Kittitas County Death Records

Kittitas County obituary and death records are held by several local and state offices, covering deaths from the county's earliest registrations in the 1890s through the present day. Whether you need a certified death certificate for legal purposes, want to trace a family line back through the Yakima River Valley, or are simply looking for an old death notice from the Ellensburg area, this page explains which office holds what you need, how to request records, and where free search tools can get you started.

Kittitas County Vital Records Office

Kittitas County Public Health is the local office for death certificates covering events that occurred in the county. The office is located at 205 W 5th Avenue in Ellensburg and is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Staff can issue certified copies of birth and death certificates for events occurring in Kittitas County. As of January 1, 2021, a new vital records law changed the ordering requirements across Washington State, including Kittitas County. Only individuals with a qualifying relationship to the deceased can receive certified copies, and proof of identity and eligibility will be required at the time of your request.

The Kittitas County Public Health vital records page provides current information on ordering procedures, acceptable forms of identification, and which types of certificates the local office can issue. For events that occurred outside Kittitas County or more than a few months ago, you may need to contact the Washington State Department of Health directly.

The page shown here is the Kittitas County Public Health vital records office, which handles death certificate orders for events in Kittitas County.

This local office is the first stop for residents who need a certified death certificate for a death that occurred in Kittitas County.

Washington State Digital Archives Death Index

The Washington State Digital Archives Death Certificate Index is a free, searchable database covering deaths statewide from 1907 through 1960 and again from 1965 through 2017. It holds over 2.3 million records and includes Kittitas County deaths across that entire period. No account is needed to search. Just enter a name and the system returns available results in seconds.

The 1907 to 1960 records were transcribed by volunteers and tend to contain more detail than the later entries. Those older records often show cause of death, surviving relatives, burial location, and age at death. The 1965 to 2017 portion was supplied directly by the Washington State Department of Health and includes the basics like name, death date, and county. For Kittitas County researchers, this index is typically the fastest place to confirm a death date before ordering a certified copy. Images of actual death certificates are available for deaths up to 25 years ago within the same site.

The 1961 through 1964 index years are not online. Those records are held on microfilm at the State Archives in Olympia. If you need a death from that window, you will have to visit in person or arrange for a lookup request.

The Digital Archives image shown here is the statewide death index, which includes all Kittitas County death records from 1907 onward in its coverage range.

This free tool is the most efficient starting point for any Kittitas County death record search that goes back before 2017.

Historical Kittitas County Death Records

Kittitas County spans from the Cascade Mountains to the Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River, and it has kept death records going back to the territorial era. Before Washington State began recording deaths on July 1, 1907, responsibility for death registers sat with the county auditor. The county kept death registers throughout the 1890s and early 1900s, and those records have since been digitized and made available through the Washington State Digital Archives.

The Washington State Library vital records LibGuide describes the library's collection of Kittitas County death records on microfilm. Researchers can view those reels at the State Library in Olympia. The guide also explains how to submit a name lookup request through the Ask-A-Librarian service, which is useful when you know roughly when a death occurred but need someone to check the microfilm index for you. The State Library holds the Washington State Death Index for July 1, 1907 through 2004 on microfilm, and specific lookup requests can be submitted with a date range.

FamilySearch has indexed Washington County Death Registers from 1881 through 1979 and Washington Death Certificates from 1907 through 1960. Both collections cover Kittitas County. These are free to search with a FamilySearch account and can confirm a death before you request a certified copy from the state. The Eastern Regional Archives in Cheney is the closest state repository for original Kittitas County records not available online.

Note: For deaths in 1961 through 1964, the index is only available on microfilm at the State Archives in Olympia and is not currently searchable online.

Ordering Kittitas County Death Certificates

You have three ways to get a certified death certificate for a Kittitas County death. You can order in person at the local health office in Ellensburg, by mail through the Washington State Department of Health, or online through VitalChek. The Washington State Department of Health vital records page covers all three options in detail.

The local Kittitas County office charges $25 per certified copy and may offer same-day service for in-person requests with an additional fee. Mail orders to the state cost $25 per certificate and take 8 to 10 weeks to process after payment is received. VitalChek online and phone orders start at $40.50, and processing typically takes 3 to 7 business days. There is also an optional $3.00 identity authentication fee that can bring the VitalChek total to $43.50. VitalChek is the only state-contracted third-party vendor; any other company charging to process your order is adding fees on top of the state cost.

Under RCW 70.58A, Washington's vital records law, only qualified applicants may receive certified copies of death certificates. Eligible requestors include immediate family members, legal representatives, and persons who can document a direct and tangible interest. Noncertified informational copies, which cannot be used for legal purposes, are available more broadly and work well for genealogy research. The CDC's Where to Write for Vital Records page for Washington confirms the state vital records office telephone is (360) 236-4300.

Mail orders should go to: Washington Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics, P.O. Box 9709, Olympia, WA 98507-9709. The Consumer Resource Center handles order questions at 206-464-6684 or 800-551-4636 (Washington only), open Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

Genealogy Resources for Kittitas County Deaths

Researchers tracing family history in Kittitas County have access to a solid range of tools beyond the state archives. FamilySearch offers Washington County Death Registers from 1881 through 1979 and Washington Death Certificates from 1907 through 1960 as indexed, free collections. Both cover Kittitas County deaths and are searchable with a free FamilySearch account. The Washington State Library microfilm collection also has Kittitas County death registers that can be viewed in Olympia or requested through the Ask-A-Librarian service.

The Washington State Department of Health vital records ordering page explains the full process for getting certified copies for legal use. For deaths that occurred in recent years not yet in the Digital Archives, the state office is your main option. For older deaths going back before 1907, the county auditor death registers are the primary source, and those are available digitally through the Washington State Archives.

Kittitas County is in the Central Washington region, and the Washington State Archives Central Regional Branch in Ellensburg is the appropriate contact for original pre-1907 records. You can reach that branch at (509) 963-2136 or email cebrancharchives@sos.wa.gov. Local newspaper archives from Ellensburg-area papers also contain obituary notices going back to the late 1800s, and the Ellensburg Public Library may hold bound volumes or microfilm of historical papers.

Cities in Kittitas County

Kittitas County communities include Ellensburg, Cle Elum, Kittitas, and several smaller towns. No cities in Kittitas County currently meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site.

Nearby Counties

Kittitas County borders several other Washington counties. Each has its own vital records office and court system.