa Bergen and Troy Centazzo
Information and Statistics Provided by Mike Padilla, VitalChek.
Dealing with the loss of a loved one is never easy, and the excessive time it takes to get a death certificate in California can add to the stress. Opal Cremation partners with VitalChek to speed up this process as part of our convenient service.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- How Fast Can You Get a Death Certificate in California?
- What is VitalChek?
- Why VitalCheck? Fast Turnaround and Trust
- The VitalChek Solution: The Fastest Way to Get a Death Certificate
- The Death Certificate Process
- How Much Does a Death Certificate Cost? (and What Does VitalChek Add?)
- How Opal Works with VitalChek
Key Takeaways
- With traditional methods, death certificates can take weeks or months to process, adding to stress when families are grieving and preventing them from accessing family funds.
- VitalChek speeds up the process by offering an easy online form, immediate verification, direct submission to agencies, and fast shipping at a low price.
- Opal partners with VitalChek, offering convenient services to our Los Angeles and Orange County customers that enhance our sense of transparency and dedication to client satisfaction.
Introduction
Opal Cremation is always looking for ways to ease our clients’ burden of dealing with the death of a loved one.
That’s why Opal Cremation founder Troy Centazzo met with VitalChek Funeral Home Portal Project Manager Mike Padilla on January 4, 2022. The two professionals discussed a better process for quickly and easily obtaining death certificates.
The goal was to help Opal’s clients obtain death certificates within a few days rather than a few weeks.
As one of the first funeral homes in Southern California to use VitalChek to process death certificates for its clients, Opal’s clients receive their certificates in days rather than weeks or more, a service included with its comprehensive, fixed-price cremation package.
How Fast Can You Get a Death Certificate in California?
With Opal and VitalChek, most families receive certified death certificates within 3 to 10 days. Ordering the traditional way, by paper application through the county, can take up to 10 weeks from application to delivery. The difference comes down to online ordering, electronic identity verification, and shipping certificates directly to families instead of to the funeral home first.
Certificates can only be ordered after the death is officially registered with the county, which Opal handles as part of the cremation process. The 3 to 10 days starts from there.
For more on what a death certificate includes and why you need one, see Death Certificates: Everything You Need to Know.
What is VitalChek?
VitalChek is a service that lets funeral homes order and ship death certificates online on an expedited basis. They can be sent directly to the customer via USPS First Class Mail for free or via UPS Express Delivery.
VitalChek is part of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a division of RELX, the global data and analytics company. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs over 33,000 people, almost half of whom are in North America, and generates nine billion dollars in revenue each year.
According to VitalChek’s website:
- VitalChek is the #1 authorized resource for ordering official, government-issued vital records online.
- Since 1987, VitalChek has provided a convenient service that allows Americans to easily and securely order official copies or replacements of government-issued birth, death, marriage, and divorce records.
- VitalChek is an official service provider for hundreds of government agencies throughout the United States and U.S. Territories, helping to safely deliver millions of life’s most important documents every year.
- The company provides a safe, easy, and convenient way to obtain your family’s vital records.
Why VitalChek? Fast Turnaround and Trust.
A somber moment in a hospital corridor, featuring medical staff and a death certificate on a table.
As an official online partner for hundreds of government agencies nationwide, VitalChek offers funeral homes one of the best solutions for ordering death certificates for families, cutting wait times from weeks to days.
VitalChek offers services to consumers, government agencies, and now funeral homes, a service it made available in Los Angeles in February 2021. In addition to death certificates, consumers can order other vital records, such as marriage and birth certificates, through the website.
VitalChek works with county health departments across California, making it a trusted, widely used option for obtaining vital records. Check your county to see whether it offers ordering through VitalChek.
The VitalChek Solution: The Fastest Way to Get a Death Certificate
Traditionally, people ordered death certificates from local health departments through a time-consuming, manual process. Funeral homes spent valuable time and resources filling out and filing paper order requests at LA County’s downtown vital records office.
Now, VitalChek is here, and it’s a game-changer. What was once an arduous process has become an easy task. Funeral homes can simply log in to the VitalChek online dashboard and order death certificates in a few clicks.
Processing takes only a few days, compared with several weeks. For a small fee, which Opal covers, you can order death certificates in a fraction of the time it takes with the traditional process.
“VitalChek is a game changer. What used to take days or more now takes only minutes,” says Troy Centazzo, CEO of Opal Cremation. “We’re in the business of helping families during a difficult time in their lives, and this expedited service allows us to dramatically shorten the wait.”
VitalChek is another reason Opal remains a leader in the Southern California funeral industry. Many funeral homes still order death certificates the traditional way, which can leave families waiting weeks or even months.
Opal processes all death certificates through VitalChek, ensuring most families receive their certificates within 3 to 10 days.
The Death Certificate Process
Before online ordering, waiting for death certificates was one of the most stressful parts of the process. The wait grew even longer during the pandemic, when rising death rates and staff shortages backed up county offices.
Families were plagued in more ways than one. They could not complete funeral arrangements, prolonging closure and adding to stress. Many families also couldn’t access funds from financial institutions that required official documents before releasing money.
All that changed when VitalChek announced its partnership with funeral homes. Today, families can access death certificates in days instead of weeks or months, allowing them to benefit from their loved one’s assets and move on with their lives.
When ordering death certificates, families should consider how many they need. Although you can always order more later, ordering too few can be inconvenient, especially when you need them to access funds. Read our article Who to Notify When Someone Dies to learn how many death certificates your family may need.
