TENNESSEE DEATH RECORDS

SEARCH THE DEATH RECORDS DATABASE

SCANS OF SOME DEATH CERTIFICATES

LINKS TO OTHER DEATH RECORDS SITES

Tennessee began registering deaths state-wide in 1908. Prior to that, the only records kept were recorded by clerks in the four major Tennessee cities: Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. For more information these early records, please see the Tennessee State Library and Archives Website.

Beginning in 1908 and continuing through 1912, Tennessee required that county clerks record deaths occurring in their counties. In 1913, the law expired, and as result no deaths were recorded for that year. The state renewed the law in 1914, and death certificates have been issued for the deceased ever since.

Currently, information from Tennessee death records (except cause of death) is public information. The Tennessee Vital Records Office maintains the records for the state for the past 50 years. Earlier records are maintained by the Tennessee State Library and Archives. At the beginning of each year, the Tennessee Vital Records Office releases a copy of the records that just turned 51 years old to the TSLA. For example, in 2007, the death records from the 1956 will be released to the TSLA.

The layout and information on the death certificates changed in approximately the following years: 1914, 1929, 1939, and 1949. Even though the state changed the forms, often times it took months for a new form to be used in a county. In some cases, older forms were still being used years later, particularly in rural counties. Below is a summary of the information available on the death certificate and an example of one from each era.

• 1908 - 1912: name of deceased, date of death, sex, race, age, marital status, place of death, cause of death, place of birth, occupation, name of physician, name of coroner holding inquest, and date recorded.

VIEW SAMPLE OF A DEATH CERTIFICATE

• 1913: No deaths were recorded.
• 1914 - 1928: place of death: county, civil district or village or city, full name, sex, color or race, marital status, date of birth, age, occupation, birthplace, name of father, birthplace of father, maiden name of mother, birthplace of mother, name and address of individual who provided information for death certificate, name of registrar, date of death, cause of death, length of residence, place of burial or removal and date of burial, name and address of undertaker.

VIEW SAMPLE OF A DEATH CERTIFICATE

• 1929 - 1938: All of the information from the 1914 - 1928 certificates was kept. New information included: residence of the deceased; name of husband or wife, if married; date that the deceased last worked at this occupation; and whether the cause of death was homicide, suicide, or accident.

VIEW SAMPLE OF A DEATH CERTIFICATE

• 1939 - 1948:  All of the information from the 1929 - 1938 certificate was kept. New information included: name of the hospital that the deceased was in, length of stay in the hospital, street number on the residence, whether foreign born, age of spouse if living, veteran of a war, and social security number. 

VIEW SAMPLE OF A DEATH CERTIFICATE

• 1949 - 1952: In these certificates, the father and mother's place of birth is no longer listed. The only additional information is citizen of what country.

VIEW SAMPLE OF A DEATH CERTIFICATE

HOW-TO-ORDER: Death certificates less than 50 years old may be ordered from the Tennessee Vital Records Office. Certificates older than 50 years may be order from any one of the following places:

• Cleveland Public Library - History Branch. Send $5 per certificate and a stamped self-addressed envelope to:

  Cleveland Public Library - History Branch
  North Ocoee Street
  Cleveland, TN 37311

Please reference the county in which the death occurred, name of deceased, year of death, and certificate number.

• Tennessee State Library and Archives