⚖️ Statute Verified📄 Get a Death Certificate

Get a Death Certificate in Palo Alto County, IA

Fees for this service are set by state statute. Here's what to expect in Palo Alto County.

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Certified death certificates — Palo Alto County Recorder

The county recorder is the county registrar (Iowa Code § 144.9)

$20.00per certified copy · the same at every county recorder and at the state office

The rule: the state or county registrar “will charge a fee of $20 for a certified copy of a vital record” (641 IAC 95.6(1)(a), under Iowa Code § 144.46), and the county keeps $4 of it — inside the $20, not added to it (95.6(5)). The fee rose from $15 on July 1, 2026 (ARC 0142D), so a county page still showing $15 is out of date. The $20 is charged for the search: if no record is found you receive a no-record letter and the fee is kept.

What Palo Alto County holds

The Department of Health and Human Services: “Local registrars are located in county recorders offices and maintain records of birth, death and marriages that have occurred in that county.” A death elsewhere in Iowa is on file with the county where it happened, or with the state. You must be entitled to the record, and bring a current government photo ID; the state's application form says a mailed application must be notarized.

📄Application to Order an Iowa Vital Record (470-5451)Iowa Department of Health and Human Services↓ PDF 🌐Iowa HHS — How to request a certified recordIn person, by mail, or from the state office↗

📞Ask the Recorder before you go: (712) 852-3701

📄Download Form — fill it out at homeApplication to Order an Iowa Vital Record (470-5451) — complete it before you go↓

📋Office Information

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Not printed: hours.

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Office Address

Courthouse, 1010 Broadway, Emmetsburg, IA 50536

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Phone

(712) 852-3701