Access Orangetown Death Records

Death records in Orangetown are kept by the Town Clerk at Town Hall in Orangeburg. Orangetown is a town in Rockland County, located in the lower Hudson Valley just north of the New Jersey border. The town clerk has historical death records going back to 1881. Vital records are registered in the town where the event happened, so if someone died in Orangetown, this office is the primary source. The Rockland County Clerk in New City also handles county-level records. This guide explains how to get death records from both offices.

Orangetown Death Records at Town Clerk

The Town of Orangetown Clerk is at Town Hall, 26 W. Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg, NY 10962. Call (845) 359-5100 ext. 5004. The fax number is (845) 359-5126. You can email TownClerk@orangetown.com or sdezago@orangetown.com. The current Town Clerk is Rosanna Sfraga. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. In summer (June 1 through August 30), hours start at 8:00 AM.

The town clerk has birth, marriage, and death records. Historical death records at this office go from 1881 to 1913. Birth records go from 1872 to 1923. Marriage records cover 1921 to 1926 and include parents' names and places of birth, which is very useful for genealogy research. More recent records are also available. Contact the office for current availability.

No appointment is needed for most services. Payment methods include cash and credit or debit cards (with a $1.75 convenience fee). The office is closed on major holidays including New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving (Thursday and Friday), and Christmas (Thursday and Friday).

The Orangetown town website shown above provides details about the clerk's office and how to access vital records including death certificates.

Rockland County Clerk

The Rockland County Clerk is at the Rockland County Courthouse, 1 South Main Street, Suite 100, New City, NY 10956. Call (845) 638-5070 or fax (845) 638-5647. Email rocklandcountyclerk@co.rockland.ny.us. The County Clerk is Paul Piperato.

The county clerk handles court records, property filings, and FOIL requests. For vital records like death certificates, the town clerk where the death occurred is the primary source. But the county office can help with other records connected to a death, like property transfers and estate documents. They can also point you to the right town if you are not sure where a death was registered.

If you need to file a FOIL request for county records, you will need to provide your name, address, phone number, a valid email address, and a detailed description of the records you want. The county also holds marriage records from 1903 to 1935 at the county clerk's office.

Hospital Death Records in Orangetown

If someone died at Nyack Hospital, the death record may be with the Village of Nyack Clerk rather than the Orangetown Town Clerk. In New York, death records are filed in the municipality where the death actually happened. Nyack Hospital is within the Village of Nyack, which is a separate municipality inside the Town of Orangetown. So hospital deaths there would be registered with the village clerk. Contact the Orangetown clerk first if you are not sure, and they can tell you where the record is filed.

Historical Death Records in Orangetown

The Orangetown Town Clerk has some valuable historical records. The death records from 1881 to 1913 are useful for genealogy researchers. The birth records from 1872 to 1923 and marriage records from 1921 to 1926 can also help piece together family connections. The marriage records are especially helpful since they include parents' names and birthplaces.

The Rockland County Historical Society has cemetery records, burial information, old maps dating back to the 1700s with property owner names, and various local history resources. The Nyack Library has a local history room with microfilm records. The New City Library has cemetery burial listings for the area. The Rockland Cemetery in Sparkill has a superintendent who knows burial locations.

For broader searches, the New York State Death Index from 1880 to 1956 is free to search online. The New York State Archives has microfiche indexes from 1880 to 1943 you can search in person in Albany. The WebSurrogate system lets you search Surrogate's Court records for estate cases in Rockland County.

Genealogy copies from the NYS Department of Health start at $22 for a one to three year search. Death records must be on file for 50 years. Birth records need 75 years. All genealogy copies are uncertified.

State-Level Death Records

The New York State Department of Health keeps Orangetown death records from 1881 on. Mail orders cost $30 per copy. Online orders through VitalChek run $45 plus a processing fee. Send mail requests to P.O. Box 2602, Albany, NY 12220-2602. Make the check payable to NYS Department of Health.

The state warns about long delays. The local Orangetown clerk is almost always faster for recent records. For older records, the state is the backup source if the local office does not have what you need. Eligibility rules are the same: spouse, parent, child, sibling, or documented legal claim. Call (855) 322-1022 for state-level help.

Certified birth records for people born in New York State in 1960 and later can be issued at all city and town clerk offices, not just the one where the birth occurred. However, death records are still filed only in the municipality where the death took place, so location matters when requesting a death certificate.

Nearby Cities

Other cities near Orangetown with death records pages: