Lewis County Death Index Search

Lewis County death index records are part of Washington State's statewide vital records system, with historical indexes from 1907 through 1967 available for free through the Washington State Digital Archives. Lewis County sits in southwest Washington with Chehalis as the county seat and a population of around 80,000. This page covers how to search Lewis County death index records, order certified certificates from DOH, and locate historical records for genealogical research.

How Lewis County Death Index Records Work

Death records in Lewis County follow Washington State's centralized system. When a death occurs, the attending physician or funeral home has ten days to file the death certificate with the Washington State Department of Health. DOH holds the certificate in the state registry at Tumwater. The county does not maintain a separate database for modern death certificates.

Historical deaths from 1907 through 1967 are indexed in the Washington State Digital Archives. The index is free, public, and searchable by name and year range. Each entry shows the name, death date, county, certificate number, age, and gender. Cemetery records and burial permits for Lewis County are also available in the Digital Archives, which supplements the death index for genealogical research.

The Lewis County Auditor maintains historical death registers that predate 1907, along with other county records. For modern records, the path runs through DOH. For very old records, the auditor and the State Archives in Olympia are the right contacts. The coroner handles deaths requiring investigation, filing the certificate with DOH on behalf of the family.

Lewis County Auditor Death Records

The Lewis County Auditor in Chehalis handles county records and holds historical death registers from before the state vital records system. The auditor's office at 345 West Main Street is a useful resource for pre-1907 Lewis County death records. Cemetery records and early burial documentation from the auditor's holdings are part of what has been digitized and contributed to the Digital Archives over the years.

Source: Lewis County Auditor

The Lewis County Auditor's office can help with historical death record questions and direct you to the appropriate agency for current requests.

The auditor does not issue modern death certificates. Those come from DOH. But the auditor holds other county records related to death-adjacent matters: property records, estate recordings, and related documents that family researchers often need alongside vital records.

Searching Lewis County Death Records Online

Go to digitalarchives.wa.gov to search the Washington State Digital Archives for Lewis County death index records. The index covers 1907 through 1967. Select Lewis County from the filter options and search by name. Each result shows the certificate number, which you use to order the full record from DOH if needed.

Source: Washington State Digital Archives

The Digital Archives index is free, requires no account, and covers six decades of Lewis County death data from 1907 to 1967.

For deaths after 1967, no free public index exists. Contact DOH at 360-236-4300 for help locating a specific record. You can also use VitalChek to submit an order online. If you are unsure whether a record exists, a preliminary inquiry to DOH is faster and cheaper than paying for a certified copy that may not be what you need.

FamilySearch has Washington death collections that may include some Lewis County records. Ancestry's Washington death index files also overlap with the Digital Archives data. Cross-checking both can uncover records that appear differently across databases.

Ordering a Lewis County Death Certificate

Certified death certificates for Lewis County are available from the Washington State Department of Health. The cost is $20 per copy. Under RCW 70.58, deaths within the past 50 years are restricted to qualified applicants: spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or legal representative of the deceased. Deaths more than 50 years old are available to anyone.

In person: visit DOH at 101 Israel Road SE, Tumwater WA 98501, Monday through Friday, 8am to 4:30pm. By mail: send requests to PO Box 9709, Olympia WA 98507-9709. Mail orders take about 4 to 6 weeks. Online: order through VitalChek at vitalchek.com for $20 plus a $12.50 processing fee.

Source: VitalChek Online Ordering

VitalChek processes Washington death certificate orders online and is the only state-authorized third-party vendor for this service.

DOH also issues Verification of Death letters for $15. These confirm a death is registered in the state system and are less restricted than certified copies. For many legal and administrative purposes, a verification letter is sufficient and faster to obtain.

Lewis County Coroner Death Records

The Lewis County Coroner investigates deaths that are sudden, unexpected, violent, or without an attending physician. When the coroner takes a case, the coroner files the death certificate with DOH. The resulting certificate is part of the state vital records system. The coroner's investigative records are separate.

Coroner records are public under RCW 42.56 unless they relate to an active investigation or meet another exemption. Submit a public records request to the Lewis County Coroner to obtain reports. Responses typically come within five business days.

Historical Death Records in Lewis County

Lewis County is one of the original Washington Territory counties, established in 1845. Historical death records from the territorial period through early statehood are held in part by the Washington State Archives in Olympia. The Archives handles physical records that predate DOH and can assist with requests for older Lewis County deaths not captured in the Digital Archives index.

Source: Washington State Archives

The State Archives in Olympia holds Lewis County records from before the DOH system and can assist researchers working on very old deaths.

The State Archives is at 1129 Washington St SE, Olympia WA 98504. Reach staff at 360-586-1492 or archives@sos.wa.gov. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm. Cemetery transcription records for Lewis County are in the Digital Archives and through the Lewis County Genealogical Society, which has long maintained records of burials and early death data in the county.

Probate records at the Lewis County Superior Court in Chehalis reference death dates and are public. Historic Lewis County newspapers, available through the Washington State Library digital newspaper project, can document deaths from the 1880s onward and provide context that vital records alone may not capture.

Public Records Law and Lewis County Death Records

Washington's Public Records Act under RCW 42.56 gives broad public access rights to government records. RCW 70.58 applies specifically to vital records and restricts recent certificates. Qualified applicants can request deaths within the past 50 years. Deaths older than 50 years are open to the public.

Source: RCW 70.58 Vital Statistics

RCW 70.58 sets the rules for who can get a certified Lewis County death certificate and what the fee is.

For Lewis County public records requests outside the vital records system, contact the relevant county department. The Lewis County public records process is at lewiscountywa.gov/public-records and follows RCW 42.56 timelines. The death index in the Digital Archives is unrestricted and free for anyone to search.

The CDC's Washington vital records page at cdc.gov links to national and state death data resources and is a useful reference point for understanding the broader context of Lewis County death records within the national system.

Source: CDC Washington Vital Records

The CDC page connects Lewis County researchers to both state DOH resources and national vital statistics data.

Cities in Lewis County

Lewis County's cities and communities file death records through the Washington State DOH system. No cities in Lewis County currently meet the population threshold for individual city pages on this site.

The main communities in Lewis County include Chehalis, Centralia, Morton, Winlock, and Packwood. All death records for these communities are managed through the Washington State DOH vital records system.

Nearby Counties

These counties border or lie near Lewis County. All use the Washington State DOH system for death records.