Sunset validates two things before a search can start: your identity, and the death certificate. Both happen instantly and automatically as soon as you upload them. There's no review queue and no waiting.
When validation fails, it's almost always because something entered doesn't match official records exactly. Small differences are enough to cause it. The fix is usually quick.
Why We Validate
Financial institutions are legally required to protect account information, including after death. Before anyone can access it, there has to be proof that the person asking is who they say they are, that the account holder has died, and that the person asking has standing to act.
Validating your photo ID and the death certificate is how we establish that. It also protects the estate from someone else attempting to access it.
If Your ID Doesn't Validate
You'll upload a photo of a government-issued ID such as a driver's license. Common reasons it fails:
The photo is hard to read. Glare, shadow, blur, or a cut-off edge. Lay the ID flat on a dark surface in even light, hold your phone directly above it, and make sure all four corners are in frame.
The name you entered doesn't match the ID. Enter your full legal name as it appears on the license, not a shortened version. If your license says Jennifer Marie Williams, don't enter Jenny Williams.
Your date of birth doesn't match. Check for transposed digits or a reversed month and day.
The ID is expired. Use a current one.
A recent name change hasn't propagated. After a marriage, divorce, or legal name change, records can take months to catch up across all systems. Try the name that matches your ID.
If Your Loved One's Information Doesn't Validate
Their details are checked against official records. Enter everything exactly as it appears on the death certificate.
Name
This is the most common cause. Watch for:
A missing middle name or initial, such as John Smith instead of John P. Smith
A nickname instead of the legal name, such as Bob instead of Robert
Spelling variations, such as Katherine and Catherine, or Steven and Stephen
A missing or incorrect suffix, such as Jr. versus II
Hyphenated last names entered without the hyphen
Apostrophes and spacing in names like O'Brien or van der Berg
Date of birth
Being off by a single day will fail. Check for transposed digits, a reversed month and day, and a two-digit year that got interpreted as the wrong century. Use MM/DD/YYYY.
Social Security number
Must match Social Security Administration records exactly. If you're unsure of the number, check prior tax returns, Social Security correspondence, a Medicare card, or the death certificate itself, which includes it in some states.
Last known address
This needs to match what's in official records, which is usually the most recent address where they received mail. Include the apartment or unit number. If they moved within the last several months, the previous address may be what records still show.
Date of death
For a very recent death, the record may not have reached every database yet. If everything else is correct and validation still fails, this is often why.
If the Death Certificate Doesn't Validate
The certificate is reviewed automatically, and it needs to be legible. The most common problems are image quality and document type.
Quality. All four corners visible, no shadow across the text, no glare, and the seal visible where one exists. Photograph it flat on a dark surface in good light with the flash off.
Wrong document. Hospital records, funeral home invoices, obituaries, and cremation certificates are not death certificates. You need a certified copy from a government vital records office.
Missing pages. Some states issue multi-page certificates. Include all of them.
Information mismatch. If the certificate says Robert James Peterson Jr. and your account says Bob Peterson, correct your account details rather than the certificate.
Certificates look different from state to state. Some, including Georgia's, are printed on plain white paper with no raised seal and are still completely valid. See our article on what counts as an original death certificate.
If Everything Is Correct and It Still Fails
A few situations cause failures even when nothing is wrong:
A credit freeze or fraud alert on your file or your loved one's can block the check. Lifting it temporarily, completing validation, then reinstating it usually resolves this.
A very common name with similar birthdates in the underlying records can create ambiguity. Adding previous addresses or other identifying detail helps.
A thin file. If your loved one was elderly and hadn't used credit in years, there may be little in the records to match against.
In any of these cases, contact us. We can look at what specifically failed and work through alternatives rather than leaving you retrying the same thing.
If a Field Won't Let You Edit It
Some fields lock after entry as a security measure. Contact us with the exact correction needed, for example that the date of birth should be 04/06/1979 rather than 04/06/1978, and include supporting documentation if you can. We'll update it and restart validation.
Need Help?
Chat with us in the app, call (385) 707-0082, or email [email protected]. Tell us what failed and what you've already tried, and attach the death certificate or ID if that's the issue. We can usually tell you exactly which field is causing it. We reply to email within one business day.