Death certificates are key documents in determining how and when someone died, how the cause of death was established, and where the body was buried. They detail all medical information about the deceased including; where they were born, where they lived, cause of death, name and birthday of the deceased, occupation, religion, and birthplace details are also mentioned. For many centuries official death certificates for free online were handwritten on parchment paper. Death Certificate Search can be obtained by various modes as mentioned below.
Nowadays, due to the advancement in technology, digital versions of them are available from local authorities or online. Death certificates for free online are invaluable for a number of reasons such as for proving that you’re authorized to receive life insurance benefits or for establishing that you have proof-of-death to use for foreign travel purposes among other things.
How can we get the Death Certificates Search for Free Online?
If you want to find out how to look up someone’s death certificate for free, this post is just the thing you need. You’ll learn which loved one’s death certificate can be found in which location and what specific information can be found on it.
1. Visit Your State’s Vital Records Website
The best place you can visit for your death certificate search is your State’s Vital Record office. This is a record-keeping office in every state which keeps the record of every vital record including the death, birth, stillbirth, divorce, and marriage.
Here you will get an unofficial copy of the death certificate search as well. These days the offices have become stricter in providing the death certificate’s copy. Some of the State’s offices charge some amount and some provide it for free. However, the cost is reasonable in all cases because even if you don’t need a certified copy, still the officials have to go through all the records.
2. Apply for a Non-Certified Copy
If your state’s office provides an uncertified copy for free, then go through the application process. You’ll need to fill out the deceased persons’ information such as:
- Name of the Deceased Person
- Date of Birth
- Date of Death
- Place of Death
Also, you will be asked to fill out your reason for the request and your relationship with the deceased.
3. State Archives
Many states don’t want to give the uncertified copy for free, instead, they suggest for the State’s archives. The interested person can go through this archive record at the comfort of their home and the access is completely free.
After visiting the State’s official archive website to narrow down the search, fill in the details of the deceased person. After completing this process you might be able to get the death certificate. Just enter the details on the right State website. Also, death certificates for free online are issued by the state where the person has died and has no relation with his/her belongings.
4. Visit Ancestory.com
This website is a consortium of data and records for people around the globe. This website specializes in important records such as death certificates.
To get access to this website you need to register yourself as a guest or you have to take a 14-days free trial membership of the website. Once this process is completed, you will be able to get access to the death records of the following places:
- Death records in the U.S.
- Death records around the world.
While the hardcore researchers of death certificates will suggest you go for the paid version but the free membership is also worth using.
5. Search Obituary Website
After following all the above-listed methods if you’re still struggling to find out the relevant death certificate, then you might restart your search with obituaries. This website will allow you to gain access to obituaries from all around the nation and the world.
You can do thorough research if you have the information about the birth and death place. This filter will help you to get all the related information from state archives. This process is a little bit longer and you might have to perform all the above-given stages. But this is the last resort for you and it works.
Death Certificates Search on Call or In-Person (Offline)
This method is the most convenient one for the hunt for death certificates of your ancestors. Personal contacts can provide more genuine information about someone. Further, this information can be used by you on the websites listed above. Through this process, you will be able to get more accurate results. There are a few tricks for establishing contact with potential informers which you need to follow.
1. Check Your State’s Physical Archive
Whichever state you live in, there must be a physical archive of all the important data. Visiting this place personally can help you get the desired death certificate. This is a time taking process but the chances of getting the accurate copy are high.
2. Call The State’s Record Office
A phone call to the State’s record office can get you to know about the whereabouts of the death certificate. Most offices won’t give much information over the call but they will tell the exact location at which the death certificate is available.
3. Call Family Members
There is always a person in a family who knows about all the family members. There must be one such person in your family as well. Find that one person and ask about the information of your ancestors.
4. Call Your State’s Archive Office
Call the archive office of the state in which you live. Usually, the officials won’t give much information over the call but they will tell you whether the said record is available in their office or not.
In the end what really matters is that you get your facts right in this regard – for once you start jotting down information about a person’s death and death certificates search, you could have serious legal implications at stake. That’s the reason why we tell you to get all your information from a reliable source i.e. government registered offices or the like, if you want to look up someone’s death certificate for free online– go for it!
