Fetal Death Certificates

Maricopa County Office of Vital Registration has fetal death records ONLY for fetal deaths that occurred in Maricopa County within 30 to 45 days from the date of the event. If you need a certified copy of a fetal death certificate from another state, you must contact that state's vital records office.

A fetal death certificate is filed whenever a fetus dies before birth, and; the fetus weighs 350 grams or more or is more than 20 weeks in gestational age.

You may obtain certified copies of fetal death certificates for fetal deaths that occurred within the last 30 to 45 days. Please call our office to ensure it has not been forwarded to Arizona Vital Records. Certified copies are $20.00 each.

You may apply in person at our office in Phoenix or by mail at P.O. Box 2111, Phoenix, AZ 85001.

Who may order and obtain a certified copy of a fetal death certificate?

Please note: Arizona is a closed record state. That means that vital records are not public record. Arizona law restricts the public's access to vital records as follows:

Only persons 18 years of age or older may obtain a certified copy of a fetal death certificate. In addition, to protect the confidentiality rights of our citizens, Arizona Administrative Code R9-19-406 specifies that only the parents of a fetus or another person authorized by one of the parents may obtain a certified copy of a fetal death certificate.

If you are not one of the parents of the fetus, you must provide written authorization from one or both of the parents in order to receive a certified copy of the fetal death certificate, and a valid government issued picture I.D. in order to obtain a certified copy.