Death Index Records in Clallam County

Clallam County death index records are available through the Washington State Digital Archives for deaths from 1907 through 1967, and certified death certificates for deaths from 1907 forward are issued by the Washington State Department of Health. Clallam County occupies the northern Olympic Peninsula with Port Angeles as its county seat. The county auditor and county clerk offices in Port Angeles hold county-level records, and the coroner handles deaths requiring investigation. This page covers all the ways to find and request death records for Clallam County.

How Clallam County Death Index Records Work

Washington State's centralized death registration began in 1907. Before that year, counties kept their own death registers with varying levels of completeness. Once the statewide system launched, all death certificates filed in Clallam County went to the state. The Washington State Department of Health now holds all certified death certificates from 1907 forward. The county does not hold certified copies of those records.

The Washington State Digital Archives provides a free death index covering 1907 through 1967. This database is searchable at digitalarchives.wa.gov. You can search by name, date, county, or certificate number with no account or fee required. Each result shows the name, age, gender, date of death, county, and the certificate number. That certificate number is what you reference when requesting a certified copy from the Department of Health.

Clallam County was established in 1854, giving it over 50 years of county-level death records before the statewide system began in 1907. Those older records are more scattered. Some survive at the county auditor's office or in county archives. Others are on microfilm at the Washington State Archives in Olympia. Cemetery and burial records from that period can also be helpful. The Clallam County Auditor at clallamcountywa.gov can help identify what materials the county holds from before 1907.

The Washington State Digital Archives screenshot below shows the search interface for Clallam County death records. The Digital Archives death index covers 1907 through 1967 and is free to search for all Washington counties.

Clallam County Auditor Office

The Clallam County Auditor is the primary county-level office for records research. Death certificates from 1907 forward are state records and the auditor will direct those requests to the Department of Health. The auditor may hold early death registers, burial permits, and cemetery records from before 1907. For genealogical research on Clallam County families, the auditor is a good starting point for materials that predate the state system.

The auditor's office is located in Port Angeles, the county seat on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Clallam County is a large county that includes the northern half of the Olympic Peninsula, the city of Sequim, and the Makah and Lower Elwha Klallam tribal areas. If you are researching a death from a specific community in the county, the auditor staff can help point you to the right record source. The Clallam County Auditor maintains county records and is the local point of contact for historical death records research.

Searching Clallam County Death Records Online

The Washington State Digital Archives at digitalarchives.wa.gov is the best free tool for searching Clallam County death records online. The index covers 1907 through 1967 and shows name, age, gender, date, county, and certificate number for each record. No login required. No fee. Results are available instantly.

Deaths after 1967 are not included in the free index. Those records are restricted under RCW 70.58.107 until 50 years have passed. Once a record is 50 years old it becomes a public record and access is open to anyone. For deaths that are still within the 50-year restriction period, you must be a qualified applicant. Qualified applicants under RCW 70.58.107(2) include the spouse or domestic partner, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, legal guardian, legal representative, or a person with a tangible interest.

The Clallam County Clerk also holds probate records that may document deaths through estate filings. The clerk's office is at 223 E. 4th Street, Suite 1, Port Angeles WA 98362, the same building as the auditor. Probate records are not death certificates, but they can confirm a death and provide dates when a formal certificate is restricted or unavailable. Contact the clerk at clallamcountywa.gov/184/County-Clerk for information on searching probate files.

Note: The Verification of Death letter from the Department of Health costs $15 and confirms a record exists without providing full certificate details. This can be a useful option when you need basic confirmation and the full certificate is restricted.

Ordering Clallam County Death Certificates

Certified death certificates for Clallam County deaths from 1907 forward are issued by the Washington State Department of Health at $20 per certificate. The county does not issue them. You have four ordering options: phone, mail, walk-in, or online.

