Oregon Center for Health Statistics

Funeral Directors

Key Resources

Specific Email for Funeral Home Directors and Staff

CHS.FuneralHomeOrders@oha.oregon.gov

Submit the Funeral Home Order Form for Death Certificates
Follow up on previously submitted orders (regardless of whether the orders were submitted by fax, email, or mail)
Ask any questions you may have about invoicing

Matters of Record Newsletter

A monthly newsletter with up-to-date informative articles for our partners.

CHS Partner FAQ

This page contains a comprehensive list of all the Center for Health Statistics Frequently Asked Questions for our Partners. Type in keywords in the "Search" box to narrow your results. If you do not find the question or answer you are looking for, please email Partner Services.

Training Opportunities

Would you like to schedule an individual or group training? Training includes how to use various OVERS modules, updates in state law and opportunities to get your questions answered. Email the Vital Records Trainer for more information.

OVERS Help Desk - Technical Support: 971-673-1190, Press Option 1, then Option 4

The OVERS Help Desk is available to answer questions Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. If you reach the voicemail, leave a detailed and clear message including your name, phone number, case ID, and issue that you are experiencing with OVERS, and we will return your call as soon as we can.

Forgot your password?

Click the “Forgot your password?" link at the bottom of the OVERS login screen.

Username is case sensitive and must be correct.

See the Quick Reference Guide for step-by-step instructions to reset your OVERS password.

Partner Contact Us

OVERS Resources

Death Record Instructions

Worksheets and Forms

Back to Top

Funeral Home Information

Oregon House Bill 3127, passed in the 2025 legislative session, mandates the use of the state's electronic system to complete death records. The implementation of HB 3127 marks a move towards a more modern and efficient vital records system in Oregon, ensuring greater accuracy, accessibility, and streamlined processes for all involved.

The effective date for the laws is January 1, 2026. Starting on that date, funeral directors will not have the option to print a drop to paper record from OVERS .

We created a handout to provide to certifiers that are not yet using OVERS. The handout includes information about the law, how to enroll in OVERS, and resources available for them. If you know of a medical certifier that is asking for a paper record, please provide them with the handout so they are aware of the new requirement.

HB 3127 FAQ's for Funeral Directors

ORS 432.380(2)(a) states that an applicant for a certified copy of a vital record shall submit a signed application, documentation of identity and evidence of eligibility. The law defines documentation of identity as being at minimum:

Government issued identification that includes a photograph
or
At least three forms of identification;
or
Identification submitted through an electronic process adopted by the state registrar by rule.

This law has been in effect since January 2014, but in the past funeral directors had not been consistently asked to provide ID with their orders. The state outlined consistent procedures to ensure that all who work with vital records meet the law and the State Registrar has approved final procedures outlined in the below memos for funeral home staff and County Vital Records Offices.

The procedures went into effect January 1, 2023.

ID Memo – Funeral Home Representatives
ID Memo – County Vital Records Offices
ID Frequently Asked Questions
Funeral Home Order Form for Death Certificates
Link to OVERS Guide for Oregon Counties for information on how to save ID documents in OVERS (see p. 43)

If you have questions regarding identification requirements or procedures, please contact CHS.PartnerServices@oha.oregon.gov.

An email address has been created in order for Funeral Directors and Staff to have direct correspondence with the state vital records office. This email is intended to be used for certificate order requests, billing and invoice questions only.

If you have a question that involves OVERS, please continue to call the OVERS helpdesk.

Ways to use this email address:

CHS.FuneralHomeOrders@oha.oregon.gov

Submitting the Funeral Home Order Form for Death Certificates via email, this form has been updated to include this email address.

Following up on previously submitted orders, regardless of whether the orders were submitted by fax, email, or mail.

Questions regarding charges on your invoice.

Please be sure that your facility contact information that is on file with the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board (OMCB) is accurate and up-to-date. Information can be updated using the OMCB facility portal on their website, vital records uses this information for billing and may provide invoices by email.

Funeral Home Resources

Informational data on method of disposition. For prior years, visit our Annual Report Volume 2 archive and search each year for "disposal of remains".

Informational data for funeral directors:

OVERS death registration system includes the ability to confirm a decedent's Social Security Number (SSN) electronically via the Social Security Administration (SSA)'s Online Verification Service (OVS).

