Historical Death Records

• Death Registers - Seattle only (1881-1907)
  Records from 1881 to 1891 include the name of the deceased, as well as their age, sex, race, marital status, birthplace, occupation, date of death, place of death, cause of death, and attending physician. Records from 1891 to 1907 additionally include the place of interment. The register entries are organized chronologically. Only registers from 1889 to 1899 have self-contained indexes. Registers from other years do not have indexes.
• Death Registers - County wide (1891-1907)
  These entries contain the same information as the Seattle Death Registers (above). They are organized by first letter of the last name, and then chronologically. They have no indexes.
• Coroner's Death Records (1889-1913)
  These records document incidences of accidental or violent deaths in King County that were investigated by the Coroner's Office (Medical Examiner). Death records after 1913 are held by the King County Medical Examiner's Office.
• Coroner's Death Indexes (1890-1986)
  These indexes reference volume and page number in the Coroner's Death Records.
• Coroner's Inquest Transcripts (1897-1906)
  Transcriptions of testimony given at King County Coroner's inquests. These records usually include the name of the decease, death date and place and findings on the cause of death. The King County Archives' holdings only includes records from 1897-1900 and 1905-1906. Transcripts from other years can be found at the Puget Sound Regional Archives.
• Auditor's Death Records (1897-1901)
  Each entry only contains a name, a date (presumably date of death) and an unidentified number. The entries are organized alphabetically. This index does not have many entries and is not a complete death index for these years.
• Burial Permits (1899-1900)
  These records include burial permits and transit forms (some with accompanying death certificates) for individuals who died outside of King County and were intended for burial within King County.
• Record of Bodies Exhumed from Potters Field Cemetery (1900-1912)
  Register of Individuals who died between 1900 and 1912 and were buried in the Potter's Field Cemetery (also called Duwamish Poor Farm or King County Hospital Cemetery) in Georgetown. The remains were exhumed and cremated at the King County Crematory in Georgetown. The index entries contain names, dates of death and ages at death. They are not organized in alphabetical order. The names in this volume have been indexed by an outside source and are online (external link). The King County Archives maintains a separate record of the disposition of 176 of these 855 cremains.
• Death Indexes (1907-1937, 1953-1965)
  These alphabetical index entries contain the individual's name, the date of death, age at death, and death certificate number.
• Death Certificates - Southeast King County only (1913-1951)
  These certificates are limited to districts containing Black Diamond and Enumclaw. The records are organized by district, and then chronologically.
• Coroner's Scrapbooks (1914-1969)
  These scrapbooks are comprised of newspaper clippings relating to accidental or violent deaths in King County that were investigated by the Coroner's Office (Medical Examiner).
• Burial-Transit Permits (1969-1978, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007)
  These forms are required before the disposition of any human remains can take place and are created after the completed death certificate is submitted. This series documents individuals who died in King County, were buried in King County or whose remains were transported through King County. Forms include name of the deceased, date of death, place of death, age, sex, cause of death (if a communicable or infectious disease), method of disposal (cremation, burial, storage or removal), and the date and place of burial or cremation. Varying information includes date of birth, place of birth, marital status and name of spouse. These records are not indexed and are organized semi-chronologically. Also included in this series is permits for individuals who were buried or cremated in Auburn only from 1963 to 1969. Also included are disinterment permits (when remains were exhumed and reburied elsewhere) from 1950 to 1968.
• Death Certificates (2000, 2002, 2005, 2006)

Additional sources of King County death records

Washington State Death Certificates, 1907-1960 (external link) - On the Washington State Archives' Digital Archives Website. This database provides a name index to death certificates.

Washington State Death Index, 1960-1974 (external link) - On Vitalsearch's Website. The index is not searchable by name, but users may browse images by page number.

Washington State Death Index, 1907-2004 - At the Washington State Library (external link) on microfilm and microfiche

Social Security Death Index, 1937-present (external link) - On the Washington State Archives' Digital Archives Website, which documents individuals that had a Social Security card issued in Washington, had last residence in Washington or has their last benefit mailed to an address in Washington. Although the index entries begin in 1937, they are few in number and do not represent a significant portion of deaths until the mid-1960's.

With a valid King County Library (external link) card or Seattle Public Library (external link) card, users can access Ancestry.com Library Edition (in library only), which includes a Washington State Death Index from 1940-1954 and 1965-1996.

For additional historical King County death records, contact the Puget Sound Regional Branch of the Washington State Archives (external link).