Licking County Obituary Search
Licking County obituary records are available through multiple local offices in the Newark area, including the health department, Probate Court, and the county archives. If you are looking for a death record or trying to find an old obituary for someone who lived in Licking County, you have several good options. The county has about 176,000 people and sits in central Ohio just east of Columbus. Newark is the county seat. The health department keeps death certificates from 1909 onward. The Probate Court holds older records going back to 1874. The Licking County Genealogical Society and local libraries also have large collections of obituaries, cemetery records, and family files.
Licking County Overview
Licking County Death Certificate Office
The Licking County Health Department handles death certificates for deaths from 1909 to the present. The main office is at 675 Price Road in Newark. Call (740) 349-6535 for questions about records. A certified copy costs $25.00, which includes the $13.50 state fee. They accept cash, checks, money orders, and credit or debit cards.
You can get records in person, by mail, or online through VitalChek. The health department can issue birth certificates for any Ohio birth after 1909, but death certificates are limited to deaths that happened in Licking County. If the person died somewhere else in Ohio, contact that county's health department or the Ohio Department of Health instead.
There is also a branch office in Pataskala at 621 West Broad Street. It is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. This branch handles vital records but only takes credit card payments. It can be a convenient stop if you live on the west side of Licking County closer to Columbus.
| Office | Licking County Health Department - Vital Records |
|---|---|
| Address | 675 Price Road, Newark, OH 43055 |
| Phone | (740) 349-6535 |
| Branch | 621 West Broad Street, Pataskala, OH 43062 (M/W/F, credit only) |
Licking County Probate Court Obituary Records
The Licking County Probate Court at 1 North Park Place in Newark holds vital records that predate the health department. Birth records span 1875 to 1908. Death records go from 1874 to 1908. Marriage records run from 1875 to the present, and probate files like wills and estates date back to 1829. Naturalization records are also on file. Call (740) 670-5624 for information.
A courthouse fire in 1875 destroyed many of the earliest Licking County records. That is why most files here start around 1874 or 1875. Records from before that year are largely gone. The Licking County Records and Archives Center works with the Probate Court to preserve older documents. Their holdings include marriage records from 1875 to 1996, probate court records from 1875 to 1975, will records from 1875 to 1987, and guardian inventories from 1877 to 1953.
Under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3705, probate courts served as the official registrars of births and deaths before December 1908. That makes the Licking County Probate Court the only local source for death records from the 1870s through 1908.
Licking County Obituary Research Tools
The Licking County Genealogical Society has one of the best local collections for obituary research. Their resources include cemetery indexes by township, city directories from 1858 to 2001, Common Pleas Court records, probate and estate indexes, military records, and census records. They also maintain surname indexes that can help you find families across multiple record types.
The Licking County Genealogical Society site shown above lists their full collection. It is a key stop for anyone researching Licking County obituaries and family history.
This screenshot shows the Licking County Health Department vital records page where you can learn about ordering death certificates and other vital records.
The Licking County Probate Court also has an online records search. You can look up cases by name or case number. The Licking County Library System at lickingcountylibrary.org holds genealogy collections at its main branches.
The Probate Court archives page above shows the types of historical records on file in Licking County, including death and marriage records going back to the 1870s.
Ohio Obituary Resources for Licking County
The Ohio Death Record Index is a free tool from the Ohio History Connection. It covers death certificates from 1913 to 1944 and 1954 to 1970. Licking County deaths from those years are included. The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library in Fremont runs the Ohio Obituary Index, which has over 3.7 million entries from newspapers all over the state.
FamilySearch has digitized Ohio death certificates from 1908 to 1953 and they are free to view. The Ohio Department of Health handles death records from 1971 forward at $21.50 per certified copy. The Licking Records website at lickingrecords.us also has local vital records information.
Cities in Licking County
Licking County includes Newark, Pataskala, Heath, Granville, Johnstown, and many smaller communities. All vital records go through the county health department or Probate Court.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Licking County. Check the right county for where the death took place.