Search St. Louis County Obituary Records
St. Louis County obituary records and death certificates are available through multiple county offices spread across the largest county by area in Minnesota, with records covering Duluth, the Iron Range communities, and vast stretches of northeastern Minnesota. Searching for death and obituary records in St. Louis County requires knowing which office to contact, since vital records services are spread across four locations in Duluth, Hibbing, Virginia, and Ely. Beyond the county offices, the Iron Range Research Center, the St. Louis County Historical Society, the MDH statewide index, and the Minnesota Historical Society all hold important collections for this region.
St. Louis County Overview
St. Louis County Vital Records Offices
St. Louis County operates vital records services from four locations to serve its large geographic area. The main recorder's office is in Duluth, but residents in the Iron Range and northeastern parts of the county can also use offices in Hibbing, Virginia, and Ely. All four locations handle death certificates and other vital records.
Duluth - Main Recorder Office
| Office | St. Louis County Recorder |
|---|---|
| Address | 100 North Fifth Avenue West, Room 101, Duluth, MN 55802 |
| Phone | 218-726-2559 |
| Website | stlouiscountymn.gov/departments/recorder |
Hibbing - Vital Records Office
| Office | St. Louis County Vital Records - Hibbing |
|---|---|
| Address | 1810 12th Ave. East, Room 100, Hibbing, MN 55746 |
| Phone | 218-262-0109 |
| Website | stlouiscountymn.gov/departments/vital-records |
Virginia - Vital Records Office
| Office | St. Louis County Vital Records - Virginia |
|---|---|
| Address | 307 South First Street, Suite 2R, Virginia, MN 55792 |
| Phone | 218-749-0673 |
Ely - Vital Records Office
| Office | St. Louis County Vital Records - Ely |
|---|---|
| Address | 320 Miners Drive E, Ely, MN 55731 |
| Phone | 218-365-8200 |
For certified copies of death certificates, you can contact any of the four offices listed above. The fee is $13 for the first certified copy and $6 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. To request a record, provide the full name of the deceased, the approximate date of death, and your relationship to the person. For certified copies, you must be a close relative or authorized legal representative. Call the nearest office to confirm what documentation to include if you plan to submit a mail request.
St. Louis County records generally begin from the 1870s, though coverage in the early years varies by location within the county. The county grew rapidly during the Iron Range mining boom of the late 1800s and early 1900s, and many residents during that period were recent immigrants from Finland, Slovenia, Italy, and other countries. Families searching for records of Iron Range immigrants may find that birth and death records are split between the county and home-country archives.
Iron Range Research Center
The Iron Range Research Center (IRRC) is one of the most important genealogy and local history resources in all of northeastern Minnesota. Located in Chisholm on the Iron Range, the center holds over 1.4 million records relating to families and communities across the region. Among their key holdings is an obituary index covering deaths from 1891 to 2003, compiled from local Iron Range newspapers. This index is not available anywhere else and is a critical tool for anyone researching a death in this part of the county.
Visit the Iron Range Research Center at ironrangeresearchcenter.org. In addition to the obituary index, the center holds local newspapers on microfilm, church records, immigration records, naturalization papers, and family files submitted by researchers over many decades. If you are searching for an immigrant ancestor who lived and died on the Iron Range, this center is likely your best single source of detailed information.
The IRRC obituary index spans from 1891 to 2003 and draws from newspapers across many Iron Range communities including Hibbing, Virginia, Eveleth, Chisholm, and others. An obituary found through this index may include the name of the deceased, the date, the paper it was published in, and often detailed family information about survivors and country of origin. This is especially valuable for Iron Range immigrants whose records may be sparse in official vital records systems.
Researchers from outside the area can often access the IRRC's resources remotely or through written inquiries. Contact the center directly to ask about their remote research services and what fees, if any, apply. The center is open to the public on a scheduled basis; check their website for current hours before visiting.
Minnesota Death Search Index - Free Online Search
The Minnesota Department of Health provides a free online death index covering St. Louis County and all other Minnesota counties. The index covers deaths registered from 1908 forward and shows the name, date, and county of death. It is a quick way to confirm that a death was registered in the state system before you request a certified copy.
Search the index at health.state.mn.us - death search index. Once you confirm a record, you can order a certified copy from any of the St. Louis County vital records offices or through the MDH. The full ordering process is described at health.state.mn.us/people/vitalrecords/death.html.
For deaths before 1908, the MDH index will not have a result. In those cases, the county offices, the Iron Range Research Center, the MNHS, and FamilySearch are your best alternatives. Early deaths in Iron Range communities from the 1880s and 1890s may appear in church or local records even if they were not registered through the county system at the time.
The MDH death index is free and public, covering St. Louis County deaths from 1908 forward, making it a fast first check before contacting one of the county's four vital records offices.
St. Louis County Historical Society
The St. Louis County Historical Society, known locally as The History People, is based in Duluth and serves as the main local history organization for the county. Their collections include materials on Duluth and surrounding communities, including records related to death, family history, and community life in northeastern Minnesota.
Visit the St. Louis County Historical Society at thehistorypeople.org. Their office is located at 506 W Michigan St, Duluth, MN 55802. The society holds local history materials including photographs, newspaper archives, and family files that can supplement what you find through official vital records channels. For Duluth-area deaths in particular, the historical society is worth contacting as a supplement to the county recorder and the MDH.
The St. Louis County Historical Society in Duluth maintains local history collections that complement the county vital records system, including materials on Duluth families and northeastern Minnesota communities.
Minnesota Historical Society Records
The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) holds statewide historical records that extend well beyond what county offices maintain. For St. Louis County, MNHS collections include church records, early death registers, funeral home records, and extensive newspaper archives. Given the Iron Range's diverse immigrant population, MNHS may hold church registers from Finnish, Slovenian, Croatian, and other ethnic congregations that kept their own death records.
Search the MNHS People database at mnhs.org/search/people. This free tool indexes names across many collections. Their death records guide at mnhs.org - about death records explains what is available. The MNHS Digital Newspaper Hub at mnhs.org/newspapers/hub includes many northeastern Minnesota papers with searchable obituary content going back over a century.
For Iron Range communities, the MNHS and the Iron Range Research Center often hold complementary materials. The IRRC focuses specifically on the range communities with deep local indexes; MNHS provides broader statewide access. Together they cover the full scope of St. Louis County death records from the 1800s through the present.
The MNHS newspaper hub includes northeastern Minnesota papers from Duluth and Iron Range communities, with searchable obituary content covering deaths from many decades past.
MNGenWeb Genealogy Resources
The St. Louis County MNGenWeb project and related Iron Range genealogy sites provide free resources for county research. These volunteer-maintained sites include cemetery indexes, surname lists, family histories, and links to other northeastern Minnesota databases. They are a good free starting point for anyone new to St. Louis County genealogy research.
FamilySearch at familysearch.org - Minnesota Vital Records holds digitized Minnesota death records that may include early St. Louis County records not easily found elsewhere. FamilySearch is free and covers a wide range of years. For immigrant families on the Iron Range, FamilySearch may also have records from source countries that help fill in the picture before and after immigration.
Free online tools including MNGenWeb and FamilySearch provide starting points for St. Louis County research, particularly for Iron Range families whose records span multiple sources and countries.
How to Get St. Louis County Death Records
For a certified death certificate, contact the nearest St. Louis County vital records office. The Duluth recorder is at 218-726-2559; Hibbing is at 218-262-0109; Virginia is at 218-749-0673; Ely is at 218-365-8200. You can also order through the MDH by mail. The fee is $13 for the first certified copy and $6 for each additional copy. Certified copies are required for legal purposes, including estate settlement and benefits claims.
For genealogy or informational use, the MDH death index, MNHS collections, the Iron Range Research Center obituary index, and MNGenWeb are all free or low-cost. The IRRC obituary index covering 1891 to 2003 is a particularly strong resource for Iron Range deaths not easily found elsewhere. None of these informational sources provide certified copies or substitute for official records in legal proceedings.
All St. Louis County vital records offices are listed in the statewide registrar directory at health.state.mn.us - county registrar directory. Under Minnesota Statute 144.225, certified death records are restricted to close relatives and authorized parties for 50 years after the date of death, after which records become public.
The MDH vital records guide explains the ordering process for certified death certificates, including which office to contact and what forms of identification and payment are accepted.
Cities in St. Louis County
St. Louis County includes several cities and communities. The largest is Duluth, which has its own dedicated obituary records page with city-specific resources and courthouse information.
Other communities in St. Louis County including Hibbing, Virginia, Eveleth, Chisholm, and Ely do not have separate city pages. For records from those communities, use the St. Louis County vital records offices and the Iron Range Research Center as your primary sources.
Nearby Counties
St. Louis County borders several other northeastern Minnesota counties. Records for families in border communities may be found in adjacent county offices.