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How to Find Chicago Death Certificates, 1916-1947

Step 1

Check the Illinois Statewide Death Index, 1916-1950.

If you find a matching entry, proceed to Step 2.
If you don't find a matching entry, proceed to Step 4.

Step 2

If the record is for  death in the city of Chicago, proceed to Step 3a.
If the record is for a death in any other place, proceed to Step 3b.
If the record is for a death 1948-1950, proceed to Step 3c.

Step 3a

Once you have the certificate number for a Chicago death certificate, 1916-1947, you can request a lookup through ChicagoGenealogy.com ($5), access the Chicago Death Certificates, 1916-1947 on film through your local Family History Center (about $5.50 to order a film; no cost if the film is at the FHC), or send in a request to the Cook County Clerk's Office ($15) or the Illnois Department of Public Health ($10 non-certified; $17 certfied).

If you are going to use the Family History Center films, check the Family History Library catalog entry and match the certificate number to the correct certificate number span to determine the correct film number. If there is a "6" at the beginning of the certificate number, ignore it. The "6" meant "Chicago" during some years.

Example Index Entry

BIELBY THOMAS A M/W UNK 6024078 1916-08-21 COOK CHICAGO 16-08-23

FHL Catalog Entries

20,000 - 22,500 ................... 1916	FHL US/CAN Film 1852281
22,501 - 25,000 ................... 1916	FHL US/CAN Film 1852282
25,001 - 27,500 ................... 1916	FHL US/CAN Film 1852283

Step 3b

Once you have the certificate number for an Illinois death certificate (outside the city of Chicago), 1916-1947 you can request a lookup through www.mollx.com ($5), access the certificates on film through your local Family History Center (about $5.50 to order a film; no cost if the film is at the FHC), or send in a request to the Cook County Clerk's Office ($15) or the Illnois Department of Public Health ($10 non-certified; $17 certfied).

If you are going to use the Family History Center film

1) Locate the catalog entries for the right month and year.

2) Look for the place of death within the Cook entries. In the examples below, Oak Park appears but Lyons does not.

3a) If you don't see the town/city listed in the catalog entry, then it's a "COOK" record. Check the certificate number to see if it falls within the certificate numbers listed for "COOK." (You may need to drop off a few digits to the left to make the match.)  In the example below, the Lyons certificate number 162482 falls between COOK 2459-2623 if you drop off the 16.

3b) If you find the town/city listed in the catalog entry, check the certificate number to see if it falls within the certificate numbers listed. (Again, you may need to drop off a few digits to the left to make that match.) In the example below, the Oak Park certificate number 5260478 falls between Oak Park, 437-481 if you drop off the 5260. (The 5260 was likely a code for Oak Park.)

Example Index Entries BIELBY ROBERT P M/W UNK 0162482 1923-09-15 COOK LYONS TWP 23-09-17 BACHMAN EUGENE G M/W UNK 5260478 1923-09-26 COOK OAK PARK 23-09-29 FHL Catalog Entries [Sept. 1923 Deaths] ADAMS, 289-312; Quincy City, 433-481; ALEXANDER, 91-102; Cairo City, 187-205; BOND, 132-143; BOONE, 122-134; BROWN, 71-77; BUREAU, 328-356; CALHOUN, 70-74; CARROLL, 139-147; CASS, 145-167; CHAMPAIGN, 211-234; Champaign City, 146-153; Urbana City, 62-76; CHRISTIAN, 299-316; CLARK, 161-187; CLAY, 117-131; CLINTON, 131-162; COLES, 184-200; Mattoon City, 145-163; COOK, 2350-2458; FHL US/CAN Film 1558709 Item 6 [Sept. 1923 Deaths] COOK, 2459-2623; FHL US/CAN Film 1558710 Item 1 [Sept. 1923 Deaths] Berwyn City, 94-99; Blue Island City, 144-164; Chicago Heights City, 193-208; Evanston City, 329-367; Forest Park City, 76; Maywood City, 72-73; Oak Park City, 437-481; CRAWFORD, 173-179; CUMBERLAND, 85-98; DE KALB, 291-315; DEWITT, 153-163; DOUGLAS, 137-150; DU PAGE, 384-411; EDGAR, 206-217; EDWARDS, 53-56; EFFINGHAM, 198-223; FAYETTE, 193-222; FORD, 120-133; FRANKLIN, 495-549; FHL US/CAN Film 1558710 Item 2

Step 3c
Death certificates after 1947 are not available for public searching. Request these records from the Cook County Clerk's Office or the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Step 4

If you don't find a match in the index, try again using Stephen Morse's One Step approach. It will allow you to search on just a few letters for surname and/or given name and will let you limit the results to a year or range of years. Using the "age at death" field for 1916-1950 searches is likely to limit your results in a negative way. Make sure the drop-down menu at the top of the page says "1916-1950."

If you still can't find a match in the online index, try the Chicago Death Index, 1871-1933 , available on 13 rolls of LDS microfilm. It includes out-of-town deaths (a common reason why a death doesn't appear in the online index) and stillbirths. For deaths 1916-1933, the "register number" found in this index is the same as the "certificate number" or "state file number" found in the online index and it can be used to find the death certificate on the Family History Library films. (The actual title in the catalog is "Indexes to deaths in the city of Chicago during the years 1871 to 1933 : showing name, address and date of death.")