When Were Statewide Death Registrations Required

If you are looking for death certificates, you need to know the timing of each state’s requirements. Each state in the U.S. started requiring death registrations in different years. Usually, some types of records were created prior to the official state laws, either at the county, city, or town levels. But state records weren’t required until a law was passed. Furthermore, even though registrations and certificates were mandated, general compliance was not achieved by all entities for just a few years or even a few decades in some instances.

The Quicksheet contains a chart that lists the state and when registration was required. Also listed is a link to further information about each state’s death records, especially where you might find them prior to state registration.

To obtain the one-page Quicksheet pdf for easy reference, you can download it by clicking on the Download button

For all the previously published Quick Reference Guides, click on QuickSheets

Genealogy QuickSheets – Frequently Asked Questions