Logan County Death Index Lookup
Logan County death index records are kept at the Logan County Health District in Bellefontaine. If you need to find a death certificate from this west-central Ohio county, the health district is your first stop for records from 1909 to the present. The county seat is Bellefontaine, which is also the highest point in the state of Ohio. You can search part of the Logan County death index online through the Ohio History Connection free database. That index covers select years between 1913 and 1963 and includes Logan County entries.
Logan County Overview
Logan County Death Certificates
The Logan County Health District handles death certificates for deaths that happened in Logan County from 1909 to the present day. Their office is in Bellefontaine. You can request copies in person during regular business hours. Bring a valid ID and the full name of the deceased along with the date of death. Walk-in requests are typically the fastest method. Staff can pull the record and make a certified copy while you are there.
Each certified copy costs about $25.00. Cash, check, and money order are all accepted for payment. If you want to order by mail, send a request letter with the deceased's full name, date of death, your name, address, phone number, and a check or money order for the correct amount. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Mail orders usually take one to two weeks to process and return.
Below is the Logan County Health District birth and death certificates page with current fee and form details.
The Logan County Health District main site has links to their other programs and services. Check there for updated hours and any changes to the request process before you visit or send mail.
Death Record Access in Logan County
Death certificates are public records in Ohio. Under ORC Title 37, anyone can request a copy of a death certificate from any Ohio county. You do not need to be a family member. The one restriction is that for deaths within the last five years, the social security number is removed from the copy unless you are a qualified applicant. Qualified applicants include spouses, parents, children, and legal estate representatives.
The Ohio Department of Health in Columbus is the central repository for all vital records in the state. If you cannot get what you need from the Logan County Health District, the state office can issue certified copies for any Ohio death from December 20, 1908 forward. The state fee is $21.50 per copy. You can also use VitalChek to order online with a credit card. VitalChek charges extra fees for processing and shipping.
Note: Logan County health district records start in 1909, one year later than many other Ohio counties.
Search Logan County Death Index Online
The free Ohio Death Certificate Index covers 1913 to 1944 and 1954 to 1963. Enter a name and the results show the county where the death was filed, the date, and the certificate number. You need that number to order a copy of the full certificate from the health district or from the state office.
FamilySearch provides free access to digitized Ohio death certificates from 1908 to 1953. You need a free account. Their Ohio County Death Records set covers 1840 to 2001 and may include Logan County entries beyond the state index. Some records are name-indexed and others are not. For the ones that are not indexed, you have to browse the images by county and year. It is slower but can turn up records that do not appear in any other online source.
The Ohio Memory digital library has materials from institutions across Ohio. The Ohio Genealogical Society and its local chapters often have compiled death indexes, cemetery transcriptions, and obituary files for Logan County. These supplementary sources are helpful for filling in the gaps where official records end.
Logan County Death Index Resources
The Ohio local health districts directory can confirm current contact details for the Logan County Health District. Always check before you visit since hours and fees can change without much notice.
Church records, funeral home files, and cemetery records are good backup sources for Logan County death research. If you know which church a family attended or which funeral home handled the service, contact them. Many have records going back a long time. Newspaper obituaries from the Bellefontaine Examiner and other Logan County papers can fill in details like family members, burial location, and exact date of death that are sometimes missing from the official record. For military veteran deaths, the Ohio History Connection holds graves registration cards from the Revolutionary War through World War II with death and burial details.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Logan County. If you are not sure where a death was filed, try the neighboring counties.