Yakima County Obituary Records

Yakima County obituary and death records can be found through the Yakima County Health District, the Washington State Department of Health, the Washington State Digital Archives, and Yakima Valley Libraries. The county was created in 1865 and the county seat is Yakima. Whether you need a certified death certificate for an estate or legal matter, or you are searching historical records for genealogy research going back to the early 20th century, this guide walks through each source and how to use it for Yakima County deaths.

Yakima County Health District

The Yakima County Health District provides public health services to residents of Yakima County and handles birth and death certificate orders for events occurring in the county, subject to Washington's vital records laws. The health district office can answer questions about ordering procedures, required identification, eligibility requirements, and fees. For expedited service, residents can also order directly from the Washington State Department of Health or through VitalChek. The health district may offer same-day in-person service for an additional fee when records are available on site.

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 per certificate and typically ship within 3 to 7 business days. An optional $3 identity authentication fee may bring the total to $43.50. VitalChek is the only state-contracted third-party vendor; other companies will add extra fees on top.

Washington law under RCW 70.58A restricts certified death certificates to qualified applicants with a direct and tangible interest. That group includes the spouse or domestic partner, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, legal guardians, legal representatives, and persons with a documented legal need. Effective January 1, 2021, identity and proof of relationship documents are required for all certified copy requests. Noncertified informational copies are available to a broader group and are appropriate for genealogy research.

The page shown here is the Yakima County Health District website, which is the local entry point for Yakima County vital records and death certificate ordering.

This resource is the local public health office that assists Yakima County residents with vital records requests, including death certificates for deaths occurring in the county.

Washington State Digital Archives Death Index

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

The 1907 to 1960 portion of the index is more detailed than later years. Volunteers transcribed those records directly from original certificates, so entries often include cause of death, names of surviving relatives, and place of burial. The 1965 to 2017 portion came directly from the Department of Health and contains less biographical detail but still confirms name, date, and county of death. Death records for 1961 through 1964 are not available 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. The CDC's Where to Write for Vital Records page for Washington confirms the main office number is (360) 236-4300 and that the office holds all state death records from July 1, 1907 to the present, including Yakima County.

The page shown here is the Washington State DOH vital records ordering page, the main state-level resource for ordering Yakima County death certificates.

This resource covers the ordering process for certified Washington State death certificates, including all Yakima County deaths from July 1, 1907 to the present.

Yakima County Historical Death Records

Yakima County was created in 1865 from parts of Walla Walla County, and the county auditor began keeping birth and death records in the early 1890s. Those pre-state records from approximately 1891 through 1907 are now held at the Washington State Digital Archives and can be searched online as digitized images. If you are researching a family that settled in the Yakima Valley before statewide death registration began in 1907, the county auditor death registers and early census data are your primary sources.

The Washington State Library holds microfilm copies of Yakima County death registers in its genealogy collection. Researchers who can't travel to Olympia can submit specific lookup requests through the Ask-A-Librarian service on the Washington State Library vital records LibGuide. The guide also explains the full structure of Washington death records by time period and how to navigate between county-level and state-level sources.

FamilySearch holds Washington County Death Registers from 1881 through 1979 as both indexed and image collections, and Washington Death Certificates from 1907 through 1960 as a searchable index. Both are free with a FamilySearch account. Yakima County is covered within the statewide collection. Additionally, the "Records of Yakima County, Washington, 1869-1907" is a five-volume set with volume two dedicated to death records; this is a specialized local resource worth checking for early county residents. The Eastern Regional Archives handles Yakima County records and can be reached at (509) 963-2136 or cebrancharchives@sos.wa.gov.

Benton County was formed in 1905 from Yakima County, so researchers looking for deaths in the lower Yakima Valley area should also check Benton County collections for the period after 1905. The county line shifted, and some families ended up on the Benton side of records.

Yakima Valley Libraries and Local Resources

Yakima Valley Libraries serves Yakima County residents and provides access to local history and genealogy resources, including newspaper archives and obituary indexes. The Yakima Central Library offers reference services to help researchers locate death notices and obituaries for county residents going back to the late 1800s. The Yakima Herald-Republic and its predecessors are the main local newspaper sources for county death notices and obituaries, and many editions are available on microfilm through the library system.