By phone: call 360-236-4300, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. By mail: write to Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics, PO Box 9709, Olympia WA 98507-9709. Include the deceased's full name, date of death, county, your relationship, and a copy of your photo ID. Mail orders take four to six weeks. Walk-in service is available at 101 Israel Road SE, Tumwater WA 98501.

For online orders, use VitalChek at vitalchek.com. VitalChek is the state-authorized service and charges $12.50 plus shipping on top of the $20 state fee. Online processing is typically faster than mail. VitalChek handles online orders for certified death certificates from all Washington counties including Clallam.

Deaths must be registered within 10 days under RCW 70.58.050. If information on a death certificate needs to be corrected after filing, that process is governed by RCW 70.58.200 and typically takes 8 to 12 weeks. Contact the Department of Health at doh.wa.gov for amendment instructions.

Clallam County Coroner Records

The Clallam County Coroner investigates deaths that are sudden, unexpected, violent, or where the cause is not clearly known. The coroner determines cause and manner of death and prepares case files separate from the official death certificate. Coroner records can include autopsy reports, toxicology findings, and scene investigation notes. These are separate documents from the certified death certificate issued by the Department of Health.

Coroner records are subject to the Washington Public Records Act under RCW 42.56. Some records may be exempt from disclosure during an active investigation. Contact the Clallam County Coroner through the county website at clallamcountywa.gov/1636/Coroner to ask about a specific case or request records. Most routine deaths in Clallam County do not involve the coroner. Coroner involvement is limited to cases that meet specific criteria under state law.

Historical Death Records in Clallam County

Clallam County was formed in 1854 and has more than 50 years of pre-state death records. Those early records vary widely in format and completeness. The county kept death registers before 1907, but not everything from that era was preserved systematically. The Washington State Archives in Olympia holds microfilm copies of many of those older county records.

The State Archives Research Facility is at 1129 Washington Street SE, Olympia WA 98504, open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Contact the Archives at archives@sos.wa.gov or 360-586-1492. Visit sos.wa.gov/archives for details. Staff can identify what Clallam County pre-1907 materials the Archives holds and explain how to access them. The Washington State Archives holds microfilm and original pre-1907 county records, including death registers from Clallam County.

FamilySearch has worked with the State Archives to digitize a portion of Washington's early vital records, and searching that site is free. For very old deaths, church records and cemetery registers are often available through local historical societies. The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and the Makah Nation each have their own tribal records systems for members. Newspaper obituaries from the Port Angeles area papers, which date back well into the 1800s, are another useful resource. The CDC's Washington vital records page at cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/washington.htm describes record locations by time period.

Public Records Access in Clallam County

The Washington Public Records Act at RCW 42.56 governs access to government records held by Clallam County agencies. Anyone can submit a public records request. County agencies must respond within five business days. Death certificate requests will be redirected to the Department of Health since certified death certificates are state records. For county-specific documents like coroner records or early registers, the county handles the request directly.

Death certificate access is governed by RCW Chapter 70.58 rather than the general public records act. Records less than 50 years old are restricted to qualified applicants under RCW 70.58.107. Those 50 years or older are fully public. The Digital Archives index for 1907 to 1967 is public and freely searchable because all those records have passed the 50-year mark. Viewing index data is free to everyone, but getting a certified copy still costs $20 from the Department of Health. RCW Chapter 70.58 sets the rules for vital records access in Washington, including who qualifies for restricted death certificates and when records become public.

Note: Fraudulent procurement of vital records is a criminal offense under RCW 70.58.220. Only provide accurate and truthful information when requesting death records.

Cities in Clallam County

Clallam County includes Port Angeles, Sequim, Forks, and several smaller communities on the Olympic Peninsula. None of these cities currently have individual records pages on this site. All death index records for Clallam County residents are processed through the state and county channels described above, regardless of which community within the county the death occurred in.

Nearby Counties

Clallam County is bordered by water to the north and by other Olympic Peninsula counties. If a death occurred near a county boundary, records may have been filed in an adjacent county.