Nova Scotia Death Certificates | Official Government Issued

Welcome to the Nova Scotia death certificate application page of VitalCertificates.ca.

Required as legal proof of death, to settle the estate of the deceased and to apply for pension and insurance benefits, Nova Scotia death certificates can be ordered by proceeding to step 1 below.

  • Complete, print and sign the application form
  • Fax, scan and email or mail your completed and signed form
  • Scan & Email: novascotia@expresslegal.ca
    Fax: 1-866-265-6300
  • Receive your certificate by mail or courier

Who Can Apply For a Nova Scotia Death Certificate With This Application?

This site is available for use by the legal profession and general public to obtain Nova Scotia Government approved and official certificates of death issued by the government agency as an independent authorized agent.

Original or replacement birth certificates may be ordered with this application by:

  • Short form death certificates may be released to any person who has a valid reason for requiring the document.
  • Long form death certificates may be released to next-of-kin of the deceased or a trustee or executor of an estate.
  • Certified copies of death registrations containing cause of death are released only to next-of-kin.

Fees & Processing Times

Payment can be made by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, cheque or money order – Please make cheque or money order payable to “ExpressLegal”

Certificates ordered with regular service average 10 to 15 business days to be processed and delivered.

Certificates ordered with rush service average 5 to 8 business days to be processed and delivered.

Service times listed above are approximations and are not guaranteed. Incomplete or inaccurate applications will significantly delay processing time.

  1. Short Form Death Certificate – $80.00 each
  2. Long Form Death Certificate – $90.00 each
  3. Certified Photocopy of Death Registration – $90.00 each
  4. Rush Service – $25.00 additional courier cost (includes multiple certificates)

Fees include all taxes, search, shipping and processing charges.

If no record of the death is found by Nova Scotia Vital Statistics, fees will be applied to the search cost and will not be refunded.

All death certificates in Nova Scotia are sent directly from Nova Scotia Vital Statistics.

Nova Scotia Short Form Death Certificate

Contains the individual’s full name, gender, date of death, place of death, place of birth, marital status, usual residence of the deceased, registration number, and date of registration.

Nova Scotia Long Form Death Certificate

The long form death certificate contains all the following information, if this information is contained on the death record. Older death records may not contain full information.

Surname and given name(s), sex, date of death, place of death, date of birth, age, place of birth, residence, occupation, marital status, name of spouse, name of father / parent, name of mother / parent, name of attending physician, name of funeral director, disposition, place of disposition, name of informant, address of informant, relationship to deceased, date of registration, registration number, date of issue.

Nova Scotia Certified Photocopy of Death Registration

This is a photocopy of the actual death registration. It is legally the most complete document. The photocopy is certified as true copy of the original.

NOTE: Certified copies are rarely needed by citizens and are, by law, for restricted use only. They are generally only required for court or consulate purposes. They are not recommended for use as identification purposes.

No death Certificate issued shall disclose the cause of death.

Do you require the status of your submitted application?

If you have not received your ordered death certificate within the time expected, please call 1-877-848-2578 within Nova Scotia, 1-902-424-4381 outside Nova Scotia.

It is important to us that your privacy is protected and the personal information you provide us is collected, used and disclosed only for the purposes of that which you have authorized us. The information provided to us in your application is collected, used and disclosed solely for the purpose of requesting the documents which you require from the respective government agencies. Your personal information will only be submitted to the agency to which you directly authorize us to do so at the time your application is submitted. All information submitted is strictly confidential and will not be passed on in any other form for any commercial purpose. Download Our Privacy Policy.