Virginia Beach Death Records and Obituaries
Virginia Beach obituary and death records are available through the Virginia Beach Circuit Court Clerk, the Virginia Beach Vital Statistics Office, and the Virginia Beach Public Library Local History Collection. Virginia Beach is the largest city in Virginia by population and an independent city that merged with the former Princess Anne County in 1963. This page covers how to find death certificates, obituary collections, and historical records for Virginia Beach.
Virginia Beach Overview
Virginia Beach Death Certificates and Obituary Access
The Virginia Beach Vital Statistics Office at 4452 Corporation Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23462, handles death registration for deaths that occur within Virginia Beach city limits. Certified copies of death certificates cost $12 each. Virginia restricts access to deaths within the last 25 years under Virginia Code Title 32.1, Chapter 7. Only immediate family members and their authorized legal representatives can get certified copies during that period. After 25 years, records become more broadly accessible.
The Virginia Beach office is part of the Virginia Department of Health's Virginia Beach district at vdh.virginia.gov/virginia-beach. For statewide requests, the VDH Office of Vital Records at vdh.virginia.gov/vital-records processes mail and online requests for deaths from 1912 forward. Call (804) 662-6200 for questions. Deaths before 1912 are at the Library of Virginia, with death registers from 1853 to 1896. Because Virginia Beach absorbed Princess Anne County in 1963, older records may appear under Princess Anne County rather than Virginia Beach.
| Local Office | Virginia Beach Vital Statistics Office |
|---|---|
| Address | 4452 Corporation Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23462 |
| VDH District | vdh.virginia.gov/virginia-beach |
| State VDH Phone | (804) 662-6200 |
| Fee | $12 per certified copy |
The screenshot below shows the Virginia Department of Health Vital Records page, which processes official death certificate requests for Virginia Beach and all Virginia localities.
The VDH Office of Vital Records handles official requests for Virginia Beach death certificates for deaths from 1912 to the present.
Virginia Beach Circuit Court Records
The Virginia Beach Circuit Court Clerk holds probate records, estate filings, will books, and civil court files for the City of Virginia Beach. These records contain death dates, heir names, asset inventories, and other biographical details that supplement official death certificates. Estate files are particularly useful for genealogