Erie County Death Records Search
Death records in Erie County cover the City of Buffalo and its surrounding towns. This is the most populous county in western New York, and death records here go back to the 1850s for Buffalo and to 1880 for the rest of the county. The Erie County Clerk office does not hold death certificates. Instead, you get them from the city or town clerk where the death took place, or from the New York State Department of Health. The Surrogate's Court and the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society add more layers of death-related records for researchers and families.
Erie County Death Records Overview
Erie County Clerk and Death Records
The Erie County Clerk genealogy page makes one thing clear: death records are not available at the clerk office. You need to go to the city or town clerk where the death happened. The Erie County Clerk is at Erie County Hall, 92 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY 14202. Phone: 716-858-8785.
The Erie County Clerk genealogy resources page shows what is on file and what is not for death record searches.
The screenshot above shows the Erie County Clerk genealogy page with details on which records are held at the clerk office and which must be obtained from other sources.
What the clerk does have includes census records for 1850 through 1925, naturalization records from 1827 to 1929, marriage records from 1878 to April 1935, and divorce records from the early 1800s to the present. Divorce records are sealed for 100 years under state law. To search census records, you must know the person's name, address, election district, and ward. You must visit in person to use the microfilm.
City of Buffalo Death Records
Buffalo has some of the oldest death records in Erie County. The city has death records from 1852. Records from 1852 to 1944 are at the City of Buffalo Inactive Records Center, 45 Comet Street, Buffalo, NY 14216. Phone: (716) 874-6402. There is an index on site. You can order records and have them mailed or pick them up at City Hall.
Death records from 1945 to the present are at Buffalo City Hall, Room 1302, 65 Niagara Square, Buffalo, NY 14202. Phone: (716) 851-5437. Buffalo Psychiatric Center death records from 1878 to 1999 and VA Hospital death records from 2012 onward are also at City Hall.
For genealogy copies of death records in Buffalo, the record must be at least 50 years old. The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library guide to government vital records sources has a full rundown of what is on file, where it is, and how to get it. Erie County coroners' reports from October 1878 to June 1902 are on microfilm at the library's Grosvenor Room. Erie County Poorhouse death records from 1898 to 1925 are there too.
The NYS DOH does not have Buffalo death records before January 1, 1914. You must contact the city directly for older files. This is one of the few cities in New York with this kind of gap at the state level.
Erie County Surrogate's Court
The Erie County Surrogate's Court is at Erie County Hall, 92 Franklin Street, 2nd floor, Buffalo, NY 14202. Phone: (716) 845-2560. Fax: 716-845-7565. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Hon. Acea M. Mosey presides.
The court holds wills, trust documents, petitions for probate and administration, and other estate files. Indexes to the files are on computers in the office. Files from about 1971 to the present are scanned and can be printed for a fee. Older files are stored off-site and take a few days to get.
For genealogy, FamilySearch has estate indexes from 1800 to 1929 and estate papers from the same period. Ancestry.com has New York Wills and Probate Records covering 1659 to 1999. Letters of Administration from 1826 to 1901 and Letters of Testamentary from 1832 to 1900 are on microfilm. These probate records are a strong source of death-related data when you can not find a death certificate.
Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society
The Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society research library is at 25 Nottingham Court in Buffalo. The library has over 200,000 historical photographs, more than 20,000 books, and over 2,000 manuscript collections. Their holdings include obituary collections, newspaper indexes, cemetery records, and information on local burials. Staff can help you find death-related records that the county offices may not have. Fees may apply for research services and reproductions.
State Death Records for Erie County
The New York State Department of Health has death records for Erie County from 1881, except for Buffalo deaths before 1914. Mail orders cost $30 per copy. Online and phone orders cost $45 plus a processing fee. You need photo ID and must be eligible. The state is experiencing big delays, so the local clerk is usually faster for recent deaths.
The New York State Archives in Albany has microfiche death indexes for Erie County from 1880 to 1943. These are free to search in person. For genealogy copies, the NYS DOH charges $22 for a one to three year search. Death records over 50 years old are open to the public for research.
Cities in Erie County
Erie County is home to several large communities. Death records for each are handled by the local clerk in that city or town. These qualifying cities have their own pages on this site:
Nearby Counties
These counties border Erie County. If a death may have been recorded in a neighboring county, check these pages: