Arizona Deaths - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Arizona

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of images and an index of Arizona death certificates for the years 1870 to 1951. The certificates are arranged in chronological order within each county. Each death certificate was created on a pre-printed form.

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images associated with its historic record collections online available for all FamilySearch.org patrons. However, ultimate rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. The images for the Arizona Deaths collection are available through the Family History Library, your local FamilySearch Center, and to members of the supporting organizations.

Statewide registration of vital statistics began in 1909 and the state achieved 90 percent compliance 1926. Some earlier records for 1887 to 1909 consist of deaths recorded by the individual counties where the death occurred. The counties that participated sent copies to the Arizona Department of Health Services, and the records are available at both places. The Office of Vital Records is responsible for maintaining and issuing certified copies of vital records, including death certificates for deaths that occurred in Arizona. The Office of Vital Records officially began recording birth and death events in July, 1909. However, it maintains a sampling of death records, from 1877, from other sources.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The records usually include the following:


 * Death certificate number
 * Name of deceased
 * Date of death
 * Place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Birth date of deceased
 * Birthplace of deceased
 * Parents' names and their birthplace
 * Physician's statement
 * Cemetery and burial place

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know at least some of the following:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate date of death.
 * The place where the death occurred.
 * The names of other family members and their relationships.

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

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page:

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "First two letters of surname" category ⇒ Select the "Surname, Given Name with Death Year" category which takes you to the images If you did not find the person you were looking for, consider selecting the "Illegible Surname" category and see if you can locate them.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * 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.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Repeat this process with additional family member’s records to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Arizona, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Arizona Archives and Libraries.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation