Washington, U.S., Death Records, 1883-1960

Counties in the state of Washington were required to keep death records from 1891-1907. However, many counties began keeping these records earlier than 1891, with some records dating from as early as 1860. The mandatory recording of births and deaths at the state level began on 1 July 1907.

This database contains death registers, returns, and certificates from various counties in Washington. The majority of these records are from 1883-1960. Information contained in these records can include:

• Name of deceased


• Gender


• Race


• Age at time of death


• Death date


• Death place


• Birth date


• Birthplace


• Parents’ names


• Parents’ birthplaces

Not all of the above items will be available for every individual listed in this database. The amount of information available for a person varies according to the type of form used as the original record. Very few records may have images attached to the index, these images are not available to browse, as these images appear very rarely.

Additional information such as cause of death, occupation, and marital status, may be available on the original record and can be obtained by viewing the image.

Some of the above information was taken from Dwight A. Radford, “Washington,” in Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, 3d ed., ed. Alice Eichholz. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004).