New York Death Index
The New York death index is a public record system that tracks deaths across all 62 counties in the state. The New York State Department of Health maintains statewide death records from 1880 to the present for areas outside New York City. New York City keeps its own death index through the Municipal Archives and the NYC Department of Health. You can search for death records online, by mail, or in person at local registrar offices and county clerk locations. Each county and city clerk holds local copies of death certificates for events that took place in their area.
New York Death Index Overview
Where to Find New York Death Index Records
Death index records in New York come from two main systems. The state system covers all 62 counties outside of New York City. The city system covers the five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. The split matters. You need to know which system holds the record you want before you start your search.
The New York State Department of Health holds death certificates from 1880 to the present for the state outside New York City. Their Vital Records Section is at PO Box 2602, Albany, NY 12220-2602. You can reach them toll-free at 855-322-1022. They also maintain a downloadable death index dataset that starts in 1957 and is released after 50 years. Under 10 NYCRR 35.4, the state sets rules for how death records are filed, stored, and made available to the public. The index entries show the name of the person, date and place of death, and a state file number.
For New York City death records, the NYC Municipal Archives holds historical death records from 1795 through 1948. The archives are at 31 Chambers Street, Room 103, New York, NY 10007. More recent death records from 1949 to the present are at the NYC Department of Health, 125 Worth Street, CN-4, Room 133, New York, NY 10013. The phone number is 311 or (212) 788-4520.
Note: The cities of Albany, Buffalo, and Yonkers kept their own death records before 1914. Those early records are not in the state index. Contact the local registrar in each city for pre-1914 death records.
How to Search the New York Death Index
Start with the New York State Archives. They hold microfiche copies of older death index records. The death indexes start in June 1880 and cover the entire state outside New York City. Death indexes are made public after 50 years. An index entry gives you the name, date, place of death, and the state certificate number. You can use that number to request the full death certificate from the Department of Health.
The microfiche indexes are free to view. No appointment is needed at the State Archives in Albany. They are on the 11th floor of the Cultural Education Center at Empire State Plaza. Several microfiche readers are available, but use is limited to one hour if others are waiting. Researchers must show ID and sign a registration form.
For New York City, the NYC Historical Vital Records database provides free online access to millions of digitized death records from 1795 through 1948. You can browse, search, and download records. The NYC Municipal Archives is working to digitize all 13.3 million historical vital records. If you cannot find a record through the online search, a Vital Records Order Form is available. Staff will digitize the record on demand if it exists.
How to Get Death Index Certificates in New York
You can get copies three ways: online, by mail, or in person. The method depends on the location.
For state records outside New York City, submit a request to the NYS Department of Health Vital Records Section. Mail requests go to PO Box 2602, Albany, NY 12220-2602. You can also drop off applications at the State Archives on the 11th floor of the Cultural Education Center or at the Department of Health office at 800 North Pearl Street, 2nd Floor, Menands, NY 12204. Processing a genealogy request may take eight months or longer. Submitting your request to the local registrar where the death took place can save time. The fee for a genealogy copy depends on the number of years searched, starting at $22 for a 1 to 3 year search and going up to $202 for an 81 to 90 year search. The fee applies to each record you request.
County and city vital records offices also issue death certificates. Most counties charge $30 per certified copy. Monroe County charges $30 and processes copies while you wait at their office at 740 East Henrietta Road, Rochester, NY 14623. Onondaga County charges $30 for the first copy and $15 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. Buffalo charges $10 per certificate. Fees and wait times vary by office. Contact the local registrar where the death took place to confirm their process. Under New York Public Health Law, local registrars and the state Department of Health are both authorized to furnish uncertified copies of vital records for genealogical purposes.
New York Death Index for Genealogy Research
Death records in New York have specific access rules for genealogy. A death certificate must be on file for at least 50 years before the Department of Health will release an uncertified copy for genealogy purposes. Direct-line descendants (child, grandchild, great-grandchild) can request records regardless of age by providing proof of their relationship and proof of death.
The NYS DOH Genealogy Records page explains these rules. Vital records registration started in 1881 outside New York City. Compliance with the law was incomplete until 1913 or later, so certificates are missing for many early events. The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society also provides access to the New York State Death Index for researchers. The Library of Congress maintains a guide to New York vital records for genealogy.
The State Archives also holds an index to delayed birth certificates filed for births before 1881, mostly in the 1870s. The DOH death indexes do not include New York City or the former City of Brooklyn for any period. They do include vital events in the former towns of Kings County before annexation by Brooklyn in the 1880s and 1890s, parts of Westchester County before annexation by New York City in 1895, and Richmond County and western Queens County before incorporation into New York City on January 1, 1898.
Death Index Microfiche Locations in New York
Copies of the microfiche index to death records held by the NYS Department of Health are at libraries and archives across the state. You can view these in person at no cost.
- New York State Archives, Cultural Education Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany 12230
- Broome County Public Library, 185 Court Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, (607) 778-6400
- Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, Grosvenor Room, 1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203, (716) 858-8900
- Steele Memorial Library, 101 East Church Street, Elmira, NY 14901, (607) 733-8603
- Crandall Public Library, 251 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801, (518) 792-6508
- National Archives at New York City, One Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004, (212) 401-1620
- Rochester Public Library, 115 South Avenue, Rochester, NY 14604, (585) 428-8440
The Onondaga County Public Library at 447 South Salina Street, Syracuse, the Patchogue-Medford Library at 54 E. Main Street, Patchogue, the Utica Public Library at 303 Genesee Street, Utica, and the Flower Memorial Library at 229 Washington Street, Watertown also hold copies of the death index on microfiche. Transcription, reproduction, loan, or sale of the indexes is not allowed. The data in the indexes is not available in electronic format for online access, except for the downloadable death index datasets the Department of Health posts after 50 years.
New York City Death Index Records
New York City has its own death index system, separate from the state. Five boroughs make up the city: Manhattan (New York County), Brooklyn (Kings County), the Bronx (Bronx County), Queens (Queens County), and Staten Island (Richmond County). Each borough has different record start dates at the Municipal Archives.
Manhattan death records go back to 1795. Brooklyn death records start in 1847. Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island death records begin in 1898 when those areas joined the city. The NYC Department of Health holds death records from 1949 to the present and charges $15 per certified copy. Eligible requestors include the spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, great-grandchild, nephew, niece, aunt, uncle, grandnephew, or grandniece. All other individuals need a documented legal right or a court order.
Browse New York Death Index by County
Each of New York's 62 counties has its own clerk or local registrar that keeps death records. Pick a county below to find local contact info and resources for death index records in that area.
Death Index in Major New York Cities
Residents of major New York cities can get death certificates from local registrars or from the state Department of Health. Pick a city below to find where to search for death index records.