Virginia Beach Death Index

The Virginia Beach death index covers death records for the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia's most populous city and one of the largest cities by area in the continental United States. Virginia Beach is an independent city with its own circuit court, health department, and vital records system. Death records for the Virginia Beach area are available from 1853 through the present. This page explains where to find Virginia Beach death records and how to request copies.

Virginia Beach Circuit Court Clerk

The Virginia Beach Circuit Court Clerk's Office handles probate records, wills, estate inventories, land records, marriage licenses, and court case files for the City of Virginia Beach. As an independent city, Virginia Beach has its own Circuit Court. The court does not issue certified death certificates; those must come from the Virginia Department of Health. Probate records filed after a death often include the date of death and heirs' names, and they are publicly accessible through the Clerk's office at the Virginia Beach Judicial Center.

Virginia Beach is part of the 2nd Judicial Circuit, which covers Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth. Online case searches for Virginia Beach court records are available through the Virginia Online Case Information System at no cost. Search by party name or case number and select Virginia Beach City from the jurisdiction list. The system covers civil, criminal, and probate cases. Virginia Beach also offers its own online court records access through the city's official systems for some record types.

Virginia Beach as a consolidated independent city was created in 1963 through the merger of Princess Anne County and the former independent City of Virginia Beach (which had been incorporated in 1906 from the Princess Anne County resort area). Before the 1963 merger, death records for most of what is now Virginia Beach were filed under Princess Anne County. Researchers working on deaths before 1963 should look under Princess Anne County in VDH records, Ancestry for Virginians, and the Library of Virginia collections.

Virginia Death Records for Virginia Beach

The Virginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records holds certified death certificates for Virginia Beach deaths from June 1912 to the present. The state office is at 8701 Park Central Drive, Suite 100, Richmond, VA 23227. Walk-in hours run Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mail requests go to P.O. Box 1000, Richmond, VA 23218-1000. Phone: (804) 662-6200.

Each certified copy costs $12. Payment can be made by check, money order, credit card, mobile pay, or cash in person. Under Virginia Code Title 32.1, Chapter 7, death records become public 25 years after the date of death. Before that point, only immediate family members may request a copy. Eligible family members include the spouse, parent, child, sibling, or grandparent of the deceased. A legible government-issued photo ID is required. VitalChek handles online orders with an extra processing fee.

Virginia Beach is served by the Virginia Beach Health Department, which is part of the Virginia Department of Health. As a large, full-service city, Virginia Beach has a well-staffed local health department that can help with vital records questions. You can also get a certified death certificate at select Virginia DMV locations, where a $2 processing fee applies. Virginia Beach has several full-service DMV offices that participate in this program.

Search the Virginia Beach Death Index Online

The Virginia Online Case Information System (OCIS) allows free searching of Virginia Beach City court records by name or case number. Probate cases connected to deaths in the city appear here and can confirm approximate death dates when certificates are restricted. When searching OCIS, select Virginia Beach City from the dropdown. For deaths before 1963, try Princess Anne County, since most of the current city's area was part of that county.

The Library of Virginia holds death registers from 1853 to 1896 on microfilm. For the Virginia Beach area, early registers are filed under Princess Anne County. These are available through interlibrary loan and include name, race and sex, date and place of death, cause of death, age, occupation, marital status, and parents' names. For the gap period from 1897 to June 1912, church records and newspaper archives are the main alternatives.

Ancestry for Virginians is free for Virginia residents with a library card and includes Virginia Death Records 1912-2014 and Death Registers 1853-1911. FamilySearch has free Virginia Deaths and Burials 1853-1912 and Virginia Death Certificates 1912-1987. For records before 1963, search under Princess Anne County. After the 1963 merger, search under Virginia Beach City.

The Virginia Beach Public Library system holds extensive local history and genealogy materials. The Kempsville area library and the main library both have Virginia Room collections with Ancestry Library Edition, local newspapers on microfilm, city directories, and family history materials. The city's long coastline and military presence mean that many Virginia Beach families have connections to naval records held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.

Virginia Beach Death Records: Historical Research

The present-day City of Virginia Beach resulted from the 1963 merger of Princess Anne County and the small resort city that had been separately incorporated in 1906. Before those consolidations, the area was part of Princess Anne County, one of the original eight Virginia shires created in 1634 (originally called New Norfolk County and later Lower Norfolk County before becoming Princess Anne County in 1691). This deep historical background means records for the area go back to the colonial period.

Death records for the Virginia Beach area follow Virginia's statewide pattern. Official registration ran from 1853 to 1896 (under Princess Anne County or Lower Norfolk County for the earliest records), stopped from 1897 through May 1912, and resumed in June 1912. Before 1853, no official registration existed. Church records from the Princess Anne area are an important source for the colonial and antebellum periods. Several historic colonial-era churches survive in the area, and some have burial records going back to the seventeenth century.

The military presence in the Virginia Beach area, especially after the establishment of Naval Station Norfolk and other facilities in the early twentieth century, created a large transient population whose deaths may be documented in both state and federal records. Naval personnel who died in the area may have records through the National Archives as well as through VDH. Federal mortality census schedules from 1850 to 1880 list Princess Anne County residents who died in the twelve months before each census and are at the Library of Virginia.

For deaths after 1954, the Library of Virginia's death index by year and certificate number is searchable through Ancestry for Virginians and covers deaths through 2014. Before 1963, those records appear under Princess Anne County. After 1963, they appear under Virginia Beach City. The Virginia Beach Public Library holds extensive local history resources including newspaper archives going back many decades that can help with obituary research for the gap period and beyond.

Nearby Cities

These independent cities are adjacent to or near Virginia Beach. Each has its own Circuit Court and vital records system.