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How to Find Virginia Death Records

Revision as of 22:08, 28 April 2016 by Hanna5974 (talk | contribs) (→‎Deaths from June 1912 to the Present)

United States Gotoarrow.png US Vital Records Gotoarrow.png How to Find United States Deaths Gotoarrow.png Virginia Gotoarrow.png Vital Records Gotoarrow.png Virginia Deaths

Statewide registration of deaths began in June 1912 in Virginia. The State and Counties have copies of these records.

Next Step: When did the death occur?

Choose a time period to search for your ancestor's death record:

Learn more about U.S. Death Records

Deaths before 1853

Before 1853, no deaths were recorded by the county or state. You must search substitute records to locate your ancestor’s death date and place.

  Records that give death information:
Cemetery Records
Newspapers
Probate (wills, etc)
Tax Records
Church Records
Census
Bible Records
Return to top: Choose another death year


Deaths from 1853 thru June 1912

In 1853, Virginia law required counties to record deaths, although records are incomplete. No deaths were recorded between 1896 and 1912.

If you cannot locate your ancestor in the databases below try searching for death information in other records.

For deaths that occurred during this time period, try the following databases. Try each link.

Virginia Deaths Databases - Includes Index Only
Try:
1853-1896 - At Library of Virginia Free; Virginia, Death Index, 1853-1896: dates vary by county; list of county coverage (scroll down)
Try:
1853-1912 - At FamilySearch.org Free; Virginia Deaths and Burials, 1853-1912: dates vary by county; list of county coverage.
Try:

1853-1917 at Ancestry.com Free at FamilySearch Centers and Libraries; Virginia, Deaths and Burials Index, 1853-1917: Find your local FamilySearch Center OR use your own Ancestry subscription.
Try:

1853-1896 at Ancestry.com Free at FamilySearch Centers and Libraries; Virginia Deaths by county: Index to various county death records. Incomplete for all counties. Dates vary by county. Find your local FamilySearch Center OR use your own Ancestry subscription.
Can't search the index listed above? Try searching other records for death information.
Can't find your ancestor in the index? Tips for searching indexes
No death record for your ancestor? Other records with death information

Obtain the Record

Presently there are no death record images online. Death records from 1853 to 1896 are available on microfilm through the Family History Library and from the Library of Virginia.

Return to top: Choose another death year


Deaths from June 1912 to the Present

The state of Virginia began recording deaths in June 1912. Records are housed at the Virginia Department of Health State Office and in the county where the death occurred.

For deaths that occurred during this time period, try the following database.

Virginia Deaths Databases
Try:

Virginia, Death Records, 1912-2014, index for all years, image for those older than 25 years, for other Death Certificates, see Obtain the Certificate Free using Ancestryinstitution at FamilySearch Centers $, Use your own Ancestry subscription
Try 4th:
Can't search the index listed above? Try searching other records for death information.
Can't find your ancestor in the index? Tips for searching indexes
No death record for your ancestor? Other records with death information

Obtain the Certificate

You can order a copy of the death record for a fee from the following locations:

To Order Death Certificates
From County of Death From VA Dept. of Health State office
Pros Cons Pros Cons
May be less expensive and faster than ordering from the state County websites can be more difficult to use May be more expensive than ordering from the county

Restrictions for persons who died within the last 25 years:
To obtain a copy of the death certificate for those who died within the last 25 years, you must be:

  • The parent or grandparent of the person on the certificate
  • The current spouse of the person on the certificate
  • The child of the person on the certificate
  • The sibling of the person on the certificate
  • The legal guardian of the person on the certificate
  • Anyone who has legal interest in the certificate
NOTE: A copy of the death record cannot be obtained by anyone except those listed above until 25 years have passed from the date of the death.

If you do not want to order the death record, there are other records with death information you can search.