SSA OVS availability (Pacific Time)

Monday-Friday 2:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Saturday 2:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sunday 5:00 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Federal Holidays - Same availability hours as Monday - Sunday for the day on which the holiday occurs.

If you are attempting to confirm a social security number outside of the hours shown here, you will likely receive a ‘SYSERROR’ message.

Frequently Asked Questions for Online Verificaton Service (OVS)

Question:

Why did I continue to receive a “name failure” when all verification attempts imply the name is correct?

Answer:
All identifying information must match the SSN provided. If the SSN is a valid number, SSA assumes it’s correct and begins to match against the other identifying information, such as Name and Date of Birth. The SSN provided could belong to a different individual, in which case the name would not match. The user should re-check the SSN as well as the name before resubmitting.

Here are some helpful hints in finding the right SSN:

Always take the SSN from the Social Security Card of the decedent, when possible.
If the SSN provided is from SSA correspondence or the Medicare Card of the decedent, assume that is the SSN of the decedent only if A, T, TA, M, or M1 follows the number.

Question:
What should I do if I continue to receive a failed SSN response?

Answer:

Oregon requires the funeral service practitioner to collect and submit the SSN of the decedent. Once the family has been asked and any available documents requested/examined, the funeral service practitioner can sign the Report of Death in OVERS and move forward.

Question:

When does the funeral home have to send the SSA 721 form?

Answer:

If using OVS in OVERS, the SSA 721 form is not required by the Social Security Administration. (This 2007 letter from CHS and SSA provides more details.) If OVS fails after five attempts, it is a courtesy to the family to send the SSA-721 Form to your local Social Security Office but it is not required. The Social Security Administration will receive notice of the death through the daily file even when OVS fails.

Question:

I received a response that the system is down or unavailable. When will it be available?

Answer:

SSA will accept and process requests for SSN verification 2 a.m. – 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, 2 a.m. – 8 p.m. Saturday, and 5 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Sunday. OVS is available regular hours on Federal holidays. OVS is not available when maintenance is being performed on the system. A listserv message is sent whenever CHS is notified of scheduled maintenance.

If you receive a SYSERR or other response indicating a connection problem, please contact the OVERS help desk at 971-673-1190, press option 1, then option 4 for technical support.

Question:

I tried several name variations with the SSN. OVERS now shows (5) and OVS is inactive. How can I check the SSN?

Answer:

SSA allows five attempts to successfully verify an SSN. If unsuccessful, OVS will not allow additional attempts. Continue processing the death record with the best known SSN. As a courtesy to the family, you can fax a SSA 721 form to your local office since the SSA verification through OVS was unsuccessful.

Question:

I’ve only tried three times to verify the SSN. Now OVS is locked up and won’t let me submit the SSN for verification.

Answer:

While OVS is used to confirm the SSN of the decedent, that is not the official notification of the death. Each day, records with a ‘Personal Valid’ or ‘Personal Valid with Exceptions’ status that have not previously been sent to SSA are extracted into a file that is sent to SSA. OVS is not available after the record has been extracted to SSA.

Question:
How is SSA officially notified of a death?

Answer:

While OVS is very useful in confirming the SSA of a decedent, the official notice to SSA occurs when records have ‘Personal Valid’ (with or without exceptions) status regardless of whether the record is signed. The records are extracted from OVERS and a file is sent to SSA each work day.

Question:
Now I have the correct SSN, but the record was already sent to SSA and registered. How do I submit a correction for the record?

Answer:

If the SSN was not confirmed through OVS, the Center for Health Statistics will amend the record based on a correction affidavit (electronic or paper) from the funeral service practitioner.

If the SSN matched the decedent name, date of birth and sex through OVS, the Center for Health Statistics will amend the death record only if documentation (such as the decedent’s SSA card) is also submitted.

We cannot submit a correction to SSA electronically. SSA’s system only accepts a record once. The family can take a certified copy of the amended death record to SSA to show the correct information.

The purpose of the Indigent Disposition Program is to provide licensed funeral homes with reimbursement for services for the disposition of unclaimed indigent bodies. This is a limited fund created to offset the costs incurred in providing final disposition.

The Oregon Legislature passed a bill to move administration of the fund and reimbursement program to the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board beginning in 2016.

Visit the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board (OMCB) website for instructions on submitting a claim.

Back to Top