In April of 2014 Iowa started using electronic forms for death certificates from funeral homes. This move from paper copies allows any county recorder access to the forms for anyone in the state, regardless of the county in which they died.

Washington County Recorder Jo Greiner spoke of the service at this week’s Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting, saying she noticed it gradually going up each quarter. She ran the numbers and was surprised to find that the funds for this from 2013 to 2015 was up 77%. Greiner adds many people from Washington pass away in Johnson County. She says it is a nice service to offer, as people then don’t have to travel to get a copy of the certificate, often at a difficult time for families.

In the second quarter of the fiscal year, $8030 was spent in Washington County on birth, death and marriage certificates and about 20% of that, or $1,536 stays in the county.