Suffolk County Obituary Records
Suffolk County obituary records are kept by local city and town clerk offices in Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop. You can search for death records online through Boston's registry portal, request certified copies by mail, or visit in person at any of the four clerk offices. Suffolk County has some of the oldest death records in all of Massachusetts, with Boston's collection going back to 1630. This guide shows you how to find, search, and request obituary records from every source in the county. The state archives and the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics also hold Suffolk County records for different time periods.
Suffolk County Overview
Boston Registry Division for Suffolk County Obituary Records
The Boston Registry Division is the main office for death records in Suffolk County. It sits inside City Hall at 1 City Hall Square, Room 213. The registry handles birth, death, and marriage certificates for Boston residents. Death records go back to 1630, well before the state started collecting records in 1841. That makes Boston one of the best places in New England for historical obituary research.
You can request obituary and death records from the Boston Registry in several ways. Walk in to City Hall, Room 213. Call 617-635-4175. Send an email to registry@boston.gov. Or mail a written request to their office at 1 City Hall Square, Room 213, Boston, MA 02201-2006. Fees change based on how you order and what type of copy you need.
The Boston Registry Division issues certified death certificates and handles obituary record requests for the city of Boston and surrounding Suffolk County communities.
The registry office is on the second floor of Boston City Hall near Government Center.
| Office | Boston Registry Division |
|---|---|
| Address |
1 City Hall Square, Room 213 Boston, MA 02201-2006 |
| Phone | 617-635-4175 |
| registry@boston.gov |
Search Suffolk County Death Records Online
Boston runs a free online death record search that covers 1956 to the present. Type in a name and the system shows matching death records on file. This is one of the few free city-level obituary search tools in Massachusetts. It does not give you the full certificate, but it tells you if a record exists and what year the death was filed. From there you can order a certified copy.
The Boston online death search tool lets you look up Suffolk County obituary and death records from 1956 to today at no cost.
Search results show the name and year but you still need to request the full certificate for complete details.
For older Suffolk County obituary records, the Massachusetts Archives Vital Records Search covers 1841 to 1910. This is a free database. Enter a name, pick the town, select "Death" as the record type, and set a year range. The results show volume and page citations that point to the original record books. Digital images of many records from 1841 to 1925 are also free to view.
The State Archives holds Suffolk County death records from 1841 to 1930. Staff will email free scans of up to five records if you write to archives@sec.state.ma.us. Certified copies from the archives cost $3.00 each and take four to six weeks by mail. Cash or check only, payable to Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Suffolk County Obituary Research and Genealogy
Suffolk County has deep genealogy resources for obituary research. The Suffolk County Genealogy Trails site has a collection of historical obituaries sorted by name. These come from old newspapers and public records. They can fill in gaps when official death certificates are hard to find or when you need the kind of personal details that only show up in newspaper obituary notices.
The Suffolk County Genealogy Trails obituary page has searchable historical obituary records from newspapers and public sources across Suffolk County.
These records include details like burial location, surviving family, and age at death.
The Boston Public Library has a large microfilm collection of local newspapers. The Boston Globe runs from 1872 to the present. The library also holds the Boston Herald American archives and the Boston Evening Transcript, which ran a well-known obituary section from the mid-1800s through 1941. The Boston Transcript Obituary Index covers 1875 to 1900 and is a key source for that era of Suffolk County obituary records.
Other genealogy groups in Suffolk County that can help with obituary research include the New England Historic Genealogical Society at 99-101 Newbury Street in Boston, the Massachusetts Historical Society at 1154 Boylston Street, and the State Library of Massachusetts. The NEHGS runs AmericanAncestors.org, which has the Massachusetts Vital Records Index from 1841 to 1920 and the Boston Jewish Advocate Obituary Index with over 24,500 notices from 1905 to 2007.
Other Suffolk County Clerk Offices
Suffolk County has three other communities besides Boston. Each has its own city or town clerk that keeps death records for that area. If someone died in Chelsea, Revere, or Winthrop, you need to contact that town's clerk for obituary records. The records also get reported to the state, so the Massachusetts Archives and Registry of Vital Records hold copies too.
| Chelsea City Clerk | 500 Broadway, Chelsea, MA | 617-466-4054 |
|---|---|
| Revere City Clerk | 281 Broadway, Revere, MA | 781-286-8161 |
| Winthrop Town Clerk | 1 Metcalf Square, Winthrop, MA | 617-846-4344 |
Death certificates in Massachusetts are public records under MGL Chapter 46. Anyone can request a copy. The one restriction is that cause of death is only shared with close family, legal guardians, and people with a documented legal interest. General public requests will get a death certificate with that section left blank. Most obituary research does not need the cause of death, so this restriction rarely matters.
Note: Contact the clerk in the city or town where the death took place, not where the person lived, for the fastest response on Suffolk County obituary records.
Suffolk County Obituary Newspapers
Newspapers are one of the best ways to find obituary records in Suffolk County. The Boston Globe has been printing obituaries since 1872. It covers all of Suffolk County and much of greater Boston. The Boston Herald runs daily death notices too. The Chelsea Record and Revere Journal serve those smaller communities with local obituary listings that may not show up in the bigger papers.
For historical obituary research in Suffolk County, the Boston Evening Transcript is a gold mine. It ran from 1830 to 1941 and carried detailed obituary notices for Boston residents. The Bay State Banner, which serves Boston's Black community, is another source for obituary records that may not appear in mainstream papers. Many of these newspaper archives are available on microfilm at the Boston Public Library or through online databases like Newspapers.com.
Massachusetts Laws on Suffolk County Death Records
Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 46, Section 11, the funeral director must file the death certificate with the city or town clerk. Section 9 says a nurse, nurse practitioner, or physician's assistant can also sign the declaration of death in certain cases. Section 17B gives the state registrar control over original records and certified copies. Section 26 sets the fees that clerks can charge.
The Massachusetts Public Records Law under MGL c.66, Section 10 gives everyone the right to request government records. Agencies must respond within 10 business days. The first two hours of search time are free for towns over 20,000 people. After that, the fee tops out at $25 per hour. Copy fees are $0.05 per page for black and white.
Cities in Suffolk County
Suffolk County has four cities and towns. All maintain their own obituary and death records at the local clerk level.
Chelsea and Winthrop are also in Suffolk County. Both have city and town clerk offices that handle obituary record requests for their area.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Suffolk County. If you are not sure which county holds the obituary record you need, check where the death took place. The clerk in that city or town will have the original record on file.