Since 1994 not everyone has access to the cause of death. "Surviving spouses, caretaking partners, parents, executors or other authorized representatives may see the entire death certificate. Local registrars will need written authorization from survivors or auth. reps. permitting the researcher to see this portion of the death certificate." Since the AIDS epidemic and probably before, this info is being used against people by insurance companies and employers, etc. However, I have heard of people getting the full death certificate by calling or writing and explaining that it's for Family Research. New Jersey Vital Records Web Site has a lot of info on obtaining records at http://vitalrec.com/nj.html Claire BREEMAN & DEVOGEL Paterson, NJ