Point of clarification: in Pennsylvania, death certificates are normally available only from the Vital Records Office in New Castle.   They're not usually made available to the general public, only to immediate family in most cases.  Sometimes, one is included in an estate file, but that’s not a hard and fast rule.  However, if a decedent died intestate and no estate was raised, you won’t find a death cert at the county or the local level, although sometimes a document called a proof of death will be on file with the Register of Wills.  And yes, it is against the law in our commonwealth to photocopy a death certificate.  Just FYI.

Regards,
Scott Perry