How soon the record exists

The funeral home does not print the certificate. The funeral director, or the person who first takes custody of the body, files it with the local or state registrar. CDC's model vital statistics act puts that filing within five days of death, and the medical certification within 48 hours of receiving the form. States write their own clocks. New York Public Health Law aims at 72 hours for registration. A medical examiner case can sit with cause pending for days or months. Ask the funeral home whether it has filed, and whether it already ordered copies, before you pay for a second wait.

Two different waits

• Until the record exists. The office has nothing to copy until registration is complete. That is why a request the next morning often comes back as no record.
• Until the office issues your copies. Florida's state vital statistics page this check lists 3 to 5 business days, plus shipping, for deaths from 2009 to present. New York State mail is listed at 10 to 12 weeks. Walk-in, where offered, is usually faster once the record is on file.
• NCHS wants jurisdictions to report cause of death for at least 80 percent of deaths within 10 days. That is a statistics goal, not a promise that your copy will be ready.
• Confirm the clock on the official page for the place of death. Do not treat any of these ranges as a service-level agreement.

This desk does not set filing deadlines and does not give legal advice. If the funeral home already ordered a stack, count those copies first. USA.gov is the index for which office to ask.