Pasco Washington Obituary Search

Pasco obituary and death records are handled through the Benton-Franklin Health District and the Washington State Department of Health. If you need a certified death certificate for a Pasco resident, want to search historical obituary indexes, or are tracing a Franklin County family, this page covers the key resources and steps.

Franklin County Vital Records in Pasco

Pasco is the county seat of Franklin County. The Benton-Franklin Health District handles death certificates for both Benton and Franklin counties. The office is located at 7102 W. Okanogan Place, Kennewick, WA 99336. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. You can also reach them by phone at 509-547-9737 or 509-460-4200.

The Benton-Franklin Health District issues certified copies of death certificates for events that occurred in Franklin County. Available products include the Long Death Certificate (certified copy with cause of death and social security number), the Short Death Certificate (certified copy without cause of death), the Noncertified Informational Death Copy, and the Fetal Death Certificate. The fee is $25 per certificate copy, with additional charges for same-day service or FedEx delivery. Death certificates can be used to obtain death benefits, claim insurance proceeds, and notify Social Security.

Per the Franklin County official FAQ at franklincountywa.gov, you can contact the Benton-Franklin County Health Department for birth or death certificates. The Franklin County Auditor's office at 1016 N 4th Avenue, Pasco, WA 99301 handles marriage certificates (fee: $3 for a certified copy) and other recorded documents. The County Auditor is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Washington became a closed-record state on January 1, 2021 under RCW 70.58A. Only qualified applicants with a direct and tangible interest in the record can receive certified copies. Eligible requestors include the registrant (if 18 or older), parents, spouse, domestic partner, children, siblings, grandparents, legal guardians, legal representatives, and persons with a court order or documented legal interest. Identity and proof of relationship are required for all applications.

Washington Digital Archives Death Index

The Washington State Archives Digital Archives Death Index includes Franklin County deaths from 1907 to 1960 and from 1965 to 2017. The index is free and contains over 2.3 million statewide records. The 1907 to 1960 portion was transcribed by volunteers, including Sandra Moe from Pasco, who contributed to the local indexing effort. That part of the index generally has more detail than the 1965 to 2017 data extract.

Images of actual death certificates up to 25 years ago are available in the Department of Health Death Certificates collection on the same site. The index is open for research without access restrictions. You can search by name and year to find specific death certificate details. To correct a record you believe to be in error, contact the Washington Department of Health Center for Health Statistics at (360) 236-4313 or (360) 236-4312.

The Washington State Archives also holds the Franklin County Auditor Birth Records collection from 1891 to 1919 at digitalarchives.wa.gov. This collection includes 111 items and can help establish family relationships for obituary research. It can be searched by parents' names, child's name, or Soundex. These records note that Franklin County was organized in 1883 from part of Whitman County, with Pasco as the county seat.

The public records page at publicrecordcenter.com outlines the process for obtaining vital records from the Franklin County Auditor's Office for Pasco residents, including what information to include with your request.

Historical Pasco Death and Obituary Records

The Franklin County Courthouse in Pasco holds historical records going back to the county's earliest years. The Franklin County Auditor has birth and death records from 1891 to 1907, marriage records from 1890, and land records from 1880. The County Clerk has court records from 1884 and probate records from 1874. According to the raogk.org Franklin County page, the Clerk's Office does not do research but staff will assist people in finding materials. Many county land, probate, and court records have been transferred to the Washington State Archives Central Regional Branch.

The Washington State Library's Vital Records LibGuide at washstatelib.libguides.com lists the Franklin County Auditor Death Returns, 1879-1905, and Register of Deaths, 1892-1910, among its resources for pre-statehood death records. The guide explains that death certificates from July 1, 1907 to two months before the present are held by the Washington Department of Health. Anyone can request a copy without proving a family connection for records outside the last 50 years. For recent death certificates in the current or previous month, contact the Benton-Franklin Health District.

The Tri-City Genealogical Society maintains records specific to the Pasco area. Obituaries from the Courier Reporter, 1924-1929, were compiled by Cora McCracken and are for sale through the society. Franklin County courthouse records from 1884-1917 were compiled by Jean Winters and published in 1972. These are useful secondary sources for Pasco genealogists who cannot access primary death records through official channels.

Franklin County's official FAQ at franklincountywa.gov provides direct contact information for the Benton-Franklin Health Department and the Franklin County Auditor for Pasco vital records needs.

Pasco Library and Genealogy Resources

The Pasco Public Library is located at 1320 W. Hopkins St., Pasco, WA 99301. The library provides access to online genealogy databases, historical newspapers, and Washington government records. It also maintains materials on how to submit public records requests under the Washington Public Records Act (RCW 42.56). Genealogy services at the Pasco branch include access to the Washington Archives and Genealogy portal at sos.wa.gov.

For online obituary research, FamilySearch offers the Washington Death Certificates, 1907-1960, collection as a free indexed resource. The Washington Death Index, 1940-2017, is on Ancestry.com and covers the full tri-cities area including Pasco. The Social Security Death Index is another source for finding death dates when you have a name and approximate year but no certificate number.

The CDC's Where to Write for Vital Records page at cdc.gov confirms that the Washington State Center for Health Statistics can be reached at (360) 236-4300. To request a death certificate from the state office, submit the decedent's name, place of death (Franklin County for Pasco), and approximate date of death, along with valid ID and documentation of qualifying relationship.

The raogk.org Franklin County page lists courthouse record types and dates available for Pasco genealogy research, including auditor, clerk, and probate records going back to the 1870s and 1880s.

How to Order Pasco Death Certificates

To get a death certificate for a Pasco resident, contact the Benton-Franklin Health District in person, by mail, or online through VitalChek. For deaths more than three months old that are no longer at the county office, apply to the Washington State Department of Health at doh.wa.gov. State mail orders start at $25 and take 8 to 10 weeks. VitalChek online orders start at $40.50 and take 3 to 7 business days.

To apply, include the deceased's first and last name, date or approximate date of death, and city or county of death (Franklin County for Pasco). You also need to provide your own valid government-issued photo ID and documents showing your qualifying relationship to the deceased under RCW 70.58A.

The long form death certificate contains cause and manner of death and the social security number. This is restricted to qualified applicants. The short form does not include cause of death and is used for probate and title transfers. Noncertified informational copies are available to anyone for genealogical use and cannot be used for legal purposes. All fees are nonrefundable.

Franklin County Obituary Records

Pasco is the county seat of Franklin County, and all death records for the city are processed through Franklin County systems. For full details on county-level resources, the Benton-Franklin Health District, and the Franklin County Courthouse, see the Franklin County obituary records page.

View Franklin County Obituary Records

Nearby Cities

These cities are near Pasco. Each has its own obituary records page with local resources.