Kings County Death Records Search
Death records in Kings County, which is the borough of Brooklyn, run through the New York City Department of Health. This is different from most other New York counties. The NYS Department of Health does not have Kings County death records. Instead, the NYC DOH handles all death certificates for deaths in Brooklyn. The NYC Municipal Archives holds historical death records going back to 1847. Kings County is the most populous county in New York State with over 2.5 million residents. This page covers how to get death records in Kings County, including fees, eligibility, and where to find older records for genealogy research.
Kings County Death Records Overview
NYC Department of Health - Kings County Death Records
The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene handles all death certificates for Kings County. The office is at 125 Worth Street, CN4, Room 133, New York, NY 10013. Phone: (212) 788-4520. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM.
A death certificate in Kings County costs $15 per copy. Online orders through VitalChek come with a $9.30 processing fee on top. In-person orders at 125 Worth Street have a smaller $2.75 processing fee. You can also ask the funeral home that handled the arrangements to order copies for up to one year after the death.
The NYC DOH splits death certificate requests into two types. Close family members like a spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild can get both the standard death certificate and the confidential medical report that shows the cause of death. More distant relatives like nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles can only get the standard certificate without the cause of death. Estate executors can also get copies.
NYC Municipal Archives - Historical Death Records
The NYC Municipal Archives holds historical death records for Kings County going back to 1847. Brooklyn death records from 1847 to 1948 are on file at the archives. The archives are at 31 Chambers Street, Room 103, New York, NY 10007. Phone: (212) 639-9675. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM, and Friday, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
The Historical Vital Records of NYC project at hvra.nyc is an ongoing effort to digitize original birth, marriage, and death records from 1855 to 1949. You can search, browse, download, or order certified copies online. Certified copies from the archives cost $18 each. Non-certified PDF copies cost $3.50 when using a credit or debit card. Processing takes one to two weeks for PDFs and eight to ten weeks for certified copies.
Note: As of December 1, 2024, the NYC Health Department no longer accepts new requests for certified copies of 1949 death certificates. Those records are moving to the Municipal Archives.
Kings County Surrogate's Court
The Kings County Surrogate's Court is at 2 Johnson Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. The court handles probate of wills and estate administration for people who died in Kings County.
The Kings County Surrogate's Court page has details on probate proceedings and estate filings.
The screenshot above shows the Kings County Surrogate's Court with information on how to file estate cases and search probate records in Brooklyn.
Probate records include wills, letters testamentary, letters of administration, estate inventories, and accountings. These files often list the date of death, names of family members, and their addresses. The WebSurrogate system lets you search Kings County estate proceedings online. Estates under $50,000 can use simplified small estate proceedings with a $1 filing fee.
Genealogy Death Records in Kings County
Death records over 50 years old are available for public access. The Municipal Archives is the main source for historical Kings County death records. Their online database at hvra.nyc lets you search Brooklyn deaths from 1847 to 1948 for free.
FamilySearch has indexed New York City municipal death records from 1795 to 1949, which includes Kings County. Ancestry has the New York City Death Index covering 1862 to 1948. The German Genealogy Group maintains a NYC death index from 1868 to 1948 that is nearly complete and may have records missing from other databases.
Death record entries typically include the name, age, sex, marital status, month and day of death, native state or country, occupation, and cause of death. These details make them valuable for family history research. The Brooklyn Historical Society and the Brooklyn Public Library also have local history collections, newspaper obituaries, and cemetery records that can supplement official death records.
Reclaim The Records has used Freedom of Information requests to make some New York City vital records indexes available for free. Check their site for the latest Kings County death record indexes.
Important: NYS DOH Does Not Have Kings County Records
This is a key point that trips people up. The New York State Department of Health does not have death records for Kings County or any other New York City borough. If you send a request to the state office in Albany for a Brooklyn death, they will send it back. You must go through the NYC DOH or the Municipal Archives for Kings County death records. This rule applies to all five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.
The NYC DOH costs less than the state. A copy is $15 versus $30 by mail from the state or $45 online. In-person orders at 125 Worth Street in Manhattan are the cheapest option when you add the $2.75 processing fee. The Municipal Archives charges $18 for certified historical copies.
Nearby Counties
Kings County (Brooklyn) is part of New York City and borders other NYC boroughs as well as non-NYC counties. Check these pages for death records in neighboring areas: