Search Walla Walla County Obituary Records

Walla Walla County obituary and death records span from the county's earliest death registers in the 1890s through the present day, and they can be found through the Washington State Department of Health, the Washington State Digital Archives, the Walla Walla Public Library, and a range of genealogy databases. If you need a certified certificate for estate or legal use, or if you're searching for a death notice from generations ago, this guide points you to the right source for Walla Walla County deaths.

Walla Walla County Vital Records Office

The Washington State Department of Health is the primary source for certified death certificates covering all Walla Walla County deaths from July 1, 1907, to the present. Walla Walla County was created in 1854, and the county seat is Walla Walla. The county is one of the original counties in the state, so its records go back further than many others, with early county auditor death registers predating the state's centralized system by more than a decade. For very recent deaths, the local health department in Walla Walla may have those records before they transfer to the state.

The Washington State Department of Health vital records page covers all three ordering methods. Mail orders take about 8 to 10 weeks from the time payment is received. Online and phone orders through VitalChek start at $40.50 and typically ship within 3 to 7 business days. An optional $3 identity authentication fee may apply. VitalChek is the only state-contracted vendor; any other third-party company will add fees on top.

Washington law under RCW 70.58A restricts certified death certificates to qualified applicants with a direct and tangible interest in the record. Eligible requestors include the spouse or domestic partner of the deceased, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, legal guardians, legal representatives, and persons with a documented legal need. Informational copies, which are not certified and cannot be used for legal purposes, are available to a wider group and are a good option for genealogy research.

Note: For the very latest deaths, contact the local Walla Walla County health office, since recent records may not have processed to the state yet.

Washington Death Index and Digital Archives

The Washington State Digital Archives Death Certificate Index is a free and open resource for searching Walla Walla County obituary and death records. The index covers all Washington State deaths from July 1, 1907 through 1960 and again from 1965 through 2017. The full index has more than 2.3 million records and can be searched by name at no cost. No account is needed.

The 1907 to 1960 portion of the index is more detailed. Volunteers transcribed those records from original certificates, so many entries include cause of death, names of surviving relatives, the place of burial, and other biographical details. The 1965 to 2017 portion was supplied directly by the Department of Health and has less detail, but it does confirm key facts like the name, date of death, and county. For a Walla Walla County resident who died between 1907 and 1960, the Digital Archives index is usually the best free starting point. Death indexes for 1961 through 1964 are not online; those years exist on microfilm at the State Archives in Olympia.

Images of actual death certificates are available for deaths more than 25 years ago. If you find a record in the index and need a certified copy, contact the Center for Health Statistics at (360) 236-4313 or (360) 236-4312. That office handles certified copies for deaths from July 1, 1907 through three months before the current date. According to the CDC's Where to Write for Vital Records page for Washington, the main office number is (360) 236-4300.

Walla Walla County Historical Death Records

Walla Walla County is one of Washington's oldest counties. The county auditor began keeping death registers in the early 1890s, and those records covering deaths from approximately 1891 through 1907 are now held at the Washington State Digital Archives. If you're researching a family that settled in the Walla Walla Valley before statewide death registration began, those auditor records and early census data are your primary tools.

The Washington State Library holds microfilm copies of Walla Walla County death registers in its genealogy collection. Researchers who can't visit Olympia in person can submit lookup requests through the Ask-A-Librarian service described on the Washington State Library vital records LibGuide. Library staff can search the statewide death index on microfiche, which covers July 1, 1907 through 2004, and send results by email or mail for a specific name and year range.

FamilySearch holds Washington County Death Registers from 1881 through 1979 as both an indexed and image collection. Washington Death Certificates from 1907 through 1960 are also indexed on FamilySearch. Both collections are free with a FamilySearch account. The Walla Walla County Auditor death register for pre-1907 deaths is also searchable through the Washington State Digital Archives as digitized images. The Eastern Regional Archives branch handles Walla Walla County records; contact them at (509) 963-2136 or cebrancharchives@sos.wa.gov.

The Washington State Library's resource page for Walla Walla County is shown here, covering the county's vital records collections and how to access them.

This resource explains how to locate Walla Walla County death records across state and local collections, from pre-1907 auditor records through present-day certificates.

Walla Walla Public Library and Local Resources

The Walla Walla Public Library serves residents of the county seat and provides access to local history and genealogy resources, including newspaper archives and obituary indexes. The library holds reference materials covering Walla Walla County families, and staff can help researchers locate death notices and obituaries published in local papers going back to the late 1800s. The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin and its predecessor papers are among the key newspaper sources for county death notices.

