Search Westchester County Death Index

Westchester County death index records are managed by local city and town clerks, along with the Westchester County Department of Health and the New York State Department of Health. The county seat is White Plains, and the county sits just north of New York City. Death records date to the early 1880s under state law. Westchester has a large population and multiple cities that maintain their own vital records, including Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, and White Plains. This means death index searches here often involve checking city-level offices rather than just town clerks.

Westchester County Death Records Overview

Death records in Westchester County follow New York's local registrar system, but the county also has its own Department of Health that handles birth and death records. The Westchester County Department of Health is located at 145 Huguenot Street, New Rochelle, NY 10801. Call (914) 813-5000 for information. This office maintains birth and death records for parts of the county.

The Westchester County Clerk is at 110 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, White Plains, NY 10601. Phone (914) 995-3080. Fax (914) 285-9005. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The county clerk handles land records going back to 1690, court filings, and other civil documents. The county clerk does not issue death certificates.

Several cities in Westchester maintain their own vital records. Yonkers, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, and White Plains all have city clerks who handle death filings for deaths within their limits. Town clerks cover the remaining areas.

Westchester County Department of Health

Unlike most New York counties, Westchester has its own county health department that handles vital records. The Department of Health at 145 Huguenot Street in New Rochelle maintains birth and death records for areas of the county not covered by city registrars. This is a key difference from other counties where you only deal with town clerks and the state.

Contact the department at (914) 813-5000 to ask about death records. They can tell you whether the record you need is in their files or if you should contact a specific city clerk instead. For deaths in unincorporated areas or smaller towns, this department is often the right place to start.

The county health department may have different procedures and response times than individual city clerks. Some researchers find it faster to contact the specific city clerk when they know the city where the death occurred.

Westchester County Clerk and Historical Records

The county clerk's office has land records dating back to 1690. While these are not death records, they can support death index research. Property transfers after someone's death often note the date of death. Estate filings and probate records reference the deceased as well.

The Westchester County Archives at 2199 Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford, NY 10523, phone (914) 231-1500, holds historical materials including a marriage records index from 1908 to 1935. The archives may also have historical vital records and other documents useful for genealogy research. Contact them about their collections related to death records and older vital statistics.

New York State Death Index Access

The New York State Department of Health maintains death records statewide from the early 1880s. Death indexes become public after 50 years. The NYS Archives in Albany has microfiche indexes free to search in person.

To order from the state, write to NYS DOH Vital Records Section, PO Box 2602, Albany, NY 12220-2602. Call (855) 322-1022 for questions. Fees start at $22 for a 1 to 3 year search and go up to $202 for 81 to 90 years. Processing takes 8 months or more for genealogy requests.

Under 10 NYCRR 35.4, vital records are not subject to FOIL requests. Access is governed by public health law. Direct-line descendants can request records at any age with proof of relationship. Genealogy copies are available for deaths over 50 years old.

Death Index Search Tips for Westchester County

Westchester is densely populated. There are many municipalities packed into a relatively small area. A death that happened in one city might be just blocks from another city's border. Make sure you are contacting the right registrar. Borders between Yonkers, Mount Vernon, and the Town of Greenburgh can be confusing for researchers.

Hospital deaths are filed where the hospital is located. Westchester Medical Center is in Valhalla, which is in the Town of Mount Pleasant. A person from White Plains who died at Westchester Medical Center would have their death filed in Mount Pleasant, not White Plains.

For deaths before 1880, check church records. Westchester has old churches dating to the colonial period. Cemetery records are another strong source. The Westchester County Historical Society and local genealogical societies have transcribed many older records.

Name variations are very common in Westchester records given the county's diversity. Italian, Irish, Jewish, and African American communities all have long histories here. Surnames may be spelled differently across decades of records.

Cities in Westchester County

Westchester County has several major cities, each with its own clerk handling death records. Yonkers is the largest city in the county and the fourth largest in New York State. New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, and White Plains also maintain their own vital records offices. The Town of Greenburgh covers a large area and its town clerk handles death filings for the unincorporated parts of the town. Contact the specific city or town clerk for the area where the death occurred.

Nearby Counties

Westchester County borders Putnam County to the north, Rockland County across the Hudson River to the west, and the Bronx (New York City) to the south. The county also borders Connecticut to the east. Death records in neighboring New York counties follow the same registrar system. For deaths near the Bronx border, New York City vital records may hold the filing if the death occurred on the city side of the line. The NYC Department of Health handles vital records separately from the rest of the state.