Death Records and Death Certificates in Rhode Island

Rhode Island Death Records

The population of Rhode Island was recorded 1,059,361 on July 1, 2019, a 0.65% increase since the 2010 United States Census. According to the 2010 Census, 81.4% of the population was White (76.4% non-Hispanic white), 5.7% was Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.9% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and 3.3% from two or more races. 12.4% of the total population was of Hispanic or Latino origin.

This page is created to provide genealogists and researchers an ultimate guide to the state of Rhode Island death records. Use the links and the tips below for Rhode Island death records, certificates, online tools and databases. Additional information on how to obtain Rhode Island death certificates is available below.

How to Find a Death Record in Rhode Island

Rhode Island death records search

This webpage gives you access to all of the online databases containing Rhode Island death records, Rhode Island death certificates, Rhode Island death notices, Rhode Island death indexes, and other related Rhode Island genealogy records.

Rhode Island death records free

Below are some of the most comprehensive resource for death records in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Death Index

Rhode Island death records database

Links to Rhode Island death and burial indexes and databases are as below:

Rhode Island social security death index

The Social Security Death Index contains information on millions of deceased individuals in Rhode Island with social security numbers whose deaths were reported to the Social Security Administration. Try the links below to search the index:

Public Death Record Rhode Island

In addition to the indexes and databases above, there are some other resources that gives to almost the same or might even more information about a deceased individual. Here are some to check out:

Rhode Island Death Certificates

How to get a death certificate in Rhode Island

Though earlier vital records have been gathered and abstracted in James N. Arnold’s Vital Record of Rhode Island, 1636-1850, 21 vols. (Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Publishing Co., 1891-1912), statewide reporting did not begin until 1853. From that time, copies of vital events recorded in towns were sent to what is now the Rhode Island Division of Vital Statistics. Many records prior to 1894 are now in the state archive. Towns, for the most part, still hold originals in the clerk’s office. For birth and marriage records from 1 January 1894 and death records from 1 January 1948, write:

State of Rhode Island
Dept. of Health, Division of Vital Records
Cannon Building
Room 101
75 Davis Street
Providence, RI 02908

For earlier records, write:

Rhode Island State Archives
337 Westminster Street
Providence, RI 02903

Rhode Island death certificates online

Use the links below to get death certificates and vital records in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Death Notices

Check local newspapers and local online news websites which frequently publish notices. Use the link below for more information on Rhode Island news agencies.

Rhode Island counties for death record research

  • Bristol County
  • Kent County
  • Newport County
  • Providence County
  • Washington County