By: Kendall Upton
Updated: January 14, 2026
Learn how to become a medicolegal death investigator
When someone passes away unexpectedly or in a suspicious manner, it’s up to a team of death investigation professionals to determine the cause of death and how to proceed, such as whether a criminal investigation is necessary.
One of these professionals are medicolegal death investigators whose role sits at the intersection of medicine, law and the forensic sciences. Though there are no universal requirements to become a medicolegal investigator, gaining the relevant knowledge and skills in all these disciplines is no simple feat. That said, there are numerous different pathways to pursuing this profession which has been around for hundreds of years.
In this article
What is a medicolegal death investigator?
Medicolegal death investigators analyze dead bodies using forensic procedures to try to determine the cause of death when the cause of death is suspicious or unexplained.
“The role of the medicolegal death investigator is to investigate any death that falls under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner or coroner, including all suspicious, violent, unexplained and unexpected deaths,” says the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI). “The medicolegal death investigator is responsible for the dead person, whereas the local law enforcement jurisdiction is responsible for the scene. The medicolegal death investigator performs scene investigations emphasizing information developed from the decedent and determines the extent to which further investigation is necessary.”
Medicolegal death investigators must have a combination of education and skills encompassing areas of medicine and law, which can be obtained through many different educational pathways. Because of this, individual employers determine the requirements to become a medicolegal death investigator.
Differences between medicolegal investigators, coroners, medical examiners and more
There are a few types of professionals who often work together and seem to have similar roles involved with the investigation of unexpected deaths. To understand how all these roles fit together, it’s important to identify the differences between medicolegal death investigators, medical examiners, coroners, pathologists and forensic pathologists.
Medical examiners are physicians who are in charge of the investigation and examination of sudden, unexpected and violent deaths within a particular jurisdiction, and determining the cause and manner of death (homicide, suicide, accidental, natural or undetermined). “The role of a medical examiner differs from that of the non-physician coroner in that the medical examiner is expected to bring medical expertise to the evaluation of the medical history and physical examination of the deceased,” says the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME). Twenty-three states have a medical examiner system, and 18 have a mixed system of medical examiners and coroners.
A coroner is a public official in charge of making inquiries into certain types of deaths within their jurisdiction and completing the certificate of death. Unlike medical examiners, coroners may or may not have medical expertise. “Coroners are called upon to decide if a death was due to foul play. Depending upon the jurisdiction and the law defining the coroner’s duties, the coroner may or may not be trained in the medical sciences. The coroner may employ physicians, pathologists or forensic pathologists to perform autopsies when there appears to be a question of cause or manner of death that autopsy can elucidate,” says NAME. Ten states use coroners as their only official death investigator.
Utilizing their combined knowledge of medicine and law, medicolegal death investigators investigate deaths that fall under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner or coroner.
Pathologists are physicians trained in the specialty of pathology, which is the diagnosis of disease and cause of death via laboratory examination of body fluids, cell samples and tissues. Pathologists perform autopsies on the dead.
Forensic pathologists also perform autopsies, but they have special training and knowledge in the forensic sciences as well. “The forensic pathologist is a subspecialist in pathology whose area of special competence is the examination of persons who die suddenly, unexpectedly or violently. The forensic pathologist is an expert in determining cause and manner of death,” says NAME. “The forensic pathologist acts as the case coordinator for the medical and forensic scientific assessment of a given death, making sure that the appropriate procedures and evidence collection techniques are applied to the body.”
It is quite possible that an individual could work in several of these roles throughout their lifetime, since much of the training and experience overlap. A pathologist could, for example, lean into the subspecialty of forensic pathology and then later become a medicolegal death investigator. With enough experience in that role, they might move up and become a county’s chief medical examiner.
Medicolegal investigator job duties
The ABMDI has a document that outlines the fundamental tasks of medicolegal death investigators, each of which contain numerous subtasks. These can give us a good idea of the essential job duties that medicolegal death investigators perform, which can be summarized as:
- Scene response and documentation:
- Secure crime scene, identify and collect evidence, document findings and conduct witness interviews.
- Body assessment and documentation:
- Photograph body and conduct a physical assessment of the anatomy, resusitative artifacts, surgical artifacts, postmortem changes and injury recognition.
- Completing the investigation:
- Compose an investigative narrative report, follow up with other agencies and forensic pathologists, facilitate organ and tissue donation and understand the death certification process.
- Additional duties:
- Understand the disposition of unidentified and/or unclaimed remains, know how to process a scence with multiple fatalities and participate in courtroom testimony as needed.
- Forensic and medical knowledge:
- Be familiar with and maintain ongoing knowledge of relevant forensic science, forensic pathology and medicine.
Education requirements
Given that medicolegal death investigators must be knowledgeable in both law and medicine, you might expect there to be standardized education requirements in order to enter the profession. In reality, each employer has different hiring practices.
“There are no formal educational requirements specifically for medicolegal death investigation,” the ABMDI says. “Any degree program dealing with forensic science, natural science, anthropology, nursing or any other medically related field would be useful.”
Even if it’s not a universal requirement everywhere, earning a bachelor’s degree is a good idea since many employers still require candidates to have a degree in order to be eligible. Many people also choose to earn graduate degrees in the forensic sciences, criminal justice, nursing (if they have an undergraduate nursing degree), biology and more. Others go to medical school to become a doctor to obtain the medical knowledge needed to be a death investigator.
Besides formal degree programs, the ABMDI also states that there are several established training courses available throughout the country that teach the basic information needed in order to perform a thorough and competent medicolegal death investigation, which can be found on their website. The Death Investigation Training Academy is one such provider who has in-person and online courses for established and entry-level professionals.
