How to Locate a Death Record in the State of Maryland
- 1). Search the Social Security Death Index if you are unsure about when the person died. The Social Security Death Index uses the Social Security Administration's Death Master File to provide brief records on every death in the United States. The database currently holds 87 million death records, according to Ancestry.com. The Social Security Death Index can give you the following information (if the record is complete): name, Social Security number, date of birth, date of death and last residence.
- 2). Search the Maryland State Archives, if the person died before 1969. Death records date back to 1875 for Baltimore County and to 1898 for all other Maryland counties. To find a death record, you will need the person’s name, the county in which the person died and when the person died. From there, you can order a certified copy for $25.
- 3). Go through Maryland's Vital Statistics Administration, if the person died from 1969 to now. You must fill out an Application for a Copy of Death Certificate. There is a $12 fee for a certified copy of the death record, and you may request this online, over the phone, via fax or in person.
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