Find Obituaries in South Hill
South Hill obituary and death records are managed through Pierce County, where this unincorporated community is located. If you need to search for a death certificate, obituary notice, or historical death record tied to South Hill, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department is the first stop for certified copies. The Washington State Department of Health also maintains statewide death records going back to 1907. This page walks through the key offices and online tools you can use to find South Hill obituary records from any era.
South Hill Quick Facts
Pierce County Vital Records for South Hill
Death certificates for South Hill residents are issued by the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department Vital Records Office. This office handles records for all events that occurred in Pierce County, including the South Hill area. The office is located at 3629 South D Street, Tacoma, WA 98418. You can reach them by phone at 253-798-6410. In-person requests are typically processed same-day when the record is on file.
Certificate fees at the Pierce County office are $25 for the first copy of a death certificate and $20 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. Processing time for mail requests is typically one to two weeks. If you need a copy faster, visiting in person or ordering through VitalChek is the better option. The VitalChek portal for Pierce County lets you submit an expedited online order from home.
South Hill is an unincorporated community, which means it does not have its own municipal government. All vital records services flow through Pierce County directly. There is no separate South Hill health department or records office. If you are not sure which office to contact, the Pierce County Health Department is the right starting point for any death certificate request tied to a South Hill address.
More details on what records are available online from Pierce County can be found at the Pierce County Records Online page, which lists the types of documents you can access without a formal request.
The Washington State DOH death records ordering page at doh.wa.gov provides the steps South Hill residents need to request a certified death certificate from the state.
The page shows accepted forms of ID, fee amounts, and how to submit a mail or online order for a South Hill death record.
Washington Digital Archives Death Index
The Washington State Archives Digital Archives hosts the statewide death index, which includes records from South Hill and all other Pierce County communities. The index covers July 1, 1907 through 1960 and 1965 through 2017. With over 2.3 million records, this is one of the largest free death record databases in the state. Anyone can search it at no cost.
The archive also holds death certificate images for records older than 25 years. If the death occurred before that cutoff, you may be able to view the actual certificate image rather than just the index entry. For more recent deaths, only the index is available to the public. You will need to order a certified or informational copy through the state or county for recent records.
The Pierce County Auditor also held death records from 1892 to 1907 before the state took over. The Washington State Archives holds the Pierce County Auditor Death Records collection, which includes death returns and transportation of corpse certificates from that period. These are indexed and available through the Digital Archives platform.
Historical Death Records for South Hill
For deaths before 1907, researchers need to look at county auditor records and early registers. The Pierce County Auditor held birth and death registrations going back into the late 1800s. The Washington State Archives has digitized a portion of these older records and made them searchable online. The Washington State Library Vital Records guide walks researchers through where these older records are held and how to request access.
Newspaper obituaries published in Tacoma-area papers often covered South Hill residents. Many of these papers have been digitized and are searchable through library databases. The Pierce County Library System also holds local history materials that may include death notices, cemetery records, and other sources useful for tracing deaths in South Hill going back a century or more.
Pierce County Library and Genealogy Resources
The Pierce County Library System serves South Hill residents and offers genealogy and local history resources. The South Hill library branch provides access to newspaper databases, obituary indexes, and genealogy tools that cover the Pierce County area. Library staff can help you navigate these resources and track down death notices for South Hill residents.
With a library card, you can access databases like Ancestry Library Edition, HeritageQuest Online, and digitized newspaper collections. These tools are especially helpful when searching for deaths that occurred before digital records became common. Newspaper death notices from the 1900s through the 1980s are well covered in many of these databases for the Tacoma and Pierce County region.
Note: Library database access is free with a Pierce County Library card. Remote access may be available for card holders who live within the service area.
How to Order South Hill Death Certificates
There are two ways to get a certified death certificate for a South Hill resident. You can order from Pierce County directly, or you can order from the Washington State Department of Health. Both produce certified copies. The county office at 3629 South D Street, Tacoma, WA 98418 handles records for events in Pierce County. The state handles the same records and can be reached through the DOH at doh.wa.gov.
State orders can be placed online through VitalChek at $40.50 per copy or by mail at $25 per copy. Mail orders should be sent to Center for Health Statistics, Department of Health, PO Box 9709, Olympia, WA 98507. Allow two to four weeks for mail processing. Online orders through VitalChek are typically faster. Under RCW 70.58A, certified copies are restricted to eligible requesters including immediate family members and legal representatives. Noncertified informational copies are open to anyone.
- Pierce County office: $25 first copy, $20 each additional
- State DOH mail: $25 per copy
- State DOH online (VitalChek): $40.50 per copy
- In-person Pierce County: same-day when record is on file
- Valid photo ID required with all requests
The Washington DOH main vital records page at doh.wa.gov gives South Hill residents an overview of all available services including how to order, correct, and access death certificates.
The page explains the difference between certified copies and noncertified informational copies, which affects both eligibility and how the document can be used.
Pierce County Obituary Records
South Hill is part of Pierce County. All death certificates, historical death records, and vital records services for South Hill run through Pierce County offices. For a full breakdown of Pierce County death records resources, including courthouse information and additional genealogy tools, visit the Pierce County page.
Nearby Cities
These nearby cities also use Pierce County or neighboring county offices for obituary and death record requests.