Idaho Death Certificates - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection consists of death certificates from 1911 - 1937 and an index from 1911 - 1932 acquired from the Department of Health &amp; Welfare in Boise, Idaho. Only the index is currently published on-line. The certificates are available at the Family History Library.

Statewide registration of deaths was required by law in 1911. The records are held at the State of Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Earlier death records that may exist are held at the county level. Statewide registration of deaths began in 1911, and was generally complied with by the early 1920’s.

A full bibliographic record is available in the Family History Library Catalog.

Death records were created to record deaths in Idaho in compliance with state law and to better serve public health needs.

The most reliable information is the name, date and place of death and burial. Other information will only be as reliable as the informant’s knowledge or memory.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

This collection may include information previously published in the International Genealogical Index or Vital Records Index collections.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in most Idaho death records are:


 * Name of deceased
 * Date and place of birth
 * Date and place of death
 * Date and place of burial
 * Gender
 * Race
 * Marital status
 * Age
 * Occupation
 * Parent's names
 * Parent's birth place
 * Genealogical Society of Utah microfilm number
 * Volume, page, and certificate number

How to Use the Records
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * The place where the death occurred
 * The name of the person at the time of death
 * The approximate death date

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

Compare the information in the death record to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

When you have located your ancestor’s death record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

The following suggestions may be helpful to you:


 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find or verify their birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents (if the deceased is a child) to locate church and land records.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as military records.
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname, this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the deceased who may have died or been buried in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * If you are unable to find the ancestor you are looking for, check for variant spellings of the surnames.

Keep in mind:


 * The information in these records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record.

Related Websites

 * Idaho GenWeb Project
 * Idaho Online Death Index

Related Wiki Articles

 * Idaho
 * Idaho Vital Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"Idaho Death Certificates, 1911-1937." database, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org: accessed 9 March 2011). Fred Eugene Kelly, died 3 November 1936; citing Death Certificates, FHL microfilm 1,530,933; Department of Health and Welfare, Boise, Idaho.