Find Kirkland Obituary Records
Kirkland obituary and death records are part of the King County records system, with certified death certificates issued through the Washington State Department of Health. If you need a death certificate for a Kirkland resident or want to search historical obituary notices, this page covers the key resources. The Kirkland Heritage Society maintains historical materials related to the area, and the King County Library System provides access to genealogy databases with newspaper obituary archives going back many decades.
Kirkland Overview
Kirkland Death Certificates
Kirkland is in King County, the largest county in Washington. Deaths in Kirkland are registered through the state system under King County. Certified death certificates are available through the Washington State Department of Health for deaths from July 1, 1907 forward. To order, you can call the toll-free line at 1-866-687-1464, apply by mail, or order online through VitalChek.
King County Public Health manages local health services and the medical examiner. The King County Medical Examiner's office investigates certain types of deaths in Kirkland and throughout King County. For questions about a specific death investigation, contact King County through kingcounty.gov/medical-examiner. For certified copies, go to the state DOH.
| State Agency | Washington DOH, Center for Health Statistics |
|---|---|
| Mailing Address | PO Box 9709, Olympia, WA 98507 |
| Phone | 360-236-4300 or 1-866-687-1464 |
| Online Orders | doh.wa.gov/vital-records |
| Fee (mail) | $25 per copy; VitalChek: $40.50 |
Kirkland Heritage Society
The Kirkland Heritage Society preserves historical materials related to the Kirkland area. Their collections may include old newspaper clippings, photographs, and documents that reference local deaths and obituaries. The society's past programs page gives a sense of the historical depth of their collections.
The Kirkland Heritage Society at kirklandheritage.org documents local history. For obituary-specific research, their collections can provide context and point toward newspaper sources. Contact the society directly to ask about genealogy-related inquiries or access to their archive materials.
The Kirkland Heritage Society's about page at kirklandheritage.org/about explains their mission and how they collect and preserve local history materials, including materials relevant to Kirkland obituary research.
Washington Digital Archives for Kirkland Deaths
The Washington State Digital Archives holds the statewide death index covering 1907 to 2020. The collection is at digitalarchives.wa.gov and is free to search. King County deaths, including Kirkland, are well represented. Search by name and approximate year to find a record. For deaths more than 25 years ago, images of the actual death certificate may also be viewable through the DOH death certificates collection in the archives.
King County Archives also holds a separate collection of death-related records including death registers and coroner records. These complement the state collection and can fill in gaps for older Kirkland deaths. For genealogy research tools accessible from home, King County Library System cardholders can use the KCLS genealogy databases online, including Ancestry Library Edition and newspaper archives.
Library Genealogy Resources in Kirkland
The King County Library System serves Kirkland at the Kirkland Library on 1st Street. KCLS provides free access to Ancestry Library Edition and other genealogy tools at their branches. These databases include newspaper archives with obituary notices from the Seattle Times, the Eastside Journal, and other publications that covered Kirkland and the Eastside.
The KCLS genealogy FAQ at kcls.org/faq/genealogy explains what resources are available and how to access them. For in-depth research, the Seattle Public Library at spl.org/genealogy offers one of the strongest genealogy collections in the Pacific Northwest, including access to major databases and historical newspaper archives covering the broader King County area.
Note: FamilySearch has free Washington death certificates from 1907 to 1960 and county death registers from 1881 to 1979 at familysearch.org, both searchable without a paid subscription.
King County Obituary Records
Kirkland is in King County. All Kirkland death certificates and vital records run through the King County system and the Washington State DOH. For more county-level detail and search resources, see the King County obituary records page.
Nearby Cities
These cities near Kirkland also use King County and Washington State resources for obituary and death record searches.