New York Death Records

Last updated October 2026

A death certificate is often the single most useful record for climbing a New York family tree. One page can name an ancestor’s parents, birthplace, last address, and burial place. The tricky part is knowing where to look, because New York keeps death records in more than one system and Brooklyn has a history all its own. Here’s how I approach it.

What a New York death certificate can tell you

The questions changed over the years, but a typical certificate from the late 1800s or early 1900s can include:

• Parents’ names and birthplaces, often including the mother’s maiden name. This is your bridge to the previous generation.
• Birthplace, age, and for immigrants, years in the U.S. and in the city. These point you to immigration and naturalization records.
• Address, occupation, and marital status. These lead to the census, city directories, and a spouse’s records.
• Burial place and undertaker. On many older New York City certificates these are on the back, so get both sides.
• The informant, often a child or spouse, which is a lead in itself.

Take the John Murray certificate above. He died in April 1910 at 75, a widower born in Ireland who had lived in New York for 55 years. It names his father, Michael Murray of Ireland, and his mother, Isabella McDonald, born in Scotland. He had married more than 50 years earlier, which would make his marriage record much harder to find. The death certificate was the shortcut.

One caution: informants made mistakes. Treat the details as strong leads and confirm them with other records.

Step one: New York City or the rest of the state?

New York City and New York State keep entirely separate death records. A death is recorded where it happened, not where the person lived, so a Brooklyn resident who died in a Manhattan hospital has a Manhattan death record.

New York City (the five boroughs)

Deaths in Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island are recorded by the city, not the state. Under city rules, a death record generally becomes a public historical record about 75 years after the death and moves from the NYC Health Department to the city’s archives. More recent certificates stay with the Health Department, which issues them only to close family, including grandchildren, and to others who can document a legal right to them.

The rest of New York State

Statewide registration outside the city began in the early 1880s. The New York State Department of Health issues genealogy copies of death certificates that have been on file for at least 50 years, and it waives the wait for direct-line descendants who can prove the relationship. Before 1914, records for Albany, Buffalo, and Yonkers are kept by those cities.

The state says genealogy requests can take eight months or longer. If you know the town where the death happened, the local registrar is often much faster. Details are on the state’s genealogy records page.

Brooklyn before 1898: a city of its own

Until January 1, 1898, Brooklyn was an independent city. It became a borough of New York City only when Greater New York was consolidated that day.

Brooklyn also grew in stages. It annexed the town of New Lots in 1886; Flatbush, Gravesend, and New Utrecht in 1894; and Flatlands in 1896. So a death “in Flatbush” in 1890 happened in a separate town, and the record may sit under that town’s name. Brooklyn’s own records from its years as a separate city are now part of New York City’s historical collection. Queens and Staten Island were also separate towns before 1898, so for deaths there, check town and state records as well as the city’s.

City vs. state death indexes: finding the certificate number

To get a copy of almost any New York death certificate, you need the certificate number from an index, plus the year and place. On John Murray’s record it’s in the top right corner.

• New York City deaths are indexed by the city by year and borough. You need all three: borough, year, and certificate number.
• Deaths elsewhere in the state are in the New York State death index. After a 2025 ruling by New York’s highest court, the state’s index data for 1880 through 2017 is now public. It lists the name, date of death, age, residence code, and state file number. It does not include New York City deaths.

Common traps: searching where the person lived instead of where they died; index misspellings (try sound-alikes and initials); married women listed under a married name; and deaths in late December that land in the next year’s records. When several people share a name, the age at death is the fastest way to tell them apart.

When the certificate is hard to get

When the certificate is restricted or won’t turn up, these are the records I reach for next.

Obituaries and death notices

These can name surviving children, married daughters, the church, and the cemetery. Brooklyn families often turn up in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Start with my New York obituary sources and New York newspapers.

Cemetery and burial records

Once you find the grave, you can sometimes solve a family mystery in minutes. It isn’t unusual to find three generations and ten people in one plot, including a daughter under her married name or the parents you were looking for. See my New York cemeteries list, including Green-Wood, Holy Cross, The Evergreens, and Cypress Hills National Cemetery.

Church and synagogue records

Parish burial registers can fill in a death that civil records missed. If you know the family’s address, start with a nearby congregation. See New York church records, Brooklyn churches in 1822, and the Brooklyn synagogue list.

Social Security records

For mid-20th-century and later deaths, the Social Security Death Index gives birth and death dates. You can also request a deceased person’s original Social Security card application from the Social Security Administration. It often lists the birthplace and parents’ names.

Census records and the gaps between them

When someone is in one census and gone from the next, you’ve narrowed the death to a window of years. The 1850 through 1880 federal censuses also have mortality schedules listing people who died in the year before. Most of the 1890 federal census was destroyed in a 1921 fire, so the 1892 New York State census is especially valuable. See all the New York State census years and the Records Vault.

Stuck? Let me find it for you

The index entry won’t turn up, the certificate doesn’t match the family story, or you’re not sure it’s the right person. That’s exactly what I work on every day. Send me what you know, even just a name and a rough date, and I’ll find the right records and use them to build out the family.

• New to family history? Start with the $99 Beginner Genealogy Project: a tree chart, a written summary, and copies of the records I used.
• Stuck on one ancestor? Tell me about your brick wall.

I work with clients all over the country who have New York roots. I can’t promise a specific record exists, but I’ll always tell you honestly what’s findable.

Frequently asked questions

Are New York City deaths in the New York State death index?

No. The state index covers deaths outside the five boroughs. The city has its own indexes, organized by borough and year.

Can I get my grandparent’s New York death certificate?

Usually, yes. Grandchildren can order recent New York City death certificates, and older city records become public after about 75 years. Outside the city, the state issues genealogy copies after 50 years, or sooner for direct-line descendants who can prove the relationship.

My ancestor died in Brooklyn before 1898. Where is the record?

A death in the City of Brooklyn is part of New York City’s historical records today. If it happened in a town Brooklyn annexed later, like Flatbush or New Lots, look under the old town name for the years before annexation.

What if there’s no death certificate at all?

Obituaries, cemetery records, church registers, Social Security records, and census gaps can each point to the date and place, and together they can often prove what a certificate would have. If you’ve run out of places to look, get in touch.