Death Certificate

Death certificate research can help you to trace
your family history back through each generation.

Each death certificate shows the full name of the deceased, their date and place of death, age,
cause of death and details of the person reporting the death.

A Scottish certificate will also state the gender of the deceased, their marital status, name of spouse,
name of father (as well as his profession or forces rank) and name and maiden name of mother.

Using these details, you can find further information. For example, the age of the deceased can help you trace their birth certificate and, from there, her or his parents.

As the death certificate will also state the name and, if applicable, family relationship of the person reporting the death, you can trace the records of that person to help broaden your research.

It is always advisable to start from the most recent information available and work backwards when researching your genealogy.

Therefore, a death certificate will usually be a springboard towards other, earlier family documentation.

To search for a death certificate, click here.

You can search through the death certificate database from one to ten year periods by event, date range (month/year), full or partial surname and optionally forename.

You will then see a list of potential matches for your death certificate search. From there, just click on the one you would like to view and a copy of the original register is displayed for you to save or print.

For details of how to sign up for these services, either on an unlimited access subscription basis or by pay-per-view,
please click here.