The Provisional Multiple Cause of Death database contains mortality and population counts for
all U.S. counties. Data are based on death certificates for U.S. residents. Each death certificate
contains a single underlying cause of death, up to twenty additional multiple causes, and demographic
data. The number of deaths, crude death rates, age-adjusted death rates and 95% confidence intervals
for death rates can be obtained by cause of death (4 digit ICD-10 codes, 113 selected causes of death,
130 selected causes of infant death, drug and alcohol related causes of death, injury intent and injury
mechanism categories), place of residence or place of death's occurrence (national, region, division,
state, and county), age (single-year-of age, 5-year age groups, 10-year age groups and infant age groups),
single race categories, Hispanic ethnicity, gender and year. Data are also available by urbanization
categories for county, place of death, year, month, week and weekday of death, and whether an autopsy was performed.
Data Use Restrictions:
The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242m(d)) provides that the data collected by the
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) may be used only for the purpose for which they were obtained;
any effort to determine the identity of any reported cases, or to use the information for any purpose other
than for health statistical reporting and analysis, is against the law. Therefore users will:
- Use these data for health statistical reporting and analysis only.
- Do not present or publish death counts of 9 or fewer or
death rates based on counts of nine or fewer (in figures, graphs, maps, tables, etc.).
- Make no attempt to learn the identity of any person or establishment included in these data.
- Make no disclosure or other use of the identity of any person or establishment discovered inadvertently
and advise the NCHS Confidentiality Officer of any such discovery.
Confidentiality Officer
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road
Hyattsville, MD 20782
Telephone 888-642-4159
Email: nchsconfidentiality@cdc.gov
Sanctions for Violating Rules:
Researchers who violate the terms of the data use restrictions will lose access to WONDER
and their sponsors and institutions will be notified. Researchers who are suspected of
violating the rules may be prevented from using WONDER until an investigation can be completed.
Deliberately making a false statement in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or
agency of the Federal government violates 18 USC 1001 and is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000
or up to 5 years in prison, or both.