How to Read and Order an Ohio Death Certificate (1908–1970)

An Ohio death certificate is often the first document that names both of a person's parents. It can also give a birthplace, a cause of death, and a burial location. Here is how to find one, what to look for, and how to order it.

What the state holds, and what it doesn't

Statewide death certificates began on December 20, 1908. According to the Ohio History Connection's Vital Records guide, its Archives & Library holds Ohio Department of Health death certificates from December 20, 1908 through 1970. It does not hold deaths from 1971 forward. Those are with the Ohio Department of Health or the local health department.

Before December 20, 1908, county probate courts recorded deaths as one-line ledger entries beginning in 1867. Those are a different record, held county by county. See our Ohio records Start Here guide for the full picture.

The state collection covers only people who died in Ohio. If your ancestor died in another state, look there.

Step 1: Find the certificate in an index

• FamilySearch, free: Ohio Deaths, 1908–1953. A free account is required. Many records include the image, so you may not need to order anything.
• Ohio History Connection death index, free: the online Ohio Death Record Index search (it has a search box for first name, last name, and year) covers 1913–1944 and 1954–1970. It also covers stillborn certificates and Columbus Board of Health certificates (1904–1908). The Ohio History Connection notes that many of its index names were transcribed by computer from poor paper indexes, so errors are common. Try variant spellings.
• Gaps in the index: the Ohio History Connection index skips 1908–1912 and 1945–1953, which is why the FamilySearch collection above is the one to check for those years.
• Veterans' burials, free: the same site has a Veterans' & Beneficiaries' Burials index for Ohio's federal cemeteries, such as Dayton National Cemetery. It gives burial dates and plot locations, but no copies to order.
• Microfilm on site: indexes and records for December 20, 1908 through 1953 are at the Archives & Library in Columbus.

Women appear under their legal last name at death, which for most women in these years is the married name.

Step 2: Read the certificate

Layouts changed over the decades, so the order of the boxes varies. Most Ohio certificates include these items:

• Place of death: county, township or city, and often street address or institution. Check it against the census for the household.
• Name, sex, race, and marital status: including whether the person was married, widowed, or divorced, and often the spouse's name.
• Date and place of birth, and age: the age is often given in years, months, and days.
• Occupation: a clue for finding employer records, union records, or city directory entries.
• Father's name and birthplace; mother's maiden name and birthplace: usually the most valuable part for genealogists.
• Informant: the person who supplied the information, with an address. This person is often a spouse, child, or sibling, and is a lead to a living relative.
• Cause of death: main and contributing causes, plus the physician. Cause-of-death wording can point to epidemics, occupational illness, or accidents. An accident may also have a newspaper story and a coroner's record.
• Burial or cremation: the cemetery, date, and funeral director. This leads to the cemetery's burial register and the funeral home's records.
• Certificate number and filing date: you need the number to order a copy quickly.

Not every box was filled in. Some certificates have a note pasted on the front, or were returned to the county for correction. The Ohio History Connection sends all pages of such a file when it makes a copy.

Step 3: Weigh the clues

Treat each part of the certificate according to who knew it. The doctor knew the cause of death. The informant, who may have been grieving or from a younger generation, supplied the birth date and parents' names. Parents' birthplaces are especially easy to get wrong, and a child may name only the country or state. Use the certificate as a lead and confirm the parents with other records such as a birth record, census, marriage record, or will.

Step 4: Order a copy from the Ohio History Connection

1. Search first. If you find the person in the online index, add the certificate to your order through the shopping bag. If you cannot find the name, use the order form for certificates not found in the index.
2. Gather what you need. For the basic $14 copy the Ohio History Connection needs the name and death year, plus one of: county of death, exact death date, or death certificate number.
3. Choose a format. Copies are sent as digital images by email. You can request a paper copy during checkout. Online orders are available for Ohio deaths from December 20, 1908 through 1953.
4. Wait. The Ohio History Connection says to expect your order within about two weeks, but it may take longer during busy periods, and it cannot expedite. If you have heard nothing after four weeks, email [email protected].
5. Cancel quickly if needed. Orders are often processed within 24 hours of receipt.

The $14 fee covers a search for one spelling of the last name. If the certificate isn't in the index, the Ohio History Connection will manually search a county and month of death for $25 per hour. It notes the state may never have received the county's copy, so checking the county health department can be a better bet.

Deaths from 1954 to 1970

For these years, the Ohio History Connection says records are available digitally on site at reference kiosks in the Reading Room at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, effective July 1, 2026. Check the current hours and appointment rules before you go, because the Archives & Library has changed its access recently. Contact the library at 614-297-2510 or [email protected] to ask about copies.

Need a certified copy?

The Ohio History Connection did not create the original certificates, so it cannot certify them. It can stamp copies to show they came from its collections, which is enough for many lineage societies such as the DAR. If you need a certified copy for legal use, contact the health department in the county where the death occurred. To apostille a certified copy, contact the Ohio Secretary of State.

Need help finding one?

If you can't find a certificate in the index, or you'd rather not order it yourself, I can search for you. Fill out the short request form with the person's name, year of death, and county. I'll search the Ohio History Connection death records. If I find the certificate, I'll approve your request and you pay $10 for a digital copy. If I can't find it, you pay nothing.

I send the copy by email, usually within about two weeks, because my visits to the Ohio History Connection are by appointment. The copy is for genealogy research and is not certified. All sales are final once a certificate has been found and researched.

Request a Death Certificate Search ($10)

If you can't find it

• Try other spellings and a one- or two-year range on the death date.
• Search by county, not just by name. Try the nearest city if the person died in a hospital or institution.
• Look for an obituary or a funeral notice. See the newspaper section of your county guide.
• Contact the county probate court or health department. Sometimes a certificate was missed when the state index was compiled.

→ Ohio Genealogy Records: Start Here

Sources: Ohio History Connection, Vital Records guide (Death Records) and Death Certificate FAQ. Fees, hours, and rules change, so confirm with the Ohio History Connection before you order or travel.