No the document kept on file at the cemetery is called a “permit for disposition”. It is issued by the Health Department Registrar in the county in which the deceased expired. California State Law requires that a properly executed death certificate be presented to the Health Department Registrar who subsequently issues the “permit for disposition”. This document must accompany the deceased to their final destination. Cemeteries cannot initiate burial without this permit and must keep it permanently on file (California Health & Safety Code 10376.8, 10376 & 10378). Actual death certificates may be obtained from the registrar in the county in which the death occurred.