The Traditional Process
- A paper application is mailed or dropped off at the local county records office.
- The funeral home waits for the death certificate to be processed.
Processing time: 3 to 8 weeks - The death certificate is mailed to the funeral home.
Processing time: 5 to 7 days - The funeral home mails them to families, or the family representative must pick them up at the funeral home.
Processing time: 5 to 7 days
Total processing time with direct filing: UP TO 10 WEEKS
Opal Cremation’s New Process to Quickly Order Death Certificates Online With VitalChek
After the local health agency approves and certifies a death certificate, Opal Cremation uses VitalChek to order death certificates online in Southern California through its easy-to-use dashboard. The Social Security Administration is notified of the death once it’s registered.
VitalChek also recently introduced a new feature providing disposition permits in addition to death certificates. The ordering process takes about 5 minutes, freeing our team to focus on caring for and supporting our valued customers.
- Use VitalChek’s online dashboard to order death certificates.
Processing time: 5 minutes - Electronic Identity Validation: VitalChek uses LexisNexis technology to verify your identity faster and more securely than manual validation.
- Direct Submission to Agencies: As an official online partner with over 450 government agencies, VitalChek submits your order directly to the appropriate agency, eliminating mail-related delays.
Processing time: 1 to 3 days - The death certificate ships directly to the client via USPS First Class or expedited UPS Express, eliminating the delay of mailing it to the funeral home first.
Processing time: 2 days with expedited UPS shipping; 5 to 7 days with USPS shipping.
Total Processing time with VitalChek: 3 to 10 days
What Families Can Expect With and Without VitalChek
| What You Experience as a Family | Without Opal & VitalChek | With Opal & VitalChek |
| How long you wait | 3-10+ weeks | 3-10 days |
| How you request certificates | Paper forms sent via mail or online visits | Opal submits digitally |
| Where certificates are sent | Usually sent to the funeral home for pickup | Sent directly to your home |
| Shipping Options | Standard mail with limited tracking | Free USPS first class or 2-day express with tracking (express services may require a fee) |
| Access to an early working copy | Rarely available | Often provided before cremation |
| When you can start estate, insurance tasks | Often weeks of delay | Within days |
| Overall Emotional Impact | Added stress and uncertainty during grief | Reduced administrative burden so you can focus on healing |
This is included in Opal’s all-inclusive direct cremation package. See what else is included by visiting our pricing page.
“Processing can be even faster if the family has all the documents and information prepared in advance, such as the decedent’s full name, date and place of death, and ID and proof of entitlement, if needed. We also recommend that families fill out all forms we send them right away.”
How Much Does a Death Certificate Cost? (and What Does VitalChek Add On?)
As of January 1, 2026, each certified copy of a death certificate in California costs $26, a $2 increase under Assembly Bill 64. The fee is the same for every copy, so ordering five copies costs $130, plus a small VitalChek processing fee, which we cover. For full details on who can order copies and how, see How to Get a Death Certificate in California.
VitalChek Testimonials
VitalChek has received several positive reviews, as follows:
“Thank you for helping me through what I thought would be a complicated process. You made it easy.”
-Connie M
Thank you very much for such quick service, well within 72 hours as promised, and just what I needed.”
Alan C.
I want to express, as clearly as I can, how much your help with my recent VitalChek orders has been to me and my husband… You took your time to understand what I needed… In this age of hurrying, that was remarkable.”
Donna L.
How Opal Works with VitalChek
Opal only uses VitalChek to order death certificates for Los Angeles and Orange County clients. Our customers are usually surprised by how quickly their records arrive. Certificates ship free by USPS First Class Mail, with UPS Express available for families who need them faster (express services may require a fee).
Additionally, Opal provides the electronic “working copy” of the registered death certificate to customers (families) when we receive the county permits -generally a few days or a week before the cremation. This helps because some businesses now accept the electronic version instead of requiring a paper certified copy.
Opal Cremation remains on the cutting edge of the funeral home industry through collaborations such as its partnership with VitalChek. Troy Centazzo is passionate about ensuring Opal’s customers feel cared for and that the cremation process and arrangement experience is the best in Southern California.
Visit VitalChek’s website for more information about the positive impacts it has on funeral home businesses and their clients. And contact us by phone, email, or through our websites to learn more about our all-inclusive direct cremation services. Learn what makes us the best cremation company in Southern California.
FAQs
What is VitalChek, and how does it help with Los Angeles and Orange County death certificates?
VitalChek is an online system for ordering death certificates and other vital records. It speeds up the process by providing an online application form, electronic validation, direct submission to agencies, and fast shipping.
What information do I need to order a death certificate online?
To order a death certificate, you will need the decedent’s full name, date of death, place of death, a valid government ID, proof of entitlement (sometimes needed), and a credit card to pay.
Who can order a death certificate?
Entitlement varies by agency and certificate type. Generally, authorized copies require proof of the relationship to the decedent. Informational copies are open to all.
Can VitalChek provide apostilled or authenticated death certificates?
To order apostilled or authenticated death certificates, check the appropriate box when you order online. If your state agency does not offer this option, order a standard certificate and send it to your Secretary of State office separately.
How does VitalChek verify my identity?
VitalChek verifies identities using LexisNexis technology. If VitalCheck can’t verify your identity electronically, you’ll need a sworn statement.
Additional Death Certificate Resources:
Death Certificates: Everything You Need to Know
How to Get a Copy of a Death Certificate in California
