Free Online South Dakota Death Records and Indexes

Over the past few decades, thanks to volunteers, librarians, and archivists (as well as the largest of them all – FamilySearch), a great number of indexes to death collections have been provided for free online. These searchable indexes provide specific death information, and sometimes scanned images of the actual death certificates themselves. These free online collections have hundreds of millions of records in them in total.
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There are a great number of online and offline collections that may include death information that is not included in the lists below. For example, newspapers and obituaries have death info, but most times obituary indexes include the date of the obituary but not the date of death. To find out which types of other records may include death information, please see: 

• 24 Ways to Find Ancestor Death Information

The lists below are specific death indexes and record collections that are available for free online for the state of South Dakota.

Note: Some of the links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage, please make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.

Note: I have included links to Free Ancestry records and indexes. You do not need a subscription, but do need an Ancestry account. Without a subscription, you can view indexes. If there is an image associated with a record, in most cases you will need a subscription, but the index does include very usable information.

(Updated March 2023)

South Dakota Death Records

• Brown County Deaths
• Brule County, Deaths
• Butte County Deaths
• Campbell County, Deaths
• Cheyenne River Agency Agency Records, 1869-1951
• Crow Creek Agency Birth and Death Records, 1919-1939
• Crow Creek Agency Record of Births and Deaths–Lower Yanktonai Sioux, 1881-1918
• Dakota Territory Mortality Records: Persons who Died in the Year Ending 31 May, 1880
• Davison County Cemetery, Cemetery Plot Cards
• Fall River County, State Soldiers Home records, 1889–1977
• Faulk County Deaths
• Hand County Deaths
• Hand County Obituaries and Death Notices
• Hot Springs State Soldiers’ Home, Death Register, 1890-1977
• Lawrence County, Church Vital Records, 1902-1949
• Lawrence County, Terry Cemetery, Records,
• Lyman County Deaths
• Miscellaneous BMD Records by County
• Online Searchable Death Indexes
• Pine Ridge Agency Agency Pension Records, 1926-1930
• Pine Ridge Agency Birth and Death Records, 1895-1950
• Pine Ridge Agency Family Statistics ledger, late 1800’s – early 1900’s
• Pine Ridge Agency Supplemental census, all Births and Deaths, 1946-1948
• Rapid City Journal Death Index
• Rapid City, Mortuary Indexes, 1879-1971
• Rapid City, Obituaries in Rapid City Daily Journal, 1975-1998
• Rapid City, Obituary Index, 1968-2012
• Rosebud Agency Birth and Death Records, 1900-1946
• Rosebud Agency List of Deaths Reported between June 30 and Oct. 1, 1904
• Sioux Falls, Index to Burial Permits
• Sioux Falls, Index to Deaths, 1880-1990
• Sioux Falls, Surname Index, ca.1700-1990
• Sisseton Agency Birth and Death Records, 1928-1945
• South Dakota Death and Obituary Index Collections
• South Dakota Death/Cemetery Index
• South Dakota, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records, 1861-1941
• South Dakota, Miscellaneous Church and Cemetery Records
• South Dakota, Pioneer Certificates
• South Dakota, South Lead City Cemetery, Card Index of Deaths, 1912-1966
• South Dakota, World War I American Expeditionary Forces, Deaths, 1917-1919
• South Lead City Cemetery, Card Index of Deaths, 1912-1966
• Standing Rock Agency Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1880-1942
• Union County Death Index St. Peters Catholic Church
• Union County, Deaths
• United States Deaths and Burials, 1867-1961
• United States Korean War Battle Deaths, 1950-1957
• United States Social Security Death Index
• United States, World War I American Expeditionary Forces Deaths, 1917-1919