The New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System (NJ-EDRS), provides a secure method for electronically creating, updating and certifying death certificates. The use of NJ-EDRS by all who participate in the death registration process is mandatory under New Jersey state law.
NJ Statute 26:8-24-1 states that "...All participants in the death registration process, including but not limited to, the State Registrar, local registrars, deputy registrars, the State Medical Examiner, county medical examiners, funeral directors, attending and resident physicians, licensed health care facilities, and other public or private institutions providing medical care, treatment or confinement to persons, shall be required to utilize the NJ-EDRS to provide the information that is required of them by statute or regulation."
The NJ-EDRS can be found online at https://edrs.nj.gov.
Below are a series of notification letters from the NJ State Registrar's Office for reference.
The New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association (NJSFDA) has compiled a list of helpful training manuals, online tutorials and quick reference guides to help get you started using EDRS.
In addition, EDRS Help Desk is available 24-hours-a-day, 7-days a week at 1.877.797.4796 or via email at EDRSsupport@doh.nj.gov
Effective March 1, 2013 faxed medical certifications will be restricted to out-of-state physicians.
While there is an interim solution for those physicians who have not registered for EDRS in place, physicians are encouraged to register to use the system at their earliest convenience. This solution is called the hybrid fax option.
The hybrid fax electronically joins a paper death certificate completed by a medical certifier with the electronic record processed by the funeral director in EDRS. All medical certifiers using this option must complete their portion of the paper death certificate (items 26 through 54 ARE required) as you normally would. It is not necessary for you to complete the funeral director/funeral home portion of the record, as that will have been electronically created already. The funeral director will then be able to fax the completed medical portion of the death certificate directly to the EDRS utilizing a bar coded cover sheet. EDRS scans the bar code to link the electronic record and then merges the faxed information with the electronically entered information. The record can then be filed electronically with the local registrar. The State Registrar’s Office will manually enter the medical portion of the certificate to make a fully electronic record.
Use one of these fax numbers when using the interim hybrid fax option to process death certificates via EDRS:
On occasion, an administrator will be unable to associate a new licensee with the funeral firm or medical facility because the licensee's name does not appear in the Licensee Look Up screen.
In these situations, the new licensee needs to complete and fax a New Licensee Request for User Name and Password form to the EDRS Help Desk at 1.609.599.8626. The form must clearly state that the individual is newly licensed and that the administrator is unable to link them to the funeral firm.
Once they receive the form, the Help Desk will contact the licensee when their license is added to the database. At that time, the administrator will be able to associate them with the firm.
Download the New Licensee Request Form
Prepare your funeral home for the future.