Vital Records at the Archives & Library of the Ohio History Connection

Death Records

Death records typically provide the individual’s date of death, the cause of death, residence and additional biographical information. Depending on the time period, there are different ways to access death records. In Ohio, it became a statewide law to record deaths in 1867. Each county's probate court was responsible for recording the death as a single line entry in a ledger book from 1867 to December 19, 1908. Deaths that occurred on December 20, 1908 to the present are recorded by local vital statistics offices and the Ohio Department of Health in a certificate format.

What records do we have?

The Archives & Library holds copies of probate court death records for 24 of the 88 Ohio counties. We hold Ohio Department of Health death certificates from December 20, 1908 through 1970. We also hold Ohio Stillborn Death Certificates from December 20, 1908 through 1953, as well as Columbus Death Certificates from 1904 through 1908. 

We do not hold records of deaths that occurred in 1971 to the present. Death certificates for the state of Ohio from 1971 to the present are held by the Ohio Department of Health. You can also request death certificates from the local public health department where the death occurred.

Before 1867

It was not required by law to keep death records in Ohio until 1867. Although the official records do not exist, you may be able to find information about these events from other sources.  

Newspapers

Search for a death notice or obituary in the newspaper. This is a hit-or-miss proposition. Depending on the time period, the notices could be scattered throughout the newspaper. Search the Library Catalog to determine what newspapers we have available for which time periods. Visit our Newspaper Research Guide for search tips and strategies, and links to some of Ohio's popular obituary indexes. Some Ohio newspapers are freely available online and keyword searchable on Chronicling America and Ohio Memory. 

Church Records

If you know where the person was living and what church the family attended, you may be able to find baptismal, christening, funeral, burial or other records. Because the Archives & Library does not hold church records, it is best to contact the church or church archives directly.

Will and Estate Records

For deaths occurring before 1852, check for records in the Supreme Court of Ohio or county court of common pleas, chancery section. Also review Ohio Wills and Estates to 1850: an Index by Carol Willsey Bell [R 929.3771 B413], available in the Archives & Library for research.  For deaths occurring after 1852, check for records in the county probate court.

The best way to find out what records are housed in the Archives & Library is to search the Library Catalog by the county and court name (for example: Knox County Probate).

1867 - December 19, 1908

In 1867, it became a statewide law to record deaths at the probate court of the county where the death occurred. Death records were one-line entries in ledger books listing additional information such as birthplace and cause of death. Records will have space to include the deceased's parents names, but these fields were typically filled out only for the deaths of children. Some records may have indexes to direct you to the volume and page number on which a person’s record can be found.

There is no statewide index to these records before December 20, 1908. You need to know the county of death to find a record. If the county of death is not known, search the U.S. Census to identify possible counties. Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org have census records online, allowing you to search by name. Those services are available on the computers in the Archives & Library. Print indexes and microfilmed census records are also available in the Archives & Library. 

The Archives & Library holds probate court death records for 29 of the 88 Ohio counties. A list of probate court record types we have for those 29 counties is available in the box farther down on this page and on pages 2–9 of the Indexed Vital Records Copy Request form linked on the left side of this page. Additionally, one may search the Library Catalog to find what probate court record types or published indexes are available in the Archives & Library. For example, search: Knox County Probate Court Death.

For death records not in our collection or for certified copies, contact the local Probate Court or county archives to find out where the records are housed.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints microfilmed Ohio county courthouse records. Many counties' vital records are available digitally on their website, www.familysearch.org. There is no charge to use FamilySearch, but they do require that you register for a free account to view the original documents. Those vital records collections can be searched by the person's name, county, and year at Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001. At present, many of the courthouse records have not been completely name indexed (meaning you may not get results by typing the name in the search box). In that case, you can browse the records by county using the "browse images" link on the search page.

Requesting Uncertified Ohio Death Record Copies between 1867 - December 19, 1908

If you have an exact place and year of death for someone who died in Ohio between 1867-December 19, 1908, you can submit an Indexed Public Records Copy Request form. The exact citation to the event should have the following:

• Full legal name of the person documented by the record

• Type of record being requested (for example: death)

• The year that the death occurred

• County or city in Ohio where the death occurred

• The State Archives record series name and number of the collection to be searched. This information is required and can be found in the box farther down on this page and on pages 2-9 of the request form. If the desired county, record type and year range is not listed, we do not have those records.

We can search for one single spelling of a name per order. It takes four to six weeks for us to process and respond to a death record copy request. Orders cannot be canceled or refunded once processed. Information about cost and the form for submitting a copy request is available on the Indexed Vital Records Copy Request form linked on the left side of this page.

Please note: Since we did not create the original documents, we cannot legally certify them. If you need a certified copy, please contact the probate court of the county of death.

Requesting Ohio Death Record Research between 1867-December 19, 1908

If you know that a person died in Ohio, but you do not have the exact year of death, you can request research for a record of death during a ten-year time frame. Because there is no statewide index to Ohio deaths that happened before December 20, 1908, it is necessary to know the county or city in Ohio where the person died. The citation to the event must include the following:

• Full legal name of the person documented by the record

• Type of record being researched (for example: death)

• Approximate year of the death (must be within a 10-year time span)

• County or city in Ohio where the death happened

• The State Archives record series name and number of the collection to be searched. This information is required and can be found in the box below and on pages 2-9 of the request form. If the desired county, record type and year range is not listed, we do not have those records.

