Delaware Death Records: How to Perform a Delaware Death Records Search

Delaware death records are created by the state's Vital Records office to account for the death of persons recorded statewide. 

They feature a certain amount of personal information about the deceased and a few pieces of information related to the death in question. 

The information contained in these records finds value in various ways.

They are used in the compilation of vital census data, the planning of government intervention and welfare schemes, health-related research, and other funding provisions. 

This article discusses the channels to explore for anyone who needs to find a death record in Delaware. 

Delaware Death Records Explained

As soon as the death of a person is recorded in Delaware, efforts are made to document it in official state record channels. 

The documentation accounts for the personal information of the deceased person as well as other data relevant to the death. 

The information is compiled, registered, and then deposited in the custody of the state's Vital Records Office. 

There, interested persons can inquire about the availability of the records and obtain them. 

Such persons would have to meet some eligibility criteria and pay a service fee. 

What Can I Find In A Delaware Death Record?

The information included in Delaware death records covers a select range of data. 

They mostly account for the personal details of the deceased person and other information about the death. 

It also contains the names of other people who contribute to the data in the record. This information includes:

* Full name of the decedent
* The decedent’s date and place of birth
* Their date and place of death
* The name of their parents, siblings, spouse, children, or direct relative
* Their marital status at the time of death
* Cause of death and Physician’s certification
* Death certificate registration number
* The signature of the coroner, medical examiner, or physician that  certifies the cause of death

How Are Delaware Death Records Created?

Delaware death records are created out of a series of processes that begins as soon as a dead body is deposited in a funeral home. 

The director of the funeral home, or the crematorium, gets to extract the decedent's biodata details from their family. 

Once this is done, the next step is to provide information about the death and the circumstances surrounding it. 

This data is provided by the coroner, medical examiner, or physician.

It includes details such as the place, date, and cause of death and then accounts for the medical certification section of the death record. 

The final step involved is registering the death record in the Office of Vital Statistics of the Delaware Division of Public Health. 

The funeral home transmits the death record to the OVS, where it is given an official seal and a registration number. 

Where Can I Find Death Records in Delaware?  

Office of Vital Statistics
 

Death records are mostly kept in possession of the Office of Vital Statistics, a division of the Delaware Health and Social Services. 

It has a trio of offices sited across different locations in the State. These offices accept in-person and mailed requests for death records via request applications submitted by eligible persons. 

The application must be submitted along with a valid government-issued ID and the associated request fee to the address below:

Jesse S. Cooper Building,
417 Federal Street,
Dover, DE 19901

or, to:

Chopin Building,
258 Chapman Road,
Newark, DE 19702

or, to:

Thurman Adams State Service Center
546 South Bedford Street
Georgetown, DE 19947

The Delaware State Archives

Publicly available death records are retained at the Delaware state archives. You can find Certified death records at the Archive's Mabel Lloyd Ridgely Research Room. 

First, you'd be required to download a Contact Form from the Archive's website and fill it in with the relevant information. 

This is after selecting Death Certificate from the drop-down menu that pops up on the screen.

You can place an online or mailing order to the State Archives or phone in and lodge your request. 

To make your request by email, you can reach out via the email address [email protected]. 

Alternatively, you may contact the archivist by calling the number (302) 744-5000. 

Whichever option you employ in your quest to find a Delaware death certificate, you'd be charged a $25 service fee.

Third-Party Websites

In what is possibly the most direct route to obtaining death records, third-party websites can make your record search very easy. 

They aggregate data from several public record repositories and make them available on order at a search portal. 

You'd be required to have a paid subscription or a registered account to successfully run a death record search on a third-party website such as this.

The search parameters are often given as the deceased's name and their last known address. 

The last known address is usually input as a state and is equally known as the state where the death record was created. 

Correctly provide this information and click search. 

The system should return a couple of results matching your search terms. You can go on to find the sought-after death record.