'Vital records' are records of births, deaths and marriages. These records are not available online but are readily available by contacting the agencies easily found through the website links provided in Advanced Search.

Information on the deceased can be researched through databases of grave and cemetery records, although these databases are created through voluntary registration rather than access to official death records.

Interment.net - provides a free, searchable database of over 2.8 million cemetery records across over 5,000 cemeteries around the world. Most of these records were donated by other visitors, while some were collected by the staff of Cemetery Records Online (a.k.a. interment.net). Post queries to this site to aid in the search for the deceased. Search a specific cemetery with burial information.

National Association for Public Health Statistics & Information Systems - The National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS) was created in 1933 as an association of public health professionals in the United States concerned about vital records and health statistics - a forum for discussing vital records registration issues as well as statistical issues among responsible individuals in state health agencies.

Researching Tools.com - Click on Birth & Death Records for instructions, pointers and addresses to write letters to the vital statistics office in the state or area where the event occurred.

SearchBug.com - the Death Index tab on this website allows access to a free, searchable database containing approximately 64.5 million US records. The Find-a-Grave tab takes you to a searchable database of 2.5 million US grave records.

State Records Information.com - information, by state, on how to request records of government agencies.