Return to top: Choose another death year


Related Wiki Articles

v • d• e
Links to Virginia-related articles (see also West Virginia-related articles)
Topics
Counties
Accomack • Albemarle • Alleghany • Amelia • Amherst • Appomattox • Arlington • Augusta • Bath • Bedford • Bland • Botetourt • Brunswick • Buchanan • Buckingham • Campbell • Caroline • Carroll • Charles City • Charlotte • Chesterfield • Clarke • Craig • Culpeper • Cumberland • Dickenson • Dinwiddie • Essex • Fairfax • Fauquier • Floyd • Fluvanna • Franklin • Frederick • Giles • Gloucester • Goochland • Grayson • Greene • Greensville • Halifax • Hanover • Henrico • Henry • Highland • Isle of Wight • James City • King and Queen • King George • King William • Lancaster • Lee • Loudoun • Louisa • Lunenburg • Madison • Mathews • Mecklenburg • Middlesex • Montgomery • Nelson • New Kent • Northampton • Northumberland • Nottoway • Orange • Page • Patrick • Pittsylvania • Powhatan • Prince Edward • Prince George • Prince William • Pulaski • Rappahannock (New) • Richmond • Roanoke • Rockbridge • Rockingham • Russell • Scott • Shenandoah • Smyth • Southampton • Spotsylvania • Stafford • Surry • Sussex • Tazewell • Warren • Washington • Westmoreland • Wise • Wythe • York
Independent
Cities
Extinct Counties/Cities
Counties
gone to KY
Counties
gone to WV
Barbour • Berkeley • Boone • Braxton • Brooke • Cabell • Calhoun • Clay • Doddridge • Fayette • Gilmer • Greenbrier • Hampshire • Hancock • Hardy • Harrison • Jackson • Jefferson • Kanawha • Lewis • Logan • Marion • Marshall • Mason • McDowell • Mercer • Monongalia • Monroe • Morgan • Nicholas • Ohio • Pendleton • Pleasants • Pocahontas • Preston • Putnam • Raleigh • Randolph • Ritchie • Roane • Taylor • Tucker • Tyler • Upshur • Wayne • Webster • Wetzel • Wirt • Wood • Wyoming
Colonial
Parishes
Abingdon • Accomac • Accomack • Albemarle • Amherst • Antrim • Appomattox • Argall's Gift • Augusta • Bath • Beckford • Berkeley • Blisland • Blount Point • Botetourt • Boutracy • Bristol • Bromfield • Brunswick • Bruton • Camden • Cameron • Charles City • Charles • Charles River • Chickacoan • Chickahominy • Chippokes • Chiskiack • Chotank • Christ Church (Lancaster Co.) • Christ Church (Middlesex Co.) • Chuckatuck • Cople • Cornwall • Cumberland • Dale • Denbigh • Dettingen • Drysdale • East • Elizabeth City • Elizabeth River • Fairfax • Fairfield • Farnham • Flowerdew Hundred • Fluvanna • Frederick • Fredericksville • Hamilton • Hampton • Hanover • Harrop • Henrico • Hog Island • Hungars • James City • Jordan's Journey • Kecoughtan • Kingston • King William • Lancaster • Lawnes Creek • Lee • Leeds • Lexington • Littleton • Lower (Elizabeth City Co.) • Lower (Isle of Wight Co.) • Lower (Lancaster Co.) • Lower (Nansemond Co.) • Lower (Northampton Co.) • Lower (Stafford Co.) • Lower (Upper Norfolk Co.) • Lower Suffolk • Lunenburg • Lynnhaven • Machodick • Manchester • Marston • Martin's Brandon • Martin's Hundred • Meherrin • Middle Plantation • Middletowne • Montgomery • Mulberry Island • New Poquoson • Newport • Nomini • Norborne • Northampton • North Farnham • Nottoway (Prince Edward Co.) • Nottoway (Southampton Co.) • Nutmeg Quarter • Occohannock • Overwharton • Patrick • Petsworth • Piankatank • Piscataway • Poropotank • Portsmouth • Potomac • Raleigh • Richmond • Rockbridge • Rockingham • Russell • St. Andrew's • St. Anne's (Albemarle Co.) • St. Anne's (Essex and Caroline Cos.) • St. Asaph's • St. Brides • St. David's • St. George's (Accomack Co.) • St. George's (Spotsylvania Co.) • St. James Northam • St. James Southam • St. James's (Goochland Co.) • St. James's (Mecklenburg Co.) • St. John's • St. Luke's • St. Margaret's • St. Mark's • St. Martin's • St. Mary's • St. Mary's Whitechapel • St. Patrick's • St. Paul's (Hanover Co.) • St. Paul's (King George Co.) • St. Peter's • St. Stephen's (King and Queen Co.) • St. Stephen's (Northumberland Co.) • St. Thomas • Shelburne • Sittenburne • Smith's Hundred • South • Southampton • South Farnham • Southwark • Stafford • Stanley Hundred • Stratton Major • Suffolk • Tillotson • Trinity (Lancaster Co.) • Trinity (Louisa Co.) • Truro • Upper (Elizabeth City Co.) • Upper (Isle of Wight Co.) • Upper (Lancaster Co.) • Upper (Nansemond Co.) • Upper (Northampton Co.) • Upper (Stafford Co.) • Upper Suffolk • Varina • Wallingford • Ware • Warrosquyoake • Warwick • Washington (Westmoreland Co.) • Washington (Washington Co.) • Waters Creek • West • West and Shirley • Westbury • Westover • Weyanoke • Wicomico • Wilmington • York • Yorkhampton
Major
Repositories
Bristol Public Library · Germanna Foundation Library · Handley Regional Library · Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) · Historical Society of Washington, D.C. · John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at Colonial Williamsburg · Jones Memorial Library · Library of Congress (Washington, DC) · Library of Virginia · Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library · Maryland State Archives (Annapolis, MD) · National Archives I (Washington, DC) · National Archives II (College Park, MD) · National Archives at Philadelphia (PA) · National Genealogical Society · New York Public Library (New York City, NY) · Pennsylvania State Archives (Harrisburg, PA) · Portsmouth Public Library · Roanoke County Public Library · Salisbury University Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture (Salisbury, MD) · Santa Cruz Public Library Downtown (Santa Cruz, CA) · University of Virginia Library · Virginia Department of Health · Virginia Historical Society · Virginia Theological Seminary · Washington National Records Center (Suitland, MD) · William and Mary College Swem Library
Migration
Routes
Routes: Chesapeake Bay • James River • Potomac River • Rappahannock River • York River • Chesapeake and Ohio Canal • Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad • Fall Line Road (or Southern Road) • Great Indian Warpath • Great Trading Path • Great Valley Road • Kanawha Trail • King's Highway • National Road (Cumberland Road) • New River and Southern Trail • Occaneechi Path • Old Cherokee Path • Old Northwestern Turnpike • Pamunkey-New River Trail • Pioneer Road • Richmond Road • Richmond-Williamsburg Road • Saura-Saponi Trail • Secondary Coast Road • Upper Road • Wilderness Road • Wilmington, Highpoint, and Northern Trail • Ports: Atlantic Coast Ports • Accomack • Alexandria • Belvoir Plantation • Bermuda Hundred • Dumfries • Falmouth • Fredericksburg • Hampton • Jamestown • Leedstown • Norfolk • Port Royal • Portsmouth • South Quay • Suffolk • Tappahannock (aka Hobb's Hole) • Urbanna • Williamsburg • Yorktown
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