Auburn Obituary Records

Searching for Auburn obituary and death records starts with two main sources: King County Vital Records and the Washington State Digital Archives. Auburn sits in King County, which means death certificates for residents go through the county health office in Seattle. Whether you need a certified copy of a death certificate or want to find a historical obituary from Auburn's past, several resources are open to you. This guide walks through where to look, what to expect, and how to order the records you need.

King County Vital Records for Auburn

Because Auburn is in King County, death certificates for Auburn residents are handled by Public Health Seattle and King County Vital Statistics. The office is at 201 South Jackson Street, 2nd Floor, Seattle, WA 98104. You can call them at (206) 897-4551. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. In-person orders are typically done in about 30 minutes. Other methods take longer.

The office can issue death certificates for all deaths in Seattle at any time, all deaths in King County from 1944 to the present, and all deaths statewide from 2015 onward. So if your Auburn family member died after 1944, King County can help you directly. For deaths before 1944, you will need to go through the Washington State Department of Health.

Qualified applicants can request certificates. The list includes spouses, domestic partners, parents, step-parents, legal guardians, children, step-children, siblings, grandparents, great-grandparents, legal representatives, and authorized representatives. You must show a valid photo ID and proof of your relationship to the deceased. Credit card payments carry an extra $15 fee. Mail orders paid by check or money order add a $4 fee.

Note: Orders are non-refundable per RCW 70.58A once submitted.

Washington State Digital Archives

The Washington State Digital Archives holds the Department of Health Death Index covering July 1, 1907 through 1960 and 1965 through 2017. This includes every Auburn death registered during those years. The index is free to search online. Each entry shows the decedent's name, date of death, place of death, age, gender, and certificate number. That certificate number lets you order the full record from the Washington State Department of Health.

The 1907 to 1960 portion was indexed by FamilySearch volunteers. It is one of the most useful tools for researching older Auburn deaths because it covers decades when many Auburn pioneer families were passing away. You can search by name and browse results by year or county. No login is needed to search the index.

The King County Auditor also maintained death records from 1891 to 1907, before state registration began. Those older records are available at the Washington State Archives, Puget Sound Regional Branch. You can contact that branch at (425) 564-3940 or email psbrancharchives@sos.wa.gov. The collection contains roughly 16,988 entries from King County during those early years.

Auburn Cemetery and Burial Records

Auburn has two notable cemetery resources for obituary research. Mountain View Cemetery, at 2020 Mountain View Drive, Auburn, WA 98001, has an index listing 14,308 individuals. Death dates on its markers run from 1880 to 2010. The index includes name, birth date, death date, and family members where available. The cemetery was established on November 8, 1890, a full year before Auburn was incorporated. The City of Auburn took ownership in 1946 and endowed it for perpetual care in 1947.

The Auburn Pioneer Cemetery at 8th NE and Auburn Way North contains monuments for early Auburn settlers, including many Japanese and Japanese-Americans who lived in the White River Valley before World War II. The cemetery was originally the Faucett family burial plot, started in 1866. Land was formally donated in January 1878. After Mountain View Cemetery opened in 1890, many Caucasian families moved their relatives there. Japanese burials continued at the Pioneer Cemetery, with records kept by the local Buddhist Church. In 2009, Yoshiko Kato of Osaka translated early Japanese markers to help researchers identify those buried there.

Both cemeteries are valuable when a death certificate number is unknown or when you need to confirm burial details that do not appear in state records.

The King County Library System (KCLS) also helps with obituary searches. Patrons can submit email requests for obituaries from Auburn newspapers. Staff search publications in KCLS collections and respond within 14 working days. The Auburn Library branch houses a collection donated by the South King County Genealogical Society.

The Public Health Seattle and King County Vital Statistics office handles Auburn death certificate requests. Below is a screenshot of the wa211 resource directory listing for this office, which includes address and contact details for ordering Auburn death records.

This King County office processes both in-person and mail requests for Auburn death certificates. In-person orders are completed in about 30 minutes during regular business hours.

Ordering Auburn Death Certificates

There are four ways to order a death certificate for an Auburn resident. In person is the fastest. Mail is the cheapest but slowest. Online and phone fall in between. Here is a breakdown of each option.

• In person: Visit 201 South Jackson St, 2nd Floor, Seattle. Orders done in about 30 minutes. Cost is $25 per certificate.
• Online through VitalChek: Available 24/7. Fee is $25 plus a $6 agency fee and $11.50 handling fee. Orders processed in 4 to 5 business days.
• Phone through VitalChek: Call 1-888-273-4623. Same fee structure as online.
• Mail: Download and print the order form from the DOH website. Send with a check or money order. Add a $4 mail fee. Allow 2 to 3 weeks for delivery.

For older Auburn deaths not covered by the King County office, the Washington State Department of Health at doh.wa.gov can issue certificates for deaths statewide from July 1, 1907, to present. Mail orders through DOH take 8 to 10 weeks. Online orders through VitalChek cost $40.50. Phone orders can be placed at 1-866-687-1464. For status inquiries, contact the DOH at contactchs@doh.wa.gov or (360) 236-4300.

The DOH death record page explains what information you need before placing an order: the full name of the deceased, date of death, and the city or county where the death occurred.

King County Death Records

Auburn is in King County. All certified death certificates for Auburn residents are issued through the King County Vital Records office in Seattle. For more on how the county handles death records and other vital records services, visit the King County records page.

View King County Obituary Records

Nearby Cities

These cities are near Auburn and have their own obituary record pages.