Countywide : Faxed Filing of County Death Certificates OKd

The fax machine has finally caught up with the funeral business.

Under a proposal approved by the Board of Supervisors this month, funeral homes will soon be authorized to file death certificates with the county’s Health Care Agency by fax. Up to now, funeral directors had to file the certificates in person or mail them.

A state law approved in 1992 gave counties authorization to accept death certificates filed through fax machines. The law was supported by the California Funeral Directors Assn.

“Pilot implementation of the fax program has proven successful in expediting the filing of death certificates . . . and reducing the time and travel costs of participating funeral directors,” according to a county report on the subject.

The county has set a fee of 75 cents to cover the cost of the fax service.