About Death Records in Ohio

Death Records

• Before 1867
• 1867 through December 19, 1908
• December 20, 1908 through December 31, 1953
• January 1, 1954 to the present

Guidelines

• For requesting death certificates: deaths that occurred between December 20, 1908 through December 31, 1944 held by the Ohio Historical Society.
• For requesting death records: deaths that occurred between1867 through December 19, 1908 held by the Ohio Historical Society.

Birth records in Ohio

Before 1867

Ohio did not make it a law to keep death records until 1867.

1867 through December 19, 1908

Ohio made it a law to record deaths in 1867. County probate courts kept death records between 1867 and December 19, 1908. There is no statewide index to death records from 1867 through December 19, 1908. Go to the list of county probate court death records held at the Ohio Historical Society. If the Ohio Historical Society does not hold a county's death records, please contact the county's probate court. A list of county courthouse contacts is available at Ohio County Courthouse Addresses.

December 20, 1908 through December 31, 1953

The state of Ohio began issuing certificates for deaths on December 20, 1908. The Ohio Historical Society holds death certificates for the entire state of Ohio from December 20, 1908 through December 31, 1953 You may wish to visit our online Ohio Death Certificate Index for 1913-1937.

January 1, 1954 to the present

Death certificates from 1954 to the present are held by the Ohio Department of Health. You should contact the Ohio Department of Health at the address below for information concerning their request procedures.

Ohio Department of Health
Division of Vital Statistics
PO Box 15098
Columbus, OH 43215-0098
(614) 466-2531

Guidelines for requesting death certificates

When making a request for an Ohio death certificate between December 20, 1908 through December 31, 1944, please see the instructions for death certificate requests.

Guidelines for requesting death records

Before making a request for a death record that occurred between 1867 through December 19, 1908, please confirm that we hold records for the county and time period by reviewing County Death Records Held at the Ohio Historical Society. Death record requests that are submitted with a county, name of deceased, and exact year of death are processed by our staff as COPY REQUESTS. The county where the death was registered and the name of the deceased must be provided, but our staff will search a 10 year time frame if the exact year of death is unknown. Death record requests that are submitted with a county, name of deceased, and a time frame within the 10 year span are processed by our staff as RESEARCH REQUESTS. A complete description of all request policies can be reviewed at Guidelines for Offsite Copy and Research Requests.