Select Category

  • County
  • Date of Death
  • Deceased Age
  • Deceased Names
  • Parents/Spouse Names
  • Social Security Numbers
  • Notes and Miscellaneous

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Death Certificate Entry Instructions/FAQ

County
  • What should I do if a certificate image has an illegible or invalid county?
  • What should I do if the certificate image lists no county?
  • What is the simplest way to enter the name of a county?
  • What is the difference between St. Louis City and St. Louis County?
What should I do if a certificate image has an illegible or invalid county?
Select "None" in the county field and select “Illegible, Invalid, or Missing Field(s)” from the Standard notes (drop-down) menu.
What should I do if the certificate image lists no county?
If the city is listed as St. Louis, select St. Louis City from the County dropdown menu.  Otherwise, select “None” in the county field and select “Illegible, Invalid, or Missing Field(s)” from the Standard notes dropdown menu.
What is the simplest way to enter the name of a county?

Continue to type the first letter of the county name until it scrolls to the correct county. For instance, when transcribing a certificate from St. Louis City, position the cursor in the county field and hit the “s” key 11 times. After you have the correct county then hit the tab button once to advance the cursor to the month of death field. Another option is to type “s” once, and then use the down arrow key to scroll to St. Louis City.

What is the difference between St. Louis City and St. Louis County?
St. Louis City separated from St. Louis County in 1876. They remain separate counties today. St. Louis City separated from St. Louis County in 1876. They remain separate counties today.
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Date of Death
  • What should I do if a certificate image has an illegible day or month?
  • What should I do if a certificate image has no day or month listed?
  • What should I do if a certificate image has a year listed other than the default?
  • What should I do if a certificate image lists a non-existent month and day, e.g., February 29th (of non-leap years), February 30th, February 31st, April 31st, June 31st, September 31st, and November 31st?
What should I do if a certificate image has an illegible day or month?
Select “none” in the corresponding fields and then select “Illegible, Invalid, or Missing Field(s)” from the Standard notes drop-down menu.
What should I do if a certificate image has no day or month listed?
Select “None” in the corresponding field(s) and select “Illegible, Invalid, or Missing Field(s)” from the Standard notes dropdown menu.
What should I do if a certificate image has a year listed other than the default?
Select the “Incorrect Month/Day/Year” note from the Standard notes dropdown menu
What should I do if a certificate image lists a non-existent month and day, e.g., February 29th (in non-leap years), February 30th, February 31st, April 31st, June 31st, September 31st, and November 31st?
Enter the non-existent date as provided and select "Incorrect Month/Day/Year" from the Standard notes dropdown menu.

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Deceased age
What should I do if the age is less than one year?
Enter the age as zero.
What should I do if no age is listed or the field is labeled as “unknown” or “unk”?
Leave the age field empty.

