Death Records and Death Certificates

Death Records

Death records have been a great help to many genealogy and family history researchers, providing valuable information and clues to an ancestor’s or relative’s death. Over the last few years, many people and organizations have been publishing death record indexes, databases and archives online. Some with thousands of death records, others with millions. Presented on this website are individual guides per country and per state designed to show you where all the best death record indexes and databases are found.

Death Index

Death records database

In most countries, death information used to be kept by religious or local authorities. The government of most developed countries created their death index in twentieth century. For example, in the United States, “Social Security Death Index” was created as a database to record the death of individuals. In recent decades, as it’s been easier to have an integrated system to keep track of death records, the death records database of most countries have been significantly growing.

Death records search

Searching through death database and records reveal full name, latest living location, birth date and location, date of death and location of death, and may give parents’ name and information as well. Check out our guidelines and tips for each country and each state on how to search within death records.

How to find a death record

Death record by country

Choose the country from the list below to check the death records. Please choose the country that the death has occurred in.

Death Certificates

How to get a death certificate

Local churches used to take care of death certificate and death records. In Europe, countries started to adopt centralized systems for recording deaths by the end of the 19th century. In the United States, a standard model death certificate was developed around 1910.

In most cases you’d need to order a death certificate. The rules depend on the country and the state you need to deal with. Please use our separated guides for each country and each state.

Death Certificate by Country

Choose the country from the list above to see the information regarding death certificate and death record.

Public Death Record

Depending on the country and the state the person is a citizen of and has died in, the rule of death record is different. Some countries have a nationwide public death record while in some other countries you’d need to prove your relation with the deceased person to get access to the information. Keeping a record of deceased people in most countries used to be done by church or other religious or local authorities other than the government. In recent decades, governments started to create their death index and database. Feel free to use our guide for each country and state to find the death record you need.

While we cannot provide links to every possible death record resource, we have provided you with the best, and most reliable resources.