The library also provides access to online genealogy databases, including some that hold obituary collections and death indexes. Heritage Hub, also known as America's Obituaries and Death Notices, is available through many Washington library systems and holds a collection of U.S. death notices from 1704 through today. Your Yakima Valley Libraries card may provide access to this database at no cost; check with library staff for current availability.

FindAGrave has listings for Yakima County cemeteries including Terrace Heights Memorial Park, Calvary Cemetery in Yakima, the Moxee City Cemetery, and dozens of rural sites across the county and lower Yakima Valley. Many entries include photos of grave markers and links to submitted obituaries. Local funeral homes in Yakima and across the county are another source of older death records; funeral home archives sometimes contain obituary clippings, original death notices, and supporting documents not found in the state or county systems.

For the earliest deaths in what is now Yakima County, the Washington Territory census records and missionary records from the early settlement period are sometimes the only available sources. The Yakima Valley Museum in Yakima holds some local history materials and family files that may help fill in genealogical gaps not covered by official records.

Note: The Washington State Library publishes a research handout titled "How to find Washington State DEATH RECORDS" that is a useful overview for any Yakima County researcher. For deaths in the current or prior month, contacting the local Yakima County Health District directly is recommended before going to the state office.

Ordering Yakima County Death Certificates

You can order a certified Yakima County death certificate three ways: by mail through the state DOH, online through VitalChek, or by phone through VitalChek at 1-866-687-1464. The Yakima County Health District may also offer in-person service for an additional fee. The Washington State DOH vital records ordering page covers all methods and lists what you need to include with your request.

For a mail order, send a completed application form, valid government-issued photo identification, proof of your qualifying relationship to the deceased, and a check or money order payable to the Department of Health for $25 per certificate to: Washington Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics, P.O. Box 9709, Olympia, WA 98507-9709. Processing takes 8 to 10 weeks from when payment is received.

Online orders through VitalChek start at $40.50, with an optional $3 identity authentication fee. Orders typically process and ship within 3 to 7 business days. The Consumer Resource Center at 206-464-6684 or 800-551-4636 (Washington only) is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM and can answer questions about the status of a pending order. You can also email contactchs@doh.wa.gov for order inquiries.

You also have the option of ordering directly from the Washington State DOH death record page, which gives detailed information on the long form and short form certificate types. The long form includes cause and manner of death and the Social Security number and is restricted to qualified applicants. The short form omits that data and is used for probate, property, and similar legal purposes. Noncertified informational copies are available more broadly and are well suited for genealogy use.

Genealogy Resources for Yakima County Deaths

Researchers tracing family history in Yakima County have access to a solid set of tools. The Social Security Death Index covers most deaths from 1935 onward, including Yakima County residents, and is searchable free through FamilySearch and other platforms. The Washington Death Index on Ancestry.com is a useful cross-reference when a name isn't turning up in the Digital Archives search. FamilySearch is free and holds both the county auditor death registers and the statewide death certificates in indexed and image form.

Yakima Valley Libraries holds local newspaper microfilm and provides reference staff who can assist with obituary searches. The Yakima Herald-Republic and its predecessors have published death notices for Yakima County residents since the late 1800s. Many older death notices from regional newspapers have been extracted and posted to genealogy sites like wagenweb.org, which maintains county-level obituary indexes drawn from newspaper sources. Some of those extracted obituaries include survivor lists, burial details, and church affiliations that aren't captured in official death certificates.

The Washington State Library's Ask-A-Librarian service can handle specific death record lookups through the statewide microfiche death index covering July 1, 1907 through 2004. That service is described in detail on the Washington State Library vital records LibGuide. If you can't visit Olympia in person, submitting a lookup request online is a practical free option before ordering a certified copy.

The city of Yakima is the county seat and largest community in Yakima County. A dedicated city page for Yakima is planned but not yet available on this site. Researchers focused on deaths in the city of Yakima should use the county-level and state-level resources on this page, since all deaths in the city run through the same systems as the rest of the county.

Cities in Yakima County

The city of Yakima is the county seat and largest community in Yakima County. A dedicated city page for Yakima is not yet available on this site. Other communities include Selah, Union Gap, Moxee, Tieton, and Naches.

Nearby Counties

Yakima County borders several other central and eastern Washington counties. Each has its own vital records system and courthouse.