Vigo County Obituary Records

Vigo County obituary and death records are maintained by the Vigo County Health Department at 171 Oak Street in Terre Haute, Indiana. Death registrations in Vigo County go back to 1882. Families handling estate matters, attorneys, and genealogy researchers can request certified death certificates for legal use or uncertified copies for research through the county health department or the Indiana State Department of Health. This page covers how to find and obtain Vigo County obituary records and death certificates.

Vigo County Health Department Death Records

The Vigo County Health Department vital records office is at 171 Oak Street, Terre Haute, IN 47807. The general phone number is 812-462-3428. For vital records specifically, call 812-462-3442. Email contact is VCHD.vitals@vigocounty.in.gov. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:15 AM to 3:45 PM, with the office closed on holidays. For more details, visit vigocounty.in.gov/department/division.php?structureid=129.

Certified death certificates in Vigo County cost $10 each. Accepted payment methods are cash, money order, or cashier's check. Vigo County does not accept requests via email, fax, or phone. All requests must be submitted in person or by mail. This is a stricter policy than many other Indiana counties, so be aware of this requirement before planning your request. Correction hours for affidavits, paternities, and corrections require an appointment and are only available from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM.

Genealogy requests in Vigo County are available for persons who are deceased and over 75 years old at the time of the request. Under Indiana Code 16-37-1-11, certified copies are restricted to immediate family members and those with a documented legal need. For genealogy copies of older records, IC 16-37-3-9 defines the access rules and eligibility for researchers who are not direct family members of the deceased.

How to Request Vigo County Death Records

In-person requests at 171 Oak Street in Terre Haute are required for most Vigo County death records. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID and know the full name and date of death of the person whose record you need. The fee is $10 per certified copy, payable by cash, money order, or cashier's check. Do not attempt to request records by email, fax, or phone, as these methods are not accepted.

Mail requests are accepted by the Vigo County Health Department. Your written request should include the deceased's full name, date of death, your name and mailing address, your relationship to the deceased, a copy of your ID, and a money order or cashier's check for the $10 fee. Do not send personal checks. Address the request to the Vigo County Health Department at 171 Oak Street, Terre Haute, IN 47807. Downloadable forms may be available at vigocounty.in.gov.

The Indiana State Department of Health at 317-233-2700 is an alternative source for Vigo County death records. Online orders go through VitalChek at 866-601-0891, or you can mail a request using State Form 49606. Note that the state charges $20 per certified copy, compared to $10 at the county level, so the county office is the more economical option if you can visit in person or mail a request there.

Note: For appointments related to corrections, affidavits, or paternities, call the vital records office at 812-462-3442 to schedule a time in the 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM correction window.

Searching Vigo County Obituaries

The Tribune-Star in Terre Haute is the main daily newspaper serving Vigo County and publishes obituaries regularly. Their online archives allow searching by name for recent obituaries. The Vigo County Public Library in Terre Haute holds back issues of the Tribune-Star and earlier newspapers on microfilm and in bound volumes. Library staff can help you search the newspaper collections by date or person.

The Indiana State Library at in.gov/library/genealogy.htm provides genealogy resources including Indiana newspaper archives and obituary indexes for Vigo County and surrounding areas. The Indiana Digital Archives at digital.statelib.lib.in.us/legacy holds digitized historical records including some Vigo County vital data. Genealogy platforms like Ancestry.com and FindAGrave.com contain user-contributed obituary and burial records for Vigo County that can help identify the right official record to request. The Indiana State Archives at in.gov/icpr/archives holds supplemental early records for Vigo County deaths before 1882.

Vigo County Death Record Contents

Indiana death certificates for Vigo County include the deceased's full legal name, date of birth, date of death, place of death, cause of death, the certifying physician's name and license number, the informant's name and relationship to the deceased, and information about final disposition. These are the standard fields for all Indiana death records as required by state vital records law.

Obituary notices in the Tribune-Star and other Vigo County papers typically include surviving family members by name, church affiliations, military service records, and brief biographical information. For genealogy research in Vigo County, combining the official death certificate with a local obituary gives the most complete picture. Early Vigo County death records from the 1882-1920 period may have gaps or be handwritten and hard to read. Cross-referencing with census data, probate files from the Vigo County Courthouse, and church records fills in missing details from the early registration period.

Indiana State Death Record Access

The Indiana Department of Health at in.gov/health/vital-records issues certified copies of Vigo County death records for $20 per copy. Orders go through VitalChek online or by phone at 866-601-0891, or by mail using State Form 49606. Indiana's public records law at IC 5-14-3 and the vital records statutes in Title 16 govern access to death records across Indiana. Requesting directly from the Vigo County Health Department at $10 per copy saves money compared to the state fee of $20.

Cities in Vigo County

Terre Haute is the county seat and by far the largest city in Vigo County. It is one of Indiana's larger cities and serves as the regional center of western Indiana. One city in Vigo County meets the population threshold for a dedicated page on this site.

Other Vigo County communities include West Terre Haute and Riley. All death records for Vigo County residents are maintained by the county health department in Terre Haute.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Vigo County. Each has a local health department that handles death records and obituary files.