Hi, I was under the impression that a person had to be dead for 50 or more years before you could aquire a copy of their death certificate, also you should know your relationship to the individual. I found this info while looking through the IL State Web site and thought I would pass it along. Researchers asking for copies of death certificates issued after 1947 should direct requests to the Illinois Deparment of Public Health or to the county clerk's office of the county where the death occurred. In compliance with current legislation, the Illinois Department of Public Health and county clerks shall furnish for genealogical purposes certified or uncertified photocopies of death records not less than 20 years old at a specified fee (410 Illinois Compiled Statutes 535/25). I never found anything about having to give your relationship to the dead person. Virginia