2. Death records, in general, may be obtained
from the state or municipality in which the
individual died. However, the process of
obtaining a death record often involves a bit
more legwork than simply requesting it.
3. Death records provide a good deal of useful
information about an individual’s
death, including: the date of death, the place
of death, and the name of the mother and
father. Death records may also include the
maiden name of the deceased’s mother.
4. Regardless of why you are requesting a
death record, it is important to understand
that state and local governments are the only
entities that issue death records; it is
therefore often practical to head to the vital
records office of the state or city in which the
individual died.
5. There are many resources for obtaining a
death record; however, the conveniences of
the Internet have allowed many individuals
to obtain information on loved ones and
ancestors that otherwise would have been
quite difficult and time consuming to find.
6. Most vital records offices accept walk-in
requests; however, because most of
these vital records offices are inundated
with vital records requests, you may
have to wait several weeks before they
provide you with the death record in
question.
7. With that said, you may also obtain a
copy of a death record through the vital
records website of the state in
question, and you may also send in a
written request for the information.
8. Social Security Death Index
Another valuable search tool for death certificates
is through the Social Security Death Index. Begun
in 1935, this online database is quite
comprehensive, and it may be particularly useful if
you don’t know the state in which an individual
died. This website, however, may ask a lot of
information about the deceased, including the
name, the date of birth, the date of death, the
social security number, and the state or county of
residence.
9. The Social Security Death Index is a valuable
search tool, as it contains over 80 million
records of death that have been reported to
the SSA. However, it is important to
understand that the Social Security Death
Index does not have information on all
individuals.
•
10. Online Searches
There are a number of online
archives, however, that can provide you with
death records in a more convenient fashion.
All reputable search engines will require a
fee; however, these fees are typically very
small, and the search can be completed from
the comfort of your home.
•
11. Perhaps the most convenient part of using
an online archive database is that you can
search for individuals who died in different
states. In other words, instead of searching
for ancestors using separate state
websites, you can perform comprehensive
searches from just one location.
12. There are many websites that either provide
links to the appropriate state’s website or
utilize search engines of their own. Either
way, they can be highly useful when
searching for death records from nearly any
time and place.
