How to get an EDRS integration in your state

LAST UPDATED: September 2026

Written by Josh McQueen, VP of Marketing and Product at Passare

Every funeral director knows the frustration of double data entry. And of all administrative tasks, carefully entering vital statistics to file a death record is the most meticulous and time-consuming. One wrong keystroke can delay filing, frustrate families, and add hours to your workflow.

So, if you could find a way to eliminate double data entry, especially on death certificates, you would, right?

At Passare, this challenge led us to pioneer the nation’s first state EDRS integration. Years ago, we integrated our funeral management platform with Pennsylvania’s Electronic Death Registration System (EDRS). The result? Funeral directors in Pennsylvania saved countless hours and drastically reduced data-entry errors when filing death certificates.

Since then, funeral professionals across the country have asked: "Can funeral software automatically push data to state EDRS systems in my state?"

While we’d love nothing more than to say yes immediately, the current answer for most states is: "Not yet."

However, there is hope and a clear path forward. After meeting with state vital records offices across more than 20 states, we've learned how these integrations are built, why challenges exist, and what you can do to bring state vital records integration to your area.

How EDRS integrations are built 

To connect two software platforms, programmers use an API (Application Programming Interface). Think of an API as a secure messenger that lets two platforms share specific data without exposing their whole database to the world.

For an EDRS integration to work, your funeral software would use an API provided by your state’s vital statistics department.

Sounds simple, right? Despite the simple description, there are a few obstacles to overcome first to build a state death certificate integration. Let me explain!

The real challenges of building an EDRS integration

The first challenge in building any integration is deciding which company will do the development it takes to build an integration to the other platform’s API. Passare gets many integration requests from various companies, so our policy is that all partners develop to our public API.

We made this decision because we could easily spend years of our development roadmap focusing solely on building integrations to other platforms. But we don’t feel that’s fair to our customer base because not everyone uses the same partners and integrations.

However, one of the only exceptions we make to this policy is death certificate integrations. Why?

#1: It’s difficult for the vital records department to build integrations with individual case management platforms, not to mention the medical and coroner platforms.

#2: Vital records offices outsource their development and typically have a very small staff.

#3: Repeatedly building the same type of integration would be a waste of taxpayer dollars.

For these reasons, it makes sense for the case management platform to build an integration to the vital records department's APIs.

And this is where the real challenge comes in.

Vital records departments nationwide do not have any APIs for case management platforms, such as Passare, to integrate with. And after meeting with over two dozen states, I’ve learned that these departments have small development budgets, not to mention priorities for those budgets they feel are more pressing.

But as I mentioned in the beginning, there is hope for an integration to be made in your state.

How you can help bring an EDRS integration to your state

It’s hard to say that anything good came out of the COVID pandemic, but one thing that did occur was the CDC realizing they were receiving data way too slowly from each state’s health department. For this reason, every state received federal funding to build out its integration with the CDC to improve the data transfer between the state and federal government.

This matters because we have learned that with a bit of extra development, this same budget can be used to allow the vital records department to receive data from case management platforms.

It simply has to become a priority for the vital records department.

Here is where we need your help.

A simple request from a case management company isn’t enough to prioritize this integration for the vital records department. It requires the force of an industry behind it.

If you want to see this functionality in your state, here are a few actions to take:

1. Rally your state association: In Pennsylvania, EDRS integration happened because the state funeral directors association made it a core advocacy goal. They consistently engaged state officials until EDRS API development became a reality. (Read Pennsylvania's full story here).
2. Speak up at conventions: Bring up state EDRS integrations during legislative panels and association business meetings.
3. Contact association leaders: Let your board representatives know how much time double data entry costs your business every week.
4. Build momentum with colleagues: Encourage fellow funeral professionals to voice their support so state officials see the widespread demand.

And once your state vital statistics office makes an API available, Passare will make developing that state EDRS integration a top priority.

Here’s to making the profession better.

Efficient workflows don't have to wait.

While state EDRS integrations depend on state government development, Passare is constantly innovating to help funeral homes save time, eliminate paperwork, and streamline operations. Learn more in a demo with our team!

(Please note: State EDRS integrations require state government API availability. Requesting a Passare demo lets you explore our software features and does not submit an integration request to your state vital statistics office.)