Scotland Deaths - What else you can try
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This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find death information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the death section of the Scotland Guided Research page.
Additional Online Resources
Additional Databases and Online Resources
- Scotland Monumental Inscriptions at Findmypast ($)
- Scotland, Newspaper Death Reports & Obituaries at Findmypast ($)
- Scotland Roman Catholic Parish Burials at Findmypast ($)
- 1507-2019: Scotland, Burial Monument Inscriptions at Ancestry ($)
- 1553-1855: Church Registers - Deaths and Burials at ScotlandsPeople (free to search, $ to view image)
- 1562-1855: Scotland, Dundee & Forfarshire (Angus) Deaths & Burials at Findmypast ($)
- 1564-2017: Scotland, Parish Deaths & Burials at Findmypast ($)
- 1571-1997: Scotland, Extracted Parish Records at Ancestry ($)
- 1642-1855: Scotland, Glasgow & Lanarkshire Death & Burial Index at Findmypast ($)
- 1720s-1950s: Scotland, Renfrewshire Death & Burial Index at Findmypast ($)
- 1755-2019: Scotland, Sterlingshire & Perthshire Burials at Findmypast ($)
- 1855-2019: Scotland, Modern and Civil Deaths at Findmypast ($)
- 1855-1943: Statutory Register of Deaths at ScotlandsPeople (free to search, $ to view image)
- 1900-2019: United Kingdom, Index of Burials at MyHeritage ($)
- 2007-2017: United Kingdom Deaths at Findmypast($)
ScotlandsPeople ($) is the premiere website for Scotland death records. The site requires the user to register in order to search the index for free. It costs a small fee to view any image. ScotlandsPeople is the only site with the images to Scotland church and vital records; all other sites only have indexes to these records. The FamilySearch Catalog has some of these records available online as digital images.
Substitute Records
Additional Records with Death Information
Substitute records can contain information about more than one event, and are used when records for an event are not available. Because the substitute records may not be created at the time of the event, it may contain incorrect information. Search for as many substitute records as possible to corroborate information found in substitute records to help improve accuracy.
| Use these substitute records to locate death information about your ancestor: | ||
| Why to search the records | ||
| Wills and probate list death date and place. | ||
| Monumental or tombstone inscriptions and records created when a deceased individual was interred in a cemetery. | ||
| May contain death notices and obituaries. | ||
| Military records, after 1707, may include any death information for servicemen who died in service. | ||
| Roman Catholic and other nonconformist churches, such as the Presbyterian Church, also have death and burial parish registers. | ||
Finding Town of Origin
Knowing an ancestor’s hometown can be important to locate more records. If a person immigrated to the United States, try Finding Town of Origin to find the ancestor’s hometown.
Research Help
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Improve Searching
Tips for finding deaths
Successfully finding death records in online databases depends on a few key points. Try the following search suggestions:
- Spelling variations. Your ancestor's name may be misspelled. Search with spelling variations for the first and last name of your ancestor.
- Search given name. Search by given name (leave out the last name) with the approximate date of birth or death.
- Add information. For common names, add more information to narrow the search such as approximate birth date or parent's names if known.
- Date range. Expand the date range of the search by 5 years.
- Search place. Search using the county or parish name (if known). Go to Finding the Scotland County of Origin to learn how to find the county.
Why the Record may not Exist
Known Record Gaps
Records Start
Mandatory death registration started in 1855. Before this, deaths and burials can be found in church records (mainly the Church of Scotland or Roman Catholic Church). However, churches recorded deaths and burials less frequently than baptisms and marriages.
Records Destroyed
Some church records may have been lost or destroyed, although more specific information is not known. Civil registration records are generally complete.