Utah Death Certificates - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
Utah assumed responsibility for recording deaths in late 1904.

Record History
Local Board of Health registrars sent certificates monthly to the state registrar of the Department of Vital Statistics, which is a division of the state Board of Health. All counties began reporting deaths to the state in 1905 when the Department of Health created the division of Vital Statistics. A death certificate was required for burial in Utah, so compliance was high.

Why This Record Was Created
Deaths were recorded to better serve public health needs. They were also used in connection with the probate of wills and the administration of estates.

Record Reliability
Information pertaining to death is reliable; including cause of death, name of the attending physician or medical professional, name and address of the funeral home used, and the exact date and place of burial. Other information is dependent upon the reliability of the informant.

Record Description
Each death was recorded on a one-page pre-printed form.

Record Content
Important genealogical facts in death entries:


 * Dates of death and burial
 * Frequently, birth date of the deceased
 * City, county, and state of death
 * Name and location of the cemetery where buried
 * Frequently, the country or state and sometimes the town and county of birth for the deceased
 * Frequently, the country or state and sometimes the town and county of birth for the parents
 * Name of the deceased, married name of spouse, names of parents, often with maiden surname of the mother
 * Name of the informant, who is often a child or other family member
 * Age of the deceased usually in years, months, and days
 * Sex of the deceased
 * Residence or address of the deceased, often including length of residence at that place or in the United States, if foreign-born
 * Whether the deceased was single, married, widowed, or divorced at the time of death
 * Occupation of the deceased

How to Use the Record
Death certificates are the best source of death information. The certificates contain clues for further research: the birth date and birthplace of the individual; the name of the spouse; the names of parents; the place of residence; the name of the informant who may be a child of the deceased.

Related Websites
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Related Wiki Articles
Utah Vital Records

Sources of This Collection
Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1956, database, FamilySearch; (www.familysearch.org); from Utah State Department of Health. "Utah death certificates, 1904-1956." Utah State Department of Health, Salt Lake City.

How to Cite Your Sources
''An example of citing these records is: Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Records &amp; Statistics, Salt Lake City. Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1956. Death certificate. From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org), April 23, 2010. Ida Viola Smith Wade, 13 Dec 1921, image number 79.''

Another example is:

Utah State Department of Health. Certificate of death. From URL, date accessed or downloaded. Digital identification number if any, certificate number, name of individual, death date. Example: Utah State Department of Health. Certificate of death. From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org), September 29, 2006. Certificate 310, Leah Burke, 2 Mar 1909.

Instructions for citing this source can be found at: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections