To find out if someone died, start with an obituary or death notice: search the person’s full name with the town where they lived and the word “obituary,” and check that town’s funeral homes and local paper. If nothing turns up, look in the death index or vital records office of the state where they may have died, and in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI), which covers deaths reported to Social Security up to early 2014. The death certificate, kept by the state where the death happened, is the record that confirms it.
Whether you want to know if someone passed away, when and where, or where they’re buried, each question has its own best record. Below is which one to use, what each can and can’t tell you, and why a search for someone who is deceased can still come up empty.
Which record answers your question
There is no national death register to search. “The federal government does not distribute certificates, files, or indexes with identifying information for vital records,” the CDC says; each state keeps its own. What information is public record explains how these vital records differ from court and property records. Start from the question you need answered:
| Your question | Where to look first | What it can tell you | What it can’t |
|---|---|---|---|
| Did they die? | An obituary or death notice, by name and town; the funeral home | That a death was announced; it may give the date, the town, family names and the funeral home | Not every death gets an obituary, and a notice may be a namesake’s |
| When and where did they die? | The state’s death index, if it publishes one; the SSDI for deaths reported up to early 2014 | A date of death and often a county (state index) or the last residence ZIP code (SSDI) | Recent deaths: Oklahoma’s index shows only deaths more than five years old, and FamilySearch’s SSDI copy ends in February 2014 |
| Where are they buried? | The obituary, the funeral home or the cemetery office; the VA’s locator for veterans | The cemetery’s name and location | Graves no one has indexed; the VA lists private-cemetery graves only when a government marker was furnished |
| Can I get proof? | A certified death certificate from the state where the death occurred | The date, place and cause of death, the informant, and the place of burial or cremation | Soon after a death, copies may be limited to certain family members |
| Was there an estate? | The probate court in the county where they lived | That an estate was opened and who was appointed to handle it; sometimes a will | Not every estate goes to court, so no file doesn’t mean no death |
Gather these details before you search
A name on its own can match several people who have died, as well as people who are still alive. Write down what you know, with the years each detail was true, before you look at any results.
- The full legal name, with any middle name or initial, and the nickname they went by
- A birth year or an approximate age
- The last city, county and state you know of, and when they lived there
- A maiden name, earlier married names or any other surname they used
- The names of a spouse, children, parents or siblings, to compare against an obituary
- Whether they served in the military, for the VA’s gravesite locator
- Any other state where they might have died, such as a relative’s home or a place they retired to
If the name is common, or you don’t know which county or state to search, a name search can narrow the field. On Recordwell’s people search, people who share a name appear as separate candidates, each with places connected to the name over time, which suggests which county or state to search. It isn’t a death record and can’t tell you whether someone has died; only the issuing office’s record settles that. For spelling variants and nicknames, see finding someone by name.
Start with obituaries and death notices
Search the full name in quotation marks with the town and the word obituary, then repeat it with a maiden name, a middle name or a nickname, and add a spouse’s or child’s name if you know one. An obituary that names the right relatives is far stronger evidence than one that only matches the name.
Then check the websites of funeral homes in that town and the local paper’s obituary page. Some papers are selective: the Los Angeles Public Library’s guide notes that Los Angeles city newspapers generally publish obituaries only for well-known people, while paid death notices “appear more frequently,” many giving only the person’s name and a mortuary. That mortuary is your next call.
For older deaths, use newspaper archives. The Library of Congress’s Chronicling America has millions of digitized pages from newspapers published through 1963, and your public library may give card holders access to newspaper archives from home; the Los Angeles Public Library, for example, offers its digitized Los Angeles Times for 1881 to 1994 that way.
Posts by relatives or a fundraiser for funeral costs may be the first sign you see, but treat them as leads until an obituary or a record confirms the name, age and place.
Check state death indexes and death certificates
“Death records are kept in the state where the individual died, not where they were buried,” FamilySearch’s research wiki notes, and that may not be the state where the person lived. The CDC’s Where to Write for Vital Records lists each state’s office. To order a certificate, USAGov says, you’ll need the date and place of death, and the state may ask how you’re related to the person or why you want it.
Some states publish a death index you can search by name. Oklahoma’s OK2Explore, for example, is a free index of the state’s births and deaths, searchable by name, date, county and sex. It shows limited information for deaths more than five years old and is updated monthly, and the state warns that its indexes contain some errors, so treat an entry as a lead.
Who can get a certified copy depends on the state, and some, USAGov notes, release death certificates 25 or more years after death. Two examples:
Texas. Access to death certificates is restricted for 25 years from the date of death, to immediate family (a spouse, child, parent, sibling or grandparent), a guardian or legal representative, or someone who documents a direct, tangible interest, such as a beneficiary named in an insurance policy. But anyone can order a death verification by giving the full name and the date and place of death. The letter states whether a death record is on file, with the name, date of death and county, for deaths since 1903; it isn’t a legal substitute for a certified copy.
California. Authorized certified copies go only to specific people, including a parent, spouse or domestic partner, child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling or an attorney for the estate, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Other requesters can get an informational certified copy printed with the words “INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY.” The state office issues both kinds, and the CDC’s California entry notes that it needs a notarized sworn statement for an authorized copy but not for an informational one.
Some states restrict the cause of death separately: Florida keeps it confidential on records less than 50 years old but lets any adult apply for a certified copy without it. Restrictions like these exist for a reason, so use the copy or letter that’s open to you and don’t claim a relationship you don’t have.
Died abroad? When a U.S. citizen dies in another country, the U.S. embassy or consulate issues a Consular Report of Death Abroad, which USAGov says serves as proof of death in the U.S.
The Social Security Death Index: what it covers and where it stops
The SSDI is what genealogy sites call their copies of the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File. FamilySearch’s free index has about 93.9 million entries, mostly for deaths from 1962, when Social Security computerized its records. Entries can include the name, birth and death dates, the state that issued the Social Security number and the ZIP code of the last residence, which can point you to a county and a newspaper. To search it, you’ll need to sign in with a free FamilySearch account.
Its limits matter as much as its size:
- It stops in early 2014. FamilySearch’s copy is current as of February 28, 2014. Section 203 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 bars disclosure of Death Master File information during the three calendar years after a death unless the requester is certified, under rules first issued in March 2014. NTIS certifies only users with a legitimate fraud-prevention interest or a legitimate business purpose under a law, regulation or fiduciary duty.
- It leaves out deaths reported by states. Under section 205(r) of the Social Security Act, the public file excludes state death records, as it has since November 2011; the full file goes only to certain federal and state agencies.
- It was never complete. FamilySearch says its index includes about 50 percent of deaths from 1962 to 1971 and about 85 percent from 1972 to 2005, and Social Security says its records “are not a comprehensive record of all deaths in the country.” A missing entry doesn’t mean the person is alive.
The National Death Index isn’t an alternative: the CDC says it serves only researchers doing statistical public health and medical studies, not personal, legal, administrative or genealogical searches.
How to find where someone is buried
Start with the obituary or service notice, which may name the cemetery, and with the funeral home that handled the arrangements. The death certificate records it too: the U.S. standard certificate of death published by the CDC has lines for the “method of disposition,” the “place of disposition” (the name of the cemetery, crematory or other place), its city or town and state, and the funeral facility. With a cemetery’s name, call or write its office with the full name and date of death, and ask for the section and plot.
Veterans. The VA’s Nationwide Gravesite Locator lists burials of veterans and their family members in VA national cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries and other military and Department of the Interior cemeteries. Veterans in private cemeteries are listed only if the grave has a government grave marker, and the VA has no information on those burials before 1997. If the person isn’t listed, you can mail the VA a burial location request with their service details; the VA says most requests take about four weeks.
Volunteer indexes. On Find a Grave, any member can add a memorial, and its details might come from a cemetery record, a headstone or an obituary, so check them against a record. BillionGraves is built from headstone photos that volunteers take with a smartphone app, which records each grave’s GPS location. Because volunteers build both, a missing entry doesn’t mean there’s no grave.
If no grave turns up anywhere, the person may have been cremated or buried without a marker; check the place of disposition on the death certificate.
