This article was updated on 16 July 2016.
Here is a list of some collections of online digitized death certificates, death records or death ledgers. Some are free, some fee-based. Note that some death certificate images at these websites may be unavailable because of errors or other reasons. And some of the databases listed here may be incomplete.
Arizona
Arizona Death Certificates 1870-1965 (free) also includes birth certificates 1855-1940
California
California: County Birth and Death Records, 1849-1994 from FamilySearch (partial) (free) These are browsable scanned birth and death registers or certificates for various California counties (plus some cities and towns). Not all cities and counties are included and coverage varies. There is currently a searchable name index for the cities of Stockton, Lodi and Manteca, and the counties of San Benito and San Joaquin. There are also browsable images of indexes included in some volumes. More name indexes are being worked on. You might find it helpful to search one of the online California death indexes listed here: Online California Death Records and Indexes.
Delaware
FamilySearch has Delaware Death Records 1855-1961. (free)
District of Columbia
FamilySearch has District of Columbia Death Certificates and Records 1874-1961. (free)
Georgia
Scanned Georgia death certificates are available online for 1919-1939 (free). See: Online Georgia Death Records and Indexes
Idaho
FamilySearch has Idaho Death Certificates 1911-1937 (free)
Illinois: Chicago and Cook County (and 3 other counties)
The Cook County Clerk's office has birth certificates more than 75 years old, marriage certificates more than 50 years old, and death certificates more than 20 years old available online for a fee. The records go back as far as 1872 -- earlier records were lost in the Chicago Fire of 1871. See: Online Chicago and Cook County Death Records Indexes and Obituaries (free and fee-based listings)
Along with Cook County, similar databases with birth, marriage and death certificates are online for DeKalb County, Kane County and Kankakee County (available for a fee). For links to these as well as other Illinois death indexes see: Online Illinois Death Records Indexes, Obituaries and Cemeteries (free and fee-based listings)
Indiana
As part of their subscription-based collection of genealogy records, Ancestry has an Indiana death index for 1899-2011, including digitized images of the death certificates. See: Online Indiana Death Records and Indexes
Kentucky
As part of their subscription-based collection of genealogy records, Ancestry has digitized Kentucky death certificates from 1911-1963. See: Online Kentucky Death Records Indexes and Obituaries
Massachusetts
FamilySearch has Massachusetts Death Records 1841-1915. (free)
Michigan
- FamilySearch has scanned Michigan death ledgers from 1867-1897. Note these are not death certificates, but death registers or ledgers. (free)
- Michigan Death Records 1897-1920 and 1921-1939 from the Archives of Michigan (free)
Missouri Death Certificates 1910-1965 (free) from the Missouri State Archives
Nevada
Ancestry has Nevada Death Records from 1911-1965 with digitized copies of the death certificates (fee-based).
New Hampshire
FamilySearch has New Hampshire Death Records 1654-1947 with scanned images (free), and New Hampshire death certificates 1938-1959 (free). Ancestry has scanned New Hampshire Death Certificates 1901-1947 (fee-based). For information on these see: Online New Hampshire Death Records Indexes and Obituaries
North Carolina
As part of their collection of online genealogy records, Ancestry has scanned North Carolina death certificates from 1909-1975 available for downloading (subscription required). And FamilySearch has digitized North Carolina death records from 1906-1930 (free to download). For information on these see: Online North Carolina Death Records Indexes and Obituaries
Ohio
FamilySearch has scanned Ohio death certificates from 1908-1953 (free), and some online digitized images of mostly pre-1908 Ohio death registers from county courthouses (free). For links to these see: Online Ohio Death Records Indexes, Obituaries and Cemeteries
Pennsylvania
Ancestry has scanned Pennsylvania Death Certificates (indexed) for 1906-1963 (fee-based).
FamilySearch has scanned Philadelphia City death certificates from 1803-1915 and Pittsburgh City death records from 1870-1905. (free)
South Carolina
As part of their collection of online genealogy records, Ancestry has digitized South Carolina death certificates from 1915-1961 (subscription required). And FamilySearch has digitized South Carolina death records from 1915-1965 (free to download). For information on these see: Online South Carolina Death Records Indexes and Obituaries
Tennessee
FamilySearch (free) has Tennessee Death Records 1914-1955; and Ancestry (fee-based) has Tennessee Death Records and Certificates 1908-1959 (except 1913). For information see: Online Tennessee Death Records and Indexes
Texas
FamilySearch (free) and Ancestry (fee-based) have scanned Texas death certificates at their websites. For information see: Online Texas Death Records and Indexes
Utah
Utah Death Certificates 1905-1965 (free)
Vermont
As part of their collection of online genealogy records, Ancestry has digitized Vermont death certificates from 1909-2008 (subscription required). For information on these see: Online Vermont Death Records Indexes and Obituaries
Virginia
Ancestry has a Virginia Death Certificates Index for 1912-2014 with online death certificate images from 1912-1987 (fee-based).
West Virginia
West Virginia Death Certificates and Records 1853-1965 (free) coverage varies by county - also has birth and marriage records
Other States - Death Indexes
For a directory of online death indexes, including some cemetery records, obituaries, and probate records see: Online Searchable Death Indexes and Records
