Parma Obituary Records
Parma obituary records can be found through several local and county sources in Cuyahoga County. The city keeps its own vital statistics office at Parma City Hall, which handles death certificates for deaths that took place within city limits. If you need to look up an obituary for a Parma resident, the Cuyahoga County Public Library system and the Cleveland Necrology File are good places to start. Many Parma obituaries ran in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and other area papers, which are indexed and searchable. Online tools from both the state and county give you access to death records going back over a hundred years.
Parma Overview
Cuyahoga County Obituary Resources
Parma sits in Cuyahoga County, the most populated county in Ohio. Death records and obituary research for Parma residents go through both the city and county level. Cuyahoga County has a rich set of tools for finding obituaries, and many of these are free to use. The county archives hold records going back to the mid-1800s, and the Cleveland Public Library keeps one of the best obituary files in the state.
The Cuyahoga County government website links to multiple offices that handle vital records and public records requests. Death records from before December 20, 1908 are held at the Cuyahoga County Archives at 2905 Franklin Boulevard in Cleveland. The archives are open most weekdays, and the first 40 copies of records are free. After that, copies cost $0.25 each. For deaths after 1908, you can get certified copies from the Cleveland Department of Public Health or the Parma Vital Statistics office.
For more county-wide obituary resources and court records, visit the full Cuyahoga County page.
Parma Vital Statistics Office
The Parma Vital Statistics Department is on the second floor of Parma City Hall. This office issues death certificates for deaths that took place in Parma. It also issues birth certificates for anyone born in Ohio. The fee is $25 per certified copy. You can pay with cash, Visa, MasterCard, or a personal check with a valid Ohio driver's license. If you order by mail, send a money order or bank check only.
| Office | Parma Vital Statistics Department |
|---|---|
| Address | Parma City Hall, 2nd Floor 6611 Ridge Road, Parma, OH 44129 |
| Phone | 440-885-8816 |
| Hours | Monday through Friday, arrive by 3:45 PM for same-day service |
| Website | cityofparma-oh.gov - Auditor |
You can also get Parma death certificates by phone using Visa or MasterCard. The application form is on the city auditor's website. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3705 sets the rules for vital records across the state, and local offices like this one work under that law. If no record is found after a search, you still pay the fee.
Note: Parma issues death certificates only for deaths within city limits; deaths elsewhere in Cuyahoga County go through Cleveland's health department.
Library Obituary Resources in Parma
The Cuyahoga County Public Library Parma branch gives residents access to several obituary and genealogy databases. You can use the Cleveland Necrology File, which has full-text death notices from 1850 to 1975. This file covers most of Cuyahoga County, and Parma deaths are included. The file can be searched by name or by keyword at cpl.org/newsindex.
The Cleveland News Index picks up where the Necrology File leaves off. It has citations for obituaries from 1976 to 2014 from the Cleveland Press and Plain Dealer. If the person you are looking for died after 1975, this is a good next step. The library also offers in-library access to FamilySearch, which has digitized Ohio death certificates from 1908 to 1953. You can view those for free with a FamilySearch account at familysearch.org.
The Ohio Obituary Index at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center has over 3.7 million entries from Ohio papers going back to the 1810s. This is a free online tool. It pulls from over 60 partner libraries across the state. You can search by name and date to find citations, then order a copy from the holding library.
How to Search Parma Obituaries Online
There are a few good ways to search for Parma obituaries from home. The fastest is the Ohio Death Record Index at resources.ohiohistory.org. This free tool from the Ohio History Connection covers death records from 1913 to 1944 and 1954 to 1970. You need a name and a year of death to start. The index will give you a certificate number you can use to order a copy.
For more recent Parma obituaries, check the Plain Dealer obituary listings at obits.cleveland.com. The paper covers all of Cuyahoga County and has been the main paper for Parma for decades. Current and recent obituaries are posted online, and older ones can be found through the Cleveland Public Library's newspaper databases.
The Ohio Department of Health handles death records from 1971 to the present. You can order certified copies online for $21.50 each. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 3705.24, that fee covers the search whether a record is found or not. Social Security numbers on death certificates are blacked out for the first five years after death unless you can show you are close family.
Getting Copies of Parma Death Records
Getting a copy of a death record for someone who died in Parma depends on when the death took place. Here is how the records break down by time period:
- Before 1867: No official death records were kept in Ohio
- 1867 to 1908: Records are at the Cuyahoga County Archives or Probate Court
- 1908 to 1970: Ohio History Connection holds these certificates
- 1971 to present: Ohio Department of Health or the Parma Vital Statistics office
For legal use, you need a certified copy. The Parma office and the state both issue certified death certificates. For genealogy research, the Ohio History Connection provides uncertified copies that work fine for most non-legal needs. FamilySearch also has free digital images of death certificates from 1908 to 1953 that you can view online.
If you need a Parma obituary rather than a death certificate, the library is your best bet. The Cleveland Public Library at 525 Superior Ave in Cleveland offers up to 3 free scans of death certificates per month by email. They also have the full Necrology File for in-person research. The Parma branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library can help you get started with your search.
Note: The Ohio History Connection cannot certify records for legal purposes; they only provide research copies.
Parma Obituary Search Tools
The City of Parma official website provides links to the auditor's office and vital statistics forms for ordering death certificates and other records.
From the city site you can download the application form for vital records and find contact details for the auditor's office that handles certificate requests.
The Cuyahoga County government portal connects residents to county-level services including archives, public health, and the recorder's office.
County resources are especially helpful for older Parma obituary and death record searches that go beyond what the city office holds.
Nearby Ohio Cities
Other cities near Parma also have obituary and death record resources you may want to check. If the person lived in or moved between these areas, records could be in more than one place.
Cleveland • Lakewood • Strongsville • Euclid • Elyria • Lorain