Probate and estate records
Probate is “the legal process that you must follow to transfer or inherit property,” as California’s courts put it, so an estate file is another sign that someone has died. Look in the county where the person lived. In Maryland, for example, estates are opened in the jurisdiction where the person was domiciled when they died, and the Register of Wills offers an online Estate Search by the decedent’s name and county.
An estate file can show when the estate was opened and who was appointed personal representative, and it may include a will that names relatives. But no file doesn’t mean no death: depending on the amount and type of property, California’s guide notes, you may or may not need to go to court at all.
Why your search comes up empty
A blank result doesn’t prove someone is alive. Before you draw any conclusion, rule out these causes:
- The death is recent. Recent deaths are the least likely to be indexed, as the Oklahoma and SSDI limits above show. Use the obituary, the funeral home or the state vital records office instead.
- You’re searching the wrong state. The record is filed where the death happened, which may be a hospital, a relative’s home or a retirement town in another state.
- The name is recorded differently. Try maiden and married names, a middle name used as a first name, nicknames and misspellings. The SSDI usually lists married women under their married names, and the maiden name search guide shows where birth names are written down.
- The name is common. Several people with the same name may have died in the same state. Count a record as the right one only when at least two independent details agree, such as age and place, and preferably three for a common name, as matching a record to the right person explains.
- There was no obituary. Families don’t always publish one, and some papers print obituaries only for well-known people. Try the funeral home, the cemetery and the state index.
Worked example (illustrative; the person is invented). You haven’t heard from a former colleague, Ruth Ellison, born around 1948, since she retired to Tulsa in 2010, and an obituary search finds nothing. Oklahoma’s index lists a Ruth A. Ellison who died in Tulsa County in 2017, possibly a namesake. Using that date, you search the library’s archive of the Tulsa paper and find a death notice naming her late husband, Frank, whom you remember, and a funeral home. Two independent details now agree, and you can ask the funeral home where she’s buried.
If you need to contact the family
Records tell you what happened, but the people closest to it may still be grieving. If you learn that someone you knew has died, a short note of condolence sent through the funeral home or a mutual friend is a gentle way to reach the family. Say who you are and how you knew the person, and don’t ask for documents or details they haven’t shared.
If you still aren’t sure, ask one person who would know, privately, before you post anything or contact several relatives, and don’t pass the news on until the family has made it public. If you hoped to reconnect, surviving relatives may still welcome hearing from you; finding a long-lost family member covers a careful first message.
Common questions about finding out if someone died
How can I find out if someone died for free?
Search obituaries and funeral home websites by name and town, then try free indexes such as FamilySearch’s Social Security Death Index, which runs to early 2014 and needs a free account, and Oklahoma’s OK2Explore. Certified death certificates cost a fee set by the state vital records office; check its current price.
Why isn’t a recent death in the Social Security Death Index?
FamilySearch’s copy is current only to February 28, 2014. Since 2014, Death Master File information for the three calendar years after a death has gone only to certified users, and the public file leaves out deaths reported by states. Check obituaries and the state vital records office instead.
Is there a national database of deaths I can search?
Not a complete or current one. The Social Security Death Index is national but stops in early 2014 and misses many deaths. The federal government doesn’t distribute vital records indexes with identifying information, and the CDC’s National Death Index is for researchers only. Death certificates are kept by the state where the death happened.
Can anyone get a copy of a death certificate?
It depends on the state. Texas restricts death certificates for 25 years to immediate family and others with a documented interest, though anyone who can give the full name and the date and place of death can order a death verification letter. California gives authorized copies to close relatives and certain others, and informational copies to other requesters.
How do I find where someone is buried?
Check the obituary, ask the funeral home, or look at the place of disposition on the death certificate, then search Find a Grave and BillionGraves. For veterans, the VA’s Nationwide Gravesite Locator covers national and state veterans cemeteries, and private-cemetery graves with a government marker from 1997 on.
Can I find out how someone died?
It’s recorded on the death certificate, but some states restrict it. Florida keeps the cause of death confidential on records less than 50 years old and gives other adults a certified copy without it. An obituary may mention it if the family chose to.