Search for Death Records in New York

1847 to 1850

A statute passed in 1847 in the state of New York mandating doctors and midwives to report births, marriages, and deaths to the trustees of local school districts went into effect. Because of the complications of this rule, it swiftly went out of favor, and after 1850, only a few places reported deaths as a result of it (with many discontinuing after the 1847-1848 time period). The village, town, or city clerks or the county clerks are the only places where you can find records for this time period that are still in existence.
Find out if the records from your village, town, city, or county have been microfilmed by FamilySearch by conducting a search on their website. Search the Catalog for both village/town/city and county names, and then check with your local family history center to see whether they are available there as well. Alternatively, you can obtain a copy of the death certificate from the village, town, or municipal clerk. To get contact information for a hamlet, town, or city, use the FamilySearch Research Wiki to conduct a search for the location. It should be noted that in some counties, the county clerk is in charge of all death records during this period.

1851 to 1879

Fatalities were not documented by the State of New York between 1850 and May 1880, despite the fact that several localities (such as Buffalo, Yonkers and Albany) began recording deaths in the 1870s after the 1847 statute failed. Try searching for your ancestor’s death date and location in alternative documents to determine when and where he or she died.
1880 to 1913
Beginning in June 1880, the state of New York required that deaths be recorded by village, town, and city registrars. The State Department of Health was notified of these fatalities, and copies of the death certificates were submitted with them. Between 1881 and 1914, deaths documented in Albany, Buffalo, and Yonkers were not transferred to the State of New York as a result of earlier city ordinances. Copies of microfilm indexes to death certificates can be found at the New York Archives as well as nine additional archives throughout the state. To conduct a search of the index, contact one of the 10 repositories (which are mentioned on the State Archives website).

1914 to 1956

After 1914, the New York Department of Health received copies of all death records (with the exception of those in New York City). Copies of the death certificate can be obtained from the village, town, or municipal clerk at the location where the death occurred, or by contacting the Department of Health.

1957 to 1963

A copy of each death record from 1957 to 1963 is kept by the village, town, or city clerk where the death occurred, as well as the Department of Public Health. New York Department of Health also produced an online index (in spreadsheet form) for many deaths that occurred between 1957 and 1963, which can be accessed by anybody.

Deaths after 196People who are direct line descendants of someone who died less than fifty years ago can obtain a death certificate for that individual if they can show documentation of their relationship to the person whose death certificate they are asking for.