Find Clearfield County Death Records
Clearfield County was formed in 1804 and sits in the center of Pennsylvania. The Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court holds birth and death certificates from 1893 through 1906 along with marriage licenses from 1885 to the present. Estates on file go back to 1832. The estate index is computerized from 1990 forward, and estate records are scanned from December 1, 1998 to the present. The PA State Archives death index covers all Clearfield County deaths from 1906 through 1975, and the Division of Vital Records handles post-1906 certified copy requests.
Clearfield County Quick Facts
Clearfield County Register of Wills and Death Records
The Clearfield County Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court maintains the county's vital records for the 1893 through 1906 registration period. Birth and death certificates from those years are on file. Marriage licenses have been recorded from 1885 to the present, and a complete marriage license index is computerized. The marriage license index makes searching by name fast and accurate.
Estates on file go back to 1832, nearly 30 years after the county was formed. The estate index is computerized from 1990 forward. Estates are scanned from December 1, 1998 to the present. For estates from 1832 through 1989, researchers may need to search manually using the paper index at the courthouse. Birth certificate copies from the 1893 through 1905 period cost $5. Delayed or corrected birth certificates are provided at no charge. Property records are held by the Recorder of Deeds, and court records are maintained by the Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts. Online portals for Clearfield County property records are available as well.
The Clearfield County Register of Wills page on the official county website has current contact details, hours, and fee information. The Clearfield records site provides another access point for county-level records research. Both resources are useful for confirming what is available before making an in-person trip to the courthouse.
Pennsylvania Death Index for Clearfield County
The PA State Archives hosts the free statewide Death Index for 1906 through 1975. Clearfield County deaths during that period are fully indexed. Search at the PA State Archives vital statistics page. A search result gives the name, death year, and certificate number needed to request the full certificate.
Death certificates from 1906 through 1974 are at the State Archives. Digital copies for 1906 through 1972 are on Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania residents can access Ancestry at no charge at most public libraries. Soundex phonetic indexing applies to the 1920 through 1924 and 1930 through 1951 periods. This is useful for Clearfield County, which had an active coal mining industry that attracted immigrants from many countries with variant surname spellings. Death certificates are public record 50 years after the death date, so all Clearfield County deaths from 1975 and earlier are now accessible.
For deaths from 1906 forward, order certified copies for $20 each online at mycertificates.health.pa.gov through VitalChek, by phone at 724-656-3100 or 844-228-3516, or by mail to PO Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103. Walk-in service at the Harrisburg state office is a practical option for Clearfield County residents. The PA Department of Health vital records page has complete ordering instructions.
Early Clearfield County Death and Probate Records
Clearfield County was formed in 1804, but the earliest estates on file date from 1832. This gap between 1804 and 1832 means that some early county deaths left no probate record. For the very earliest Clearfield County residents, church records and cemetery transcriptions are the primary sources. The county's first settlers were largely Scots-Irish and German families moving west from Chester, Lancaster, and York Counties. Their church congregations often kept burial records that predate any civil registration.
The 1832 estate records begin to provide systematic death information in Clearfield County. Each estate filing opens close to the date of death and provides the decedent's name, the names of their heirs, and the property they left behind. These records can often confirm a death date within a few weeks even when no formal death certificate was kept. The estate index at the courthouse allows name-based searching through all years where an index exists.
Clearfield County participated in the 1852 through 1854 vital records collection. Records from those years, if they survive, provide the earliest formal death registrations in the county outside of probate files. For the gap years between 1855 and 1892, the probate records remain the primary courthouse source. Cemetery surveys conducted by the Clearfield County Genealogical Society cover many of the older burial grounds in the county and provide death dates for inscriptions that can no longer be read in person due to weathering.
Note: Clearfield County estate records are computerized from 1990 forward, making recent estate research faster than searching the older paper index at the courthouse.
What Clearfield County Death Records Include
A Clearfield County death certificate from the state registration era provides the full name, date and place of death, age, birthplace, occupation, cause of death, the physician's name, and the names of surviving family members. The informant field often names a spouse or adult child, which can identify relatives not previously known. County-level records from the 1893 through 1906 period are similar in content but less standardized.
Death certificates become public record 50 years after the death date. Any Clearfield County death from 1975 or earlier is now accessible to the public. Certified copies cost $20 each. Order online at mycertificates.health.pa.gov through VitalChek, by phone at 724-656-3100 or 844-228-3516, or by mail to PO Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103. The PA State Archives provides free online access to the statewide Death Index for 1906 through 1975 at the PA State Archives vital statistics page. Soundex phonetic indexing covers 1920 through 1924 and 1930 through 1951. Digital copies from 1906 through 1972 are on Ancestry.com at no cost to Pennsylvania residents at most public libraries. For restricted records, eligibility requirements and required documentation are explained on the PA Department of Health vital records page.
For the 1893 through 1906 county registration period, the Register of Wills in Clearfield holds the records. Birth certificate copies from that period cost $5. The marriage license index is fully computerized, making marriage record searches fast and accurate. Estates from 1832 through the present are in the probate archive, and the index is computerized from 1990 forward. Combined, these resources give researchers strong coverage of Clearfield County deaths across nearly all time periods from 1804 to the present.
Nearby Counties
Clearfield County is in central Pennsylvania. Neighboring counties share similar records patterns and may hold records for families near county lines.