Please remember to sign into the Texas Electronic Vital Events Registrar (TxEVER) system as soon as you receive notification that a death certificate is awaiting your signature. While Texas law requires death certificates to be filed no later than ten days from the date of the death, it’s strongly encouraged that you sign them as quickly as possible to support our grieving families as they navigate this difficult situation.
Ensuring death certificates are signed as quickly as possible demonstrates our commitment to our I CARE values of Compassion and Respect, as we value the diverse religious traditions and individual wishes of families in our area (e.g., burial within 24 hours, cremation, etc.). In addition, without a death certificate, families can’t move forward with important next steps, such as accessing pension benefits, claiming life insurance, settling estates, etc.
Key Reminders
- Communicate with nursing to ensure they have the correct physician who will be assigned the death certificate. Clear communication helps to minimize delays in an already complex process.
- If you’ll ever be called upon to sign a death certificate, state law requires you to register with the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to file the certificate electronically.
- If you’ve never registered for electronic filing, visit the TxEVER page and click on User Enrollment.
- Visit the TxEVER Guides & Videos page and scroll to the bottom to locate videos for “medical certifiers” to learn how to log in and complete death certificates via TxEVER.