Washington, D.C. Obituaries

Washington's newspapers have recorded deaths since the early 1800s, and the Evening Star, the capital's leading paper for more than a century, is free online through Chronicling America. DC Public Library's People's Archive holds the Star and Washington Post on microfilm.

Recent Washington, D.C. obituaries (2000 to today)

Most obituaries published since about 2000 are online. Daily papers post paid death notices and family-written obituaries in an Obituaries section, usually hosted by Legacy.com, and keep them online with a guest book. The largest papers in Washington are:

• Washington Post
• Washington Times
• Washington Informer
• Washington City Paper

Legacy.com’s Washington, D.C. page searches the obituaries of most of these papers and many smaller ones at once. Funeral homes also post obituaries on their own websites, often before the newspaper does and sometimes instead of it: search the person’s name with the town and “obituary” or “funeral home.” For obituaries no longer online, ask your public or state library: many offer NewsBank or ProQuest databases with the full text of recent newspapers, free with a library card.

Washington, D.C. obituaries in historic newspapers

The National Intelligencer, founded in 1800 as the new capital's first major paper, printed death notices for officials and residents alike. The Evening Star, founded in 1852, became the city's paper of record and ran detailed death notices and obituaries until it closed in 1981.

The Washington Post, founded in 1877, is now the city's main daily, and its paid death notices and staff-written obituaries cover the whole region. Black newspapers, including the Washington Bee (1882–1922) and the Washington edition of the Afro-American, recorded deaths in the city's large Black community.

Because so many federal workers, military members and diplomats lived in Washington only part of their lives, a D.C. death was often reported both in a Washington paper and in the person's hometown paper.

Where to find older Washington, D.C. obituaries

Digitized Washington, D.C. newspapers

• Evening Star on Chronicling America — Free page images of the Washington Evening Star, 1854 to 1963, with full-text search.
• D.C. newspapers on Chronicling America — Free digitized Washington papers, including the Evening Star, Washington Times and Washington Herald.

Archives and libraries

• People's Archive, DC Public Library — Washington's local history center, with the Evening Star and Washington Post on microfilm and research help.
• DC Archives — The District's public records, including some older vital records and court records.
• Washington, D.C. Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Washington, D.C. newspaper archives, indexes and microfilm, with local links.

Also search the nationwide archives: Chronicling America, FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Newspapers.com. See all nationwide obituary resources.

Washington, D.C. death records

DC Health's Vital Records Division issues D.C. death certificates to family members and others with a legal interest. For older deaths, the DC Archives and the National Archives hold some early District records.

• DC Health Vital Records Division — the office that issues Washington, D.C. death certificates, with ordering instructions and fees.
• Where to Write for Vital Records: Washington, D.C. — the CDC’s summary of where to order, current fees and which years the office holds.
• Washington, D.C. Vital Records, FamilySearch Research Wiki — free death indexes and certificate collections, with the years each covers.

Tips for finding an obituary in Washington, D.C.

• Search the Evening Star. Its death notices are free on Chronicling America to 1963 and list family members and funeral homes.
• Check the hometown paper. Many people who died in Washington had moved there for government or military work.
• Search the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. Funerals and burials often took place outside the District.
• Look beyond the word “obituary.” Older papers reported deaths under headings like “Died,” “Deaths,” local news and personals columns, funeral notices and cards of thanks, and often listed married women under the husband’s name (“Mrs. John Smith”). See death notices vs. obituaries.

Common questions