Crawford County Death Index Search

Crawford County death index records are held by the local health department and the Probate Court in Bucyrus. The health department has death certificates from 1908 forward. The Probate Court has older records from 1867 to 1908. You can also search the Ohio Death Certificate Index online for free to find Crawford County entries from select years. FamilySearch has digitized some Crawford County probate materials that may help with related research.

Crawford County Death Certificates

The Crawford County Health Department issues death certificates for deaths that happened in Crawford County from 1908 to the present. The office is in Bucyrus. Certified copies cost about $25 each. You can walk in during business hours, and the staff can search by name and pull a copy while you wait. Cash, check, and money order are the standard payment options.

Mail requests are also accepted. Send a letter with the deceased's full name, date of death, your name and address, phone number, and a check or money order for the total. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Mail orders typically take about a week. If you want faster service, VitalChek allows credit card payment with optional expedited shipping. VitalChek adds processing and shipping fees on top of the base cost.

Ohio law makes death certificates public records. Under ORC Title 37, anyone can request a copy regardless of their relationship to the deceased. For deaths within the last five years, the social security number is removed from copies given to people who are not immediate family or estate representatives. The Ohio Department of Health also maintains copies of all Ohio death certificates from 1908 on and can fill requests for any county at $21.50 per copy.

Crawford County Death Index Before 1908

The Crawford County Probate Court has death records from 1867 to 1908. The courthouse is at 112 East Mansfield Street in Bucyrus. It houses the Common Pleas, Juvenile, Probate, and Municipal Courts all under one roof. Contact the Probate Court directly to search early death records.

Early Crawford County death records are ledger entries rather than formal certificates. Each entry usually shows the name, death date, age, cause of death, and birthplace. Some entries include parents' names, mostly for children. These records are not indexed online. You need to visit the courthouse or contact them by phone or mail. Having the full name and an approximate date of death makes the search much easier for the court staff. If you only have a surname and a rough time frame, expect the search to take longer and possibly turn up multiple results.

The screenshot below shows the Crawford County government website where you can find links to county offices.

One thing to note about Crawford County is that the Ohio History Connection does not have indexed death records for this county in their statewide collection. This means you should focus on the local Probate Court for pre-1908 records rather than the state archives. FamilySearch does have some Crawford County Probate Court materials digitized, including Probate Records from 1831 to 1932, an Index from 1834 to 1969, Records of Guardians' Accounts from 1853 to 1931, and Mother's Pension Records from 1920 to 1931. While these are not death records, they can help confirm family connections and narrow down time periods.

Search Crawford County Death Records Online

The free Ohio Death Certificate Index lets you look up Crawford County death records from 1913 to 1944 and 1954 to 1963. Enter a name and see the county, death date, and certificate number. That number is needed when you order a copy from the health department or the state.

FamilySearch provides free access to Ohio death certificate images from 1908 to 1953. You need a free account. Their Ohio County Death Records collection covers 1840 to 2001. Not everything is indexed by name, so browsing county images is sometimes the only way. The Ohio Memory digital library has materials from hundreds of Ohio institutions and is free to search. It may have Crawford County items from local historical groups.

Getting Crawford County Death Records

The quickest path is a walk-in visit to the Crawford County Health Department in Bucyrus. Bring payment and know the name and approximate death date for the person you need. Same-day service is common for in-person requests.

Mail requests go to the health department in Bucyrus. Send a letter with the details listed above and a check or money order. The Ohio local health districts directory has current contact information for the Crawford County office. The Ohio Genealogical Society and local genealogy groups may also have compiled Crawford County cemetery transcriptions, obituary indexes, and church records that supplement official death records. These can be especially helpful when the official records are incomplete or hard to read.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Crawford County. Check them if you are unsure where a death was recorded.