The National Death Index (NDI) is a
central computerized index of death record information on file in the State vital
statistics offices. Working with these State offices, NCHS established the NDI as a
resource to aid epidemiologists and other health and medical investigators with their
mortality ascertainment activities.
Available to investigators solely
for statistical purposes in medical and health research. Not accessible to
organizations or the general public for legal, administrative, or genealogy purposes.
A national file
of identifying death record
information (beginning with 1979 deaths) compiled from computer files submitted by State
vital statistics offices. Death records are added to the NDI file annually, approximately
12 months after the end of a particular calendar year.
The following, more
recent years of death are (or will be) available for routine searches or
NDI Plus searches:
Death
Year
Routine
Searches
NDI
Plus Searches
2006
Available
Available
2007
May 2009
May 2009
Contains a standard set of identifying information on
each death to be used in searches of the file to identify and locate death records in the
State offices. Refer to the NDI matching criteria (View/download
PDF 39 KB) to see how records are selected as possible.
NDI users are
encouraged to submit as many of the following data items as possible for
each study subject: first and last name, middle initial, father's
surname, social security number, month, day, and year of birth,
race, sex, marital status, state of residence, and state of birth.
Assists investigators in determining whether persons
in their studies have died and, if so, provide the names of the States in which those
deaths occurred, the dates of death, and the corresponding death certificate
numbers. Refer to the NDI retrieval report (View/download
PDF 33 KB) for a sample of how
possible matches are presented.
Investigators can then make arrangements with the
appropriate State offices to obtain copies of death certificates or specific statistical
information such as cause of death.
Investigators can also obtain cause of death codes
using the NDI Plus service.
To use the system, investigators first
must submit a NDI application form to NCHS. Applicants should allow about 2
months for their applications to be reviewed and approved. Once
approved, users may submit their study subjects' names, social security
numbers, dates of birth, and related information to NCHS on
diskette or CD-ROM.
The fees for routine NDI
searches consist of a $350.00 service charge plus $0.15
per user record for each year of death searched. For example, 1,000 records
searched against 10 years would cost $350 + ($0.15 x 1,000 x 10) or $1,850. Fees for the NDI Plus service are slightly
higher. Refer to the NDI fee schedule for all fees and for a worksheet
to assist in calculating your total charges for a NDI search.View/download
PDF 100KB
Click
on Contact NDI to obtain a free NDI User's Manual and/or more
information about the NDI. You can also reach us at:
National Death Index
Division of Vital Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road, Room 7316
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782
(301) 458-4444 ndi@cdc.gov