Syracuse Death Records Search

Syracuse death records are kept by the Onondaga County Office of Vital Statistics, which holds files going back to 1873. That is seven years before the state began its own collection in 1880. If you need a death certificate for someone who died in Syracuse, you can get a certified copy from the county office at 421 Montgomery Street in downtown Syracuse. The city clerk also holds some early death records that the New York State Department of Health does not have. This guide walks you through each office, what ID you need, and how to order copies by mail or in person.

Where to Get Syracuse Death Records

The main office for Syracuse death records is the Onondaga County Office of Vital Statistics. This office is at 421 Montgomery Street, Civic Center Suite 20, Syracuse, NY 13202. You can call them at (315) 435-3241. They are open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Death records here go back to 1873, which means they have files from well before the state started keeping its own records in 1880.

Onondaga County is what New York calls a "consolidated county district" for vital records. That means deaths that happen anywhere in the county, not just in Syracuse, get filed with this one office. So whether a death took place in the city of Syracuse, the town of Clay, or any other spot in Onondaga County, this is where the record ends up. The collection is in closed stacks. You cannot walk in and search on your own. Staff will do the search for you, but it can take a few weeks to get results back.

The first certified copy of a death certificate costs $30. If you need more copies of the same record at the same time, each one is $15. You can order in person, by mail, by fax, or through their online system. For mail orders, send the completed form with your payment and a copy of your photo ID.

The Onondaga County vital records page below shows the office location and hours for requesting Syracuse death records.

This is the county portal where you can find forms and instructions for ordering death certificates in Onondaga County.

Syracuse City Clerk and Death Records

The Syracuse City Clerk is at 231 City Hall, 233 East Washington Street, Syracuse, NY 13202. The phone number is (315) 448-8216. Syracuse is one of a small number of cities in New York that kept its own early death records. Some of these records are not in the state files. If you are looking for a death that happened in Syracuse before 1880, the city clerk may be your only source.

For more recent death records, you can still go through the city clerk, but most people find it easier to use the county office since they have the full set of records. The city clerk can also help with birth and marriage records for events that took place within city limits.

The City of Syracuse website shown below provides contact details for city departments including the clerk's office.

From this site you can find forms and reach the city clerk for death records questions.

Who Can Get Syracuse Death Records

Not everyone can get a death certificate. New York law limits who can request one. The spouse, parent, child, or sibling of the person who died has the right to a certified copy. Other people can get one too, but they need proof of a lawful reason. That could mean a letter from an insurance company, a court, or another agency that says they need the death record to process a claim.

You must show valid photo ID when you apply. A driver's license, state ID card, passport, or military ID all work. If you do not have a photo ID, you can use two other documents that show your name and address. A utility bill and a recent government letter, for instance. Children requesting a parent's death certificate need to bring a long form birth certificate that shows the parent's name. Siblings need a birth certificate showing shared parents.

For genealogy research, the rules are a bit different. Death records that have been on file for 50 years or more can be searched for family history. The county charges based on how many years you want them to search. A one to three year search costs $22. Wider searches cost more. Processing genealogy requests takes about eight weeks right now, and you can only submit them by mail.

Ordering Syracuse Death Records by Mail or Online

If you do not want to visit the county office in person, you have options. The county takes mail orders. Download the death certificate application from their site, fill it out, and send it with your payment and a copy of your ID. Make your check or money order out to the Office of Vital Statistics. Send it to 421 Montgomery Street, Civic Center Suite 20, Syracuse, NY 13202.

You can also go through the New York State Department of Health. The state keeps death records for all of New York except New York City, going back to 1881. Mail orders to the state cost $30 per copy. Online and phone orders through VitalChek cost $45 plus a processing fee. The state mailing address is Vital Records Certification Unit, P.O. Box 2602, Albany, NY 12220-2602. The toll-free number is (855) 322-1022. Be aware that the state office is dealing with long delays right now. Going through the county is usually faster.

The local registrar at the county level can often turn around a request in days or a couple of weeks. The state might take several months. If you are not in a rush and you are not sure about exact details, the state can search a wider range of records. But for most Syracuse death records, the county office is the better bet.

Onondaga County Surrogate's Court Records

When someone dies, their estate may go through Surrogate's Court. The Onondaga County Surrogate's Court is at 401 Montgomery Street, Syracuse, NY 13202. The phone number is (315) 671-2100. This court handles wills, probate, and estate matters for all of Onondaga County. Records here go back to 1790 and include guardianships, estates, and wills, all indexed by surname.

You can search some Surrogate's Court records online through the WebSurrogate system run by the New York State Unified Court System. This free tool lets you look up cases by name and see filing dates and some documents. Not every record is online yet, but it is growing. If you cannot find what you need online, call the court clerk or visit in person during business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

Syracuse Death Records for Genealogy

Syracuse and Onondaga County have good resources for genealogy. The Onondaga County Public Library has a Local History and Genealogy department on the 3rd floor at 447 South Salina Street. They hold the NYS Vital Records Index on microfiche, plus newspaper indexes and city directories. The email for that department is lhg@onlib.org and the phone is (315) 435-1900.

The Onondaga Historical Association Museum and Research Center at 321 Montgomery Street is another resource. They have collections that can help fill gaps in the official records. The Central New York Genealogical Society also publishes Tree Talks, a quarterly journal with abstracts of genealogy records from central New York counties. You can reach them at PO Box 404, Colvin Station, Syracuse, NY 13205.

Syracuse death records from 1880 to 1956 are also included in the New York State Death Index. You can search that index for free on the New York State Death Index website. It will not give you the actual certificate, but it tells you the name, date, and county so you know where to send your request. The New York State Archives in Albany has death record indexes on microfiche from 1880 to 1943 that are free to search in person.

Onondaga County also has some unique historical records. The county poorhouse on Onondaga Hill, which opened in 1827, kept its own birth and death records for residents. These are available on FamilySearch microfilm. Obituary indexes from Syracuse newspapers cover 1860 to 1996, though the index is not complete for all years. An electronic newspaper index picks up from 1986 to the present.

Onondaga County Death Records

Syracuse sits in Onondaga County, which has a consolidated vital records system. All deaths in the county get filed with the county office, not at the town level. This makes Onondaga County one of the easier counties to deal with in New York. You only need to contact one office for any death that happened anywhere in the county.

The Onondaga County Clerk at 401 Montgomery Street, Room 200, handles land records, court records, naturalization files, and census records. They do not issue death certificates, but they can be helpful if you are looking for supporting documents. The county clerk is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, and you can call at (315) 435-2227.

Nearby New York Cities

Other cities near Syracuse that have their own death records pages on this site include: