Jackson County Death Records

Jackson County obituary records and death certificates are maintained by the county auditor/treasurer's office in Jackson and by the Minnesota Department of Health. This southwestern Minnesota county has recorded births and deaths since 1870 and offers a public viewing station for records. Researchers can search Jackson County death notices, historical obituaries, and certified death certificates through the local office, MDH, and the Minnesota Historical Society.

Jackson County Auditor/Treasurer

In Jackson County, the Auditor/Treasurer's office handles vital records including death certificates. The office is at 405 4th Street in Jackson, the county seat. You can reach them at 507-847-2763. Their page at jacksoncountymn.gov/auditor-treasurer has details on records requests and hours. Jackson County has kept birth and death records since 1870, giving researchers a long run of local historical records to search.

The county provides a public viewing station for death records, which allows you to search and view records without needing to request copies first. This is a useful option if you want to confirm whether a record exists before paying for a certified copy. Under Minnesota Statutes section 144.225, non-certified death record copies are public and available to anyone. Certified copies follow the fee schedule in section 144.226: $13 for the first and $6 for each additional copy requested at the same time.

The Jackson County auditor page shown below covers the current process for accessing death records and other vital records in the county.

Call ahead or check the county site to confirm current hours and the public viewing station availability before your visit.

Online Death Search for Jackson County

The Minnesota Department of Health offers a free statewide death index covering deaths from 1997 to the present. You can search it at health.state.mn.us/deathsearch. This is the fastest free tool for confirming a recent Jackson County death or finding a death year without visiting the county office. You search by name and get back basic results showing year and county of death.

Once you confirm the record, you can order a certified copy through the Jackson County Auditor/Treasurer or through the MDH directly. Full ordering details and eligibility rules are on the MDH vital records page at health.state.mn.us/death. The county registrar directory at health.state.mn.us/registrars includes Jackson County's specific contact information.

MNHS Historical Death Records for Jackson County

The Minnesota Historical Society People Search at mnhs.org/search/people indexes Minnesota deaths from 1908 through 2001. For Jackson County, this covers almost the entire twentieth century. The search is free and returns basic death information by name. This is often the most efficient starting point for historical research involving people who died in the county before modern online records existed.

For deaths from 1904 to 1907, MNHS holds physical death cards. These predate the modern vital records system and contain basic information about each death. The MNHS death records page at mnhs.org/death records explains the scope of each collection and how to access items not yet digitized. MNHS staff can help locate specific records on request.

The MNHS Newspaper Hub at mnhs.org/newspapers/hub includes digitized Minnesota newspapers covering southwestern Minnesota. Old papers from the Jackson area published weekly obituary notices for local residents, and many of these editions are searchable online. Published obituaries often include details not captured in official death records, such as names of family members, church affiliation, and place of burial.

Jackson County Historical Society and Genealogy

The Jackson County Historical Society at jacksoncountyhistory.org maintains a local history museum with archival materials. Local historical societies often hold cemetery records, obituary clippings from local papers, and other death-related materials that did not make it into statewide databases. If you are researching a family in the Jackson area, the historical society is a useful complement to state sources.

MNGenWeb's Jackson County page at jackson.mngenweb.net brings together free genealogy resources compiled by volunteers. The site links to transcribed death records, cemetery indexes, and local history information. FamilySearch at familysearch.org also covers Minnesota death record collections and can be a free supplement to local research.

Getting Jackson County Death Certificates

To get a certified death certificate for someone who died in Jackson County, contact the county auditor/treasurer's office in Jackson. You can visit in person and use the public viewing station to confirm the record before ordering a copy. Mail requests should include a completed form, a copy of your photo ID, and payment. The MDH is another option for ordering certified copies at the state level.

Non-certified copies are public records under section 144.225 and are generally used for research. Certified copies are needed for legal matters and are available to immediate family and legal representatives. The fee is $13 for the first certified copy and $6 for each additional copy. The county auditor's office can clarify any documentation requirements when you call.

• In person at the Jackson County Auditor/Treasurer office
• Use the public viewing station to search before ordering
• By mail to the county or through the MDH
• Online MDH index for deaths from 1997 forward
• MNHS People Search for historical deaths (1908-2001)

Cities in Jackson County

Jackson County includes the city of Jackson and several smaller communities. No cities in the county meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page. All death record requests go through the Jackson County Auditor/Treasurer office.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Jackson County and each have their own offices for death records and vital records.