Berks County Death Records
Berks County sits in eastern Pennsylvania and has a rich archive of death and vital records reaching back to the mid-1700s. The Register of Wills in Reading maintains administration records from 1752, estate files from 1752 through 1915, and marriage records from 1885. Death records from the 1893 through 1906 county registration period are held at the Register of Wills office. Birth certificates from 1906 through 1919 and death certificates from 1906 through 1974 are at the Pennsylvania State Archives. Digital copies from 1906 through 1963 are searchable on Ancestry.com. Early vital records from 1852 through 1854 also survive for Berks County.
Berks County Quick Facts
Berks County Register of Wills Death Records
The Register of Wills is at the Berks County Services Center, 633 Court Street, Reading. The phone number is (610) 478-6600. This office holds marriage applications from 1885 to the present and offers a searchable online marriage index. Death records from the 1893 through 1906 county registration period are maintained here. The office holds administration records from 1752 through 1850, estate files from 1752 through 1915, and an index to Berks County wills and administrations naming persons who died in the county.
Additional records at the Register of Wills include Orphan's Court Dockets from 1884 through 1918, Minutes and Probate Court Records from 1751 through 1792, and Real Estate Bonds from 1822 through 1829. Berks County was among the 49 Pennsylvania counties that participated in the 1852 through 1854 vital records collection. Those death returns survive and are available for Berks County research. A death certificate from this period provides age, place of death, occupation, cause, spouse's name, and names of relatives. These early certificates can be remarkably detailed compared to what you might expect from 19th-century record keeping.
The GenPA index to Berks County wills and deaths is a free online resource compiled by genealogical volunteers. It indexes names of persons who died and whose estates were probated in Berks County. This is a valuable supplement to the official courthouse indexes, especially for lesser-known individuals.
Pennsylvania Death Index for Berks County
The Pennsylvania State Archives hosts the free Death Index online for 1906 through 1975. Berks County deaths during that span are fully included. Search the index at the PA State Archives vital statistics page. The result gives the certificate number needed to request the full document from the Division of Vital Records.
Pennsylvania Death Certificates from 1906 through 1963 for Berks County are searchable on Ancestry.com. The digital images include the original handwritten certificates in many cases. Pennsylvania residents get free access to Ancestry at participating public libraries in Reading and throughout the county. Soundex phonetic indexing applies to the 1920 through 1924 and 1930 through 1951 periods, which helps with the many German-origin surnames common in Berks County. Death certificates become public record 50 years after the death date.
Certified copies of death certificates for deaths from 1906 forward are available from the Division of Vital Records at $20 each. Order online at mycertificates.health.pa.gov through VitalChek, by phone at 724-656-3100, or by mail to PO Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103. Walk-in service is available at the Philadelphia state walk-in office, which is the most convenient location for Berks County residents. The PA Department of Health vital records page has complete ordering instructions. For genealogy-specific requests, visit the genealogy certificates page.
Note: Digital copies of Berks County death certificates from 1906 through 1972 are available on Ancestry at no cost to Pennsylvania residents through most public libraries.
Berks County Wills and Probate Death Research
The probate archive at the Berks County Register of Wills is one of the oldest in Pennsylvania. Administration records begin in 1752. Estate files from 1752 through 1915 have survived intact. The Index to Berks County Wills and Administrations names decedents whose estates came through the county court system. This is a logical first stop for any death before 1893, when no formal death register existed at the county level.
Minutes and Probate Court Records from 1751 through 1792 are the earliest formal legal records in the county. These capture estate matters from the colonial and early national periods. The Orphan's Court Dockets from 1884 through 1918 track guardianship cases that arise when a parent dies leaving minor children. Taken together, these records provide a near-continuous source of death information from the founding of the county through the modern vital records era.
FamilySearch has digitized portions of the Berks County probate collection and makes some records available online. The FamilySearch catalog entry for Berks County, Pennsylvania lists the specific microfilm reels available for research. For German church records, which are especially numerous in Berks County given its large Pennsylvania German population, the county historical society and several church archives maintain original registers going back to the 1700s. These church burial records often capture exact death dates decades before any civil registration system existed.
What Berks County Death Records Include
Death certificates from the state registration era give a full picture of each death in Berks County. A typical certificate shows the full name of the deceased, date and place of death, age, birthplace, occupation, cause of death, the physician's name, and the names of surviving relatives. Many certificates also list the informant, often a spouse or adult child, which can point researchers toward previously unknown relatives.
Berks County death certificates from 1906 through 1963 are searchable on Ancestry.com with indexed fields. Pennsylvania residents can access this at no cost at most public libraries. Death certificates become public record 50 years after the death date. Soundex indexing for the 1920 through 1924 and 1930 through 1951 periods helps with the many German-origin surnames in Berks County that may appear under alternate spellings. Certified copies cost $20 each and are ordered through the Division of Vital Records. Order online at mycertificates.health.pa.gov through VitalChek, by phone at 724-656-3100, or by mail to PO Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103. The genealogy certificates page at the PA Department of Health explains what documents you need to request records for research purposes.
Cities in Berks County
Reading is the county seat and the largest city in Berks County. Most county courthouse records and the Register of Wills are located in Reading.
Nearby Counties
Berks County is surrounded by several eastern Pennsylvania counties. Families who moved across these county lines may have records in more than one courthouse.