slip of paper—a little sheet of paper; "a receipt slip" slip. Piece of paper, sheet of paper, sheet—paper for writing or printing. Slip of paper refers to a document that contains information about someone who has died. A death certificate is a legal document that identifies the cause of death and specifies how and when another person can be notified of the death. Certificates are issued by local officials and are required by law in some states for certain deaths. They can also be issued posthumously. People will sometimes write notes on slips of paper and leave them at the scene of a crime in the hope that their friends or family members will find them. Police may find these notes at the scene of the crime as evidence. Slips of paper are usually not filed away with other papers, because they are intended to be read quickly so that others do not have time to hide or destroy them. However, some jurisdictions do keep copies of death certificates in order to provide genealogy research material. The word "certificate" comes from Latin certus, meaning sure, faithful, verified. In English, a certificate is any document that confirms the existence of an event or fact, such as a birth certificate, marriage certificate, or death certificate.