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Deceased Names
  • What case should I use when entering text?
  • What should I do if a certificate image has an illegible name field or fields?
  • What should I do if a certificate image has a name prefix other than "Mr." or "Miss" or a suffix that is not provided on the corresponding dropdown menus?
  • What should I do if a certificate image has no first or last name listed?
  • What should I do if a certificate image has no middle name/initial listed?
  • What should I do if a certificate image lists a first or middle name abbreviation, e.g., “Jno.”?
  • What should I do if a certificate lists “infant,” “unknown,” or “unnamed” as any part of a name?
  • What should I do if a certificate lists a religious name, e.g., “Mother,” “Father,” “Sister,” “Brother,” etc. as any part of the name?
  • What should I do if a certificate image lists an individual with a name or names in quotations or parentheses, e.g., maiden names, aliases, and nicknames?
  • When entering an initial, should I follow it with a period?
  • What should I do if a middle name is listed as “NMI” or “NMN”?
What case should I use when entering text?
Use both upper and lower cases to enter text, e.g., type “John” instead of either “john” or “JOHN.”
What should I do if a certificate image has an illegible name field or fields?
Enter “Unknown” in the corresponding field(s) and select “Illegible, Invalid, or Missing Field(s)” from the Standard notes dropdown menu.
What should I do if a certificate image has a name prefix other than "Mr." or "Miss" or a suffix that is not provided on the corresponding dropdown menus?
Leave the default, "None", in the corresponding field(s) and select "Prefix/Suffix on Certificate not on Dropdown Menu" from the Standard notes dropdown menu.
What should I do if a certificate image has no first or last name listed?
 Enter “Unknown” in the corresponding field(s) and select “Missing Name (Blank/Infant/Unknown/Unnamed)” from the Standard notes dropdown menu.
What should I do if a certificate image has no middle name/initial listed?
Leave the middle name field empty.
What should I do if a certificate image lists a first or middle name abbreviation, e.g., “Jno.”?
Enter the name abbreviation as found in the image in the appropriate field.  Follow ALL abbreviations with a period, even if there is not one listed on the certificate.
What should I do if a certificate lists “infant,” “unknown,” or “unnamed” as any part of a name?
Enter what is given for the first name and last name and select “Missing Name (Blank/Infant/Unknown/Unnamed)” from the Standard notes dropdown menu.  Note that last names for some infants may be determined from the parents’ names.
What should I do if a certificate lists a religious name, e.g., “Mother,” “Father,” “Sister,” “Brother,” etc. as any part of the name?
Enter “Unknown” in ALL name fields and select “Religious Name (e.g., Sister Mary Martha (Anna) Ehrhard)” from the Standard notes dropdown menu.
What should I do if a certificate image lists an individual with a name or names in quotations or parentheses, e.g., maiden names, aliases, and nicknames?
Enter all text, including quotations or parentheses, in the corresponding fields, exactly as it is listed on the certificate.
When entering an initial, should I follow it with a period?
Enter a period following each initial.
What should I do if a middle name is listed as “NMI” or “NMN”?
Leave the middle name field empty. These acronyms stand for “no middle initial” and “no middle name.”

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Parents/Spouse Names
  • What case should I use when entering text?
  • What should I do if a certificate image has an illegible name field or fields?
  • What should I do if a certificate image has no first name, middle name or last name listed?
  • What should I do if a certificate image lists an individual with a name or names in quotations or parentheses, e.g., maiden names, aliases, and nicknames?
  • When entering an initial, should I follow it with a period?
  • What should I do if a certificate lists “unknown”, “unk”, “dk” in a parents/spouses name field or a parents/spouses name field is left blank?
What case should I use when entering text?
Use both upper and lower cases to enter text, e.g., type “John” instead of either “john” or “JOHN.”
What should I do if a certificate image has an illegible name field or fields?
Leave the corresponding field blank
What should I do if a certificate image has no first name, middle name or last name listed?
Leave the corresponding field blank.
What should I do if a certificate image lists an individual with a name or names in quotations or parentheses, e.g., maiden names, aliases, and nicknames?
Enter all text, including quotations or parentheses, in the corresponding fields, exactly as it is listed on the certificate.
When entering an initial, should I follow it with a period?
Enter a period following each initial.
What should I do if a certificate lists “unknown”, “unk”, “dk” in a parents/spouses name field or a parents/spouses name field is left blank?
Leave the corresponding field blank.

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Social Security Numbers
  • What do I do if there is no social security number on the certificate?
What do I do if there is no social security number on the certificate?
Select “no” and leave the number field blank.

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Notes and Miscellaneous
  • What if I need to zoom in on a specific part of a certificate image?
  • What if a certificate image requires more than one note?
  • What should I do if I am asked to transcribe the death certificate of a well known Missourian?
What if I need to zoom in on a specific part of a certificate image?
Position the cursor arrow on the certificate image, right-click with the mouse and select “Marquee Zoom” from the menu that appears.  Then zoom in by positioning the cursor arrow over the portion of the certificate and left-clicking the mouse.  To return to the original view, position the cursor arrow on the certificate image, right-click with the mouse and select “Fit Width.”
What if a certificate image requires more than one note?
Once information is added to the notes field, the transcription is flagged for admin review, thereby negating the need for additional notes.
What should I do if I am asked to transcribe the death certificate of a well known Missourian?
Enter all the required information and select “Famous Missourian” from the Standard notes drop-down menu.

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