For the county's broader research, the King County Auditor Death Records collection in the Digital Archives provides a model for the kind of county-level records that exist for Walla Walla County as well. The King County Auditor Death Records, 1891-1907 collection at the Digital Archives illustrates the format and depth of these county auditor death registers statewide. Walla Walla County has its own comparable collection for the same period, covering deaths filed with the county auditor before state registration began.

The page shown here is the Washington State Digital Archives collection for county auditor death records, showing how pre-1907 Walla Walla County deaths were recorded and preserved.

This collection type at the Digital Archives covers the auditor-era death records that preceded statewide death registration and remains a key source for early Walla Walla County genealogy research.

Local cemeteries in Walla Walla County include Mountain View Cemetery, City Cemetery, and several rural sites. FindAGrave has listings for many of these cemeteries with user-submitted photos and linked obituaries. The Walla Walla County Historical Society may also hold obituary clippings, family files, and old newspaper collections not available elsewhere.

Ordering Walla Walla County Death Certificates

You can order a certified death certificate for a Walla Walla County death in three ways: by mail to the Washington State Department of Health, online through VitalChek, or by phone through VitalChek at 1-866-687-1464. The mail fee is $25 per certificate. The Washington State DOH vital records ordering page covers all three methods and lists what documents you need to include.

To submit a mail order, you will need a completed application form, valid government-issued photo identification, documentation proving your qualifying relationship to the deceased, and a check or money order payable to the Department of Health for $25 per certificate. Mail requests go to: Washington Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics, P.O. Box 9709, Olympia, WA 98507-9709. Processing time is 8 to 10 weeks after the office receives your payment.

Online and phone orders through VitalChek start at $40.50 per certificate. Optionally, a $3 identity authentication fee can apply, pushing the total to $43.50. VitalChek orders typically process and ship in 3 to 7 business days. For Walla Walla County deaths occurring in the current or previous month, the local health office may have the record sooner than the state; you can reach the Consumer Resource Center at 206-464-6684 or 800-551-4636 (Washington State only), open Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

Certified copies come as long form or short form. The long form includes cause and manner of death and the decedent's Social Security number and is limited to qualified applicants under RCW 70.58A.520 and RCW 70.58A.530. The short form has basic identifying information and is used for probate and property transfers. Noncertified informational copies are broader in availability and serve genealogy and research purposes well.

Genealogy Resources for Walla Walla County Deaths

Researchers working on Walla Walla County family history have access to a solid set of tools beyond the state archives. The Social Security Death Index covers most deaths from 1935 onward, including many Walla Walla County residents, and is searchable free on FamilySearch and Ancestry. The Washington Death Index on Ancestry.com provides a digitized version of state death records in a slightly different format from the Digital Archives and is worth cross-referencing if a search in one database doesn't turn up the right result.

Newspaper obituaries from the Walla Walla area are available through several channels. The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin and earlier newspapers have been microfilmed, and many editions are accessible through the Washington State Library or through Newspapers.com and other subscription services. The Walla Walla Public Library holds local newspaper microfilm and reference staff can assist with obituary searches. Many older death notices have been extracted and posted to genealogy sites like wagenweb.org, which maintains state and county obituary indexes drawn from newspaper sources.

The Washington State Library holds the statewide death index on microfiche from July 1, 1907 through 2004, and lookup requests can be submitted through the Ask-A-Librarian service for no cost. That service is described in detail on the Washington State Library vital records LibGuide. For very early deaths before county auditor records began, the federal census, church records from the Walla Walla Valley's early mission and pioneer communities, and the Washington Territory census records are the main alternative sources.

The city of Walla Walla is the county seat and the largest community in Walla Walla County. A city page for Walla Walla is planned but not yet available on this site. Researchers looking for records tied specifically to the city of Walla Walla should use the same county-level and state-level resources described on this page, as all county deaths funnel through the same state and county systems regardless of which community the person lived in.

Cities in Walla Walla County

The city of Walla Walla is the county seat and largest community in the county. A dedicated city page for Walla Walla is not yet available on this site. Other communities include College Place, Waitsburg, and Prescott.

Nearby Counties

Walla Walla County borders several eastern Washington counties and the Oregon border to the south. Each has its own court and vital records system.