Getting a copy of a death certificate in Iowa will get a little easier, beginning next week. The Omaha World-Herald reports  a new electronic system that starts next week, will allow people to pick up a certified copy at any county recorder’s office in the state. Iowa officials say the system will reduce errors and save time for funeral directors and physicians or medical examiners who must complete the forms. Currently a trip to Des Moines or to the office of the county recorder in the county where the person died is necessary.

Certified copies of Death Certificates are needed to handle matters ranging from life insurance policies to stocks and bonds, and to begin the settling of an estate. The current certification process starts with the funeral home, where information about the deceased person is entered into a computer, printed and either hand-delivered or mailed to the person’s physician or to a medical examiner.

The physician or medical examiner then fills in several boxes on the form, records the person’s cause of death and signs the document. When the form is returned to the funeral home, the information is double-checked. If it’s incorrect or incomplete, it must be returned to the physician. The completed, correct forms go to the county recorder along with a request for a certified copy. If the recorder discovers that information is missing, the form goes back to the funeral home. If everything is in order, the recorder prints a certificate and applies the office’s seal to it.

State officials say the new system eliminates the need for funeral directors to deliver records to physicians and to travel to file certifications, state officials say. It also reduces the processing of paper records at county recorders’ offices and by the Bureau of Health Statistics. The system also electronically notifies the Social Security Administration of the death.

Iowa physicians will be required by state law to use the new system. Iowa officials have been conducting training on the system statewide since February.