We can research one single spelling of a name per order. It takes four to six weeks for us to process and respond to a death record request. Orders cannot be canceled or refunded once processed. Information about cost and the form for submitting a research request is available on the Indexed Vital Records Research Request form linked on the left side of this page.

Please note: Since we did not create the original documents, we cannot legally certify them. If you need a certified copy, please contact the probate court of the county of death.

There are not indexed records in our collections for the following counties:

Please contact the county probate court or local government records repository to inquire about access to these records.

December 20, 1908 - 1970

Deaths occurring within this time period were recorded with the Ohio Department of Health and are available through the Archives & Library.

The online Ohio Death Record Index includes Ohio death record indexes for:

• Ohio Department of Health Death Certificates, 1913-1944, 1954-1970
• Ohio Department of Health Stillborn Death Certificates, 1913-1935, 1942-1953
• Columbus Board of Health Death Certificates, 1904-1908

Microfilm indexes from December 20, 1908 - 1953 are available at the Archives & Library.

Off-site researchers can use the online index to order copies of the death certificates. If the certificate you need is not in our index, you can order an uncertified copy online by using the online request form. We do not hold stillbirth certificates after 1953.

In the past, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints microfilmed Ohio death certificates from December 20, 1908-1953. Most are available digitally on their website, www.familysearch.org. There is no charge to use FamilySearch, but they do require that you register for a free account to view the original documents. You can search their collection of Ohio death certificates on their Ohio Deaths, 1908–1953 page. 

Requesting Uncertified Ohio Death Certificate Copies between December 20, 1908 - 1970

If you have an exact place and year of death for someone who died in Ohio between December 20, 1908 and December 31, 1970 or stillbirths between between December 20, 1908 and December 31, 1953, you can submit an Ohio Death Certificate Request Form. You can also order online through the Ohio Death Record Index. The exact citation to the event should have the full legal name of the deceased, the year of death and at least one of the following:

• Certificate number

• Day and/or month of death 

• County or city in Ohio where the death occurred

Death certificate copies from 1908 through 1970 are delivered as scanned images by email unless you request a paper copy during the ordering process.

Please note: Since we did not create the original documents, we cannot legally certify them. If you need a certified copy, please contact the public health department of the county of death.

If you need to correct or cancel a death certificate request, please contact us within 24 hours of placing the order. Orders can be changed or cancelled before we have processed the order by emailing vitalrecords@ohiohistory.org. Orders cannot be changed, canceled or refunded once processed.

Certified copies of death certificates can be obtained from the local Ohio county health department where the death occurred. To apostille certified copies, contact the Ohio Secretary of State's Office. We can stamp death certificate copies to show that they came from our collections for non-legal purposes only (e.g. Daughters of the American Revolution applications).

We can search for one single spelling of a name per order. It takes two to four weeks for us to process and respond to a death certificate copy request. Information about cost and the form for submitting a Death Certificate copy request is available on the Death Certificate Request form linked on the left side of this page.

More detailed information about requesting a death certificate copy can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page for death certificates.

Requesting Ohio Death Record Research between December 20, 1908 - 1970

If you know that a person died in Ohio, but you do not have the exact year of death, you can request research for a record of death during a ten-year time frame. Because there are often multiple people with the same name who died in the same year, it is necessary to know the county or city in Ohio where the person died. The citation to the event must include the following:

• Full legal name of the person documented by the record

• Type of record being researched (for example: death)

• Approximate year of the death (must be within a 10-year time span)

• County or city in Ohio where the death happened

Death certificate research is not available for the years 1954-1970. The best available index for this period is the Ohio Death Record Index. We can only research Ohio stillborn death certificates up to 1935. 

It takes four to six weeks for us to process and respond to a research request. Orders cannot be canceled or refunded once processed. Information about cost and the forms for submitting the request are available at the Death Certificate Research Request Form linked on the left side of this page.

Please note: Since we did not create the original documents, we cannot legally certify them. If you need a certified copy, please contact the public health department of the county of death.

1971 - present

The Ohio History Connection Archives & Library does not have copies of these records.

Death certificates for the state of Ohio from 1971 to the present and stillbirths from 1954 to present are held by the Ohio Department of Health. You can also request death certificates from the local public health department where the death occurred.

Can't Find What You Are Looking For?

From 1867 to December 19, 1908 although Ohio law required deaths to be recorded, this did not always happen. A family member, the doctor, or the tax assessor was responsible for reporting the death, and sometimes this didn’t happen, especially if the family lived far from the court.

If you can’t find a person’s name in the index, that doesn’t mean that his/her record will not be in the actual record book. If you have a general idea of the year in which the person died, you may consider reviewing all of the records from that year or group of years.

If an entry from December 20, 1908-1953 is incorrect in the online index, please send corrected information to vitalrecords@ohiohistory.org. Corrections to death certificates from December 20, 1908-1970 can be submitted as a notarized affidavit to the State Archives office. These are kept on file but do not change the information on the certificate itself. You can download a copy of the affidavit here [.docx format].

If we cannot find a death record or certificate for someone who died in Ohio, you should consider contacting the county probate court or health department where the individual was at the time of death.