Getting certified
The ABMDI administers certification for medicolegal death investigators. Certification is voluntary but is an excellent way to gain recognition in the field and demonstrate your experience and expertise to employers. As you progress throughout your career, some employers may even require you to be certified, so it’s an important benchmark to work toward.
Registry certification requirements
The ABMDI has a basic “Registry” certification and the more advanced “Board certification.”
Their “Registry” certification has two tracks: “Associate” or “Diplomate.” The requirements for both are as follows:
The difference between earning the Associate versus Diplomate designation is that Diplomates have experience conducting investigations at the scene, whereas Associates simply have experience completing an investigative report and facets of a medicolegal death investigation other than scene investigation.
For both Associate and Diplomate certifications, applicants must pass the same exam.
Board certification requirements
To be officially Board certified, medicolegal investigators must first obtain the Registered Diplomate certification. From there, the requirements for Board certification are:
Once qualified applicants pass the board certification exam, they become a Fellow of the ABMDI (F-ABMDI).
Why is death investigation important?
According to the Institute of Medicine’s “Medicolegal Death Investigation System: Workshop Summary,” coroners and the practice of death investigation date back to the 9th and 10th century England, when the king would dispatch coroners to death scenes to collect duties. Today, death investigation has a much broader societal impact on criminal justice and public health.
“Death investigations provide evidence to convict the guilty and protect the innocent, whether they are accused of murder, child maltreatment, neglect or other crimes. Death investigations aid civil litigation, such as in malpractice, personal injury or life insurance claims,” the document states. “Death investigations are critical for many aspects of public health practice and research, including surveillance, epidemiology and prevention programs, most often in injury prevention and control but also in prevention of suicide, violence or substance abuse. And death investigations are emerging as critically important in evaluating the quality of healthcare and the nation’s response to bioterrorism.”
How much do medicolegal death investigators make?
It’s challenging to figure out just how much you could make as a medicolegal death investigator since many factors influence salaries, including location and cost of living, education, experience and more.
“An investigator’s salary will be determined by the jurisdiction and amount of experience the medicolegal death investigator has. Salaries and benefits vary throughout the United States,” says the ABMDI.
According to the 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual salary for forensic science technicians is $67,440. This can give a rough idea of what you may be able to earn as a medicolegal death investigator.
Forensic Science Technicians
10%$45,560
25%$53,310
50%$67,440Median
75%$88,710
90%$110,710
Median Hourly Wage$32
Job growth12.8%
Total Employment19,450
| State | Median Salary | Bottom 10% | Top 10% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $59,560 | $38,910 | $82,620 |
| Arizona | $60,620 | $45,590 | $109,850 |
| Arkansas | $46,210 | $39,680 | $62,370 |
| California | $96,850 | $61,380 | $137,020 |
| Colorado | $77,800 | $59,400 | $103,660 |
| Connecticut | $84,920 | $40,450 | $105,530 |
| Florida | $61,070 | $39,890 | $90,570 |
| Georgia | $58,500 | $39,060 | $83,600 |
| Idaho | $60,470 | $41,000 | $112,390 |
| Illinois | $117,590 | $57,590 | $147,370 |
| Indiana | $65,770 | $40,750 | $90,130 |
| Iowa | $63,650 | $34,240 | $97,220 |
| Kansas | $75,150 | $49,620 | $99,720 |
| Kentucky | $58,230 | $46,980 | $70,670 |
| Louisiana | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Maine | $68,710 | $44,470 | $74,320 |
| Maryland | $78,220 | $58,440 | $110,760 |
| Massachusetts | $75,210 | $60,560 | $105,010 |
| Michigan | $69,040 | $36,500 | $198,320 |
| Minnesota | $68,790 | $50,530 | $101,150 |
| Mississippi | $54,720 | $36,950 | $82,890 |
| Missouri | $64,700 | $45,360 | $87,420 |
| Montana | $78,610 | $38,470 | $97,670 |
| Nebraska | $63,390 | $45,140 | $80,080 |
| Nevada | $76,540 | $52,350 | $127,890 |
| New Jersey | $54,230 | $40,650 | $81,190 |
| New Mexico | $61,890 | $44,490 | $96,410 |
| New York | $78,170 | $60,680 | $101,370 |
| North Carolina | $50,460 | $42,720 | $77,720 |
| North Dakota | $74,470 | $54,410 | $95,680 |
| Ohio | $73,310 | $50,720 | $118,100 |
| Oklahoma | $64,990 | $43,990 | $95,690 |
| Oregon | $78,100 | $53,090 | $129,220 |
| Pennsylvania | $57,820 | $40,260 | $84,410 |
| South Carolina | $49,960 | $37,490 | $69,510 |
| South Dakota | $49,280 | $24,960 | $80,050 |
| Tennessee | $70,500 | $45,830 | $127,040 |
| Texas | $55,830 | $40,290 | $79,900 |
| Utah | $64,430 | $45,960 | $88,940 |
| Vermont | $67,750 | $54,680 | $91,540 |
| Virginia | $62,860 | $46,900 | $107,210 |
| Washington | $77,650 | $58,090 | $103,650 |
| West Virginia | $59,930 | $38,190 | $80,550 |
| Wisconsin | $61,920 | $50,210 | $95,470 |
| Wyoming | $60,670 | $45,870 | $88,510 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2024 median salary; projected job growth through 2034. Actual salaries vary depending on location, level of education, years of experience, work environment, and other factors. Salaries may differ even more for those who are self-employed or work part time.
In conclusion
The career of any medicolegal death investigator begins with the right education. A bachelor’s degree is the first step, with many people then choosing to earn advanced degrees in medicine or other medically relevant disciplines. There are also a number of training programs available to enhance your skills in death investigation for experienced professionals and novices alike.
If you want to learn more about the death investigation profession, consider checking out the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI), the Society of Medicolegal Death Investigators or the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME).