West Virginia Death Certificates

Ordering West Virginia Death Certificates Online

Order Death Certificates Here

General Information on Ordering West Virginia Death Certificates

Since all but five of West Virginia's counties were formed before 20 June 1863, when Congress officially admitted it as a sovereign state, counties in existence prior to statehood were governed by the same laws as other Virginia counties, including the requirement to register births and marriages beginning in 1853. State registration began 1 January 1917, although fire destroyed many 1917-21 records.

For birth records from 1 January 1920, certificates are available from the West Virginia Department of Health Division of Vital Statistics. For records prior, refer to the West Virginia State Archives.

Certificates will only be issued to the next of kin or to persons with a legal right to the certificate. If you have questions concerning the right to obtain a copy of a death certificate, please contact the Vital Registration Program at (304) 558-2931.

Once the death certificate has been completed by a physician or other authorized individual, and submitted and processed by the Vital Registration Program, the following turnaround times can be expected. The completion and submission of the actual death certificate forms to the Vital Registration Program is usually handled by the funeral home. The funeral home will usually provide the family with some certified copies of death certificates as part of their fee. Subsequent requests should be directed to the Vital Registration Program.

Information for Genealogists

For assistance with your family history research, please do not contact the State of West Virginia. Instead please refer to the following websites for help:

• West Virginia Birth, Marriage and Death Records - online databases of primary records.

• West Virginia Adoption Registry - for help with locating adoptees and birth families from West Virginia.

• West Virginia Obituaries - find obituaries from West Virginia newspapers.

• Social Security Death Index - National database of deaths dating back to the 1940's.