The Library has death registers from 1853 to 1896 on microfilm. Microfilm is available to borrow through Interlibrary Loan. Reels can be located using the following indexes:
Although there is no statewide index to death records for the period 1853 through 1896, some county court clerks prepared indexes to births and deaths for this period. Please use the guide to County and City Records on Microfilm to confirm the availability of a local death record index.
Death register records can also be obtained from:
From 1853 through 1896, the information recorded in death registers changed very little.
The registers contain headings for:
The majority of counties and cities did not record deaths between 1897 and 1911. However, some metropolitan areas continued to record death information, though the state did not require it. These localities include:
City of Lynchburg | City of Newport News |
City of Norfolk | City of Petersburg |
City of Portsmouth | City of Richmond |
City of Roanoke | County of Elizabeth City |
The Library only holds the microfilm copies of death certificates from 1912–1939, arranged chronologically by year and thereunder by month. Prior to 1932, cities were filed with the counties in which they are located. Beginning in 1932, cities and counties were filed separately, with the cities at the beginning of each month. At the end of each year’s records, there is a volume of delayed filings for that year. Certificates are numbered consecutively for each year. Consult the following guide to find the correct reel:
If the place or year of death is unknown, use the following index:
Death certificates from 1912 onward can also be obtained from:
There is a 25-year privacy law for death records, so any death record falling within the restricted period will display as indexed information only on Ancestry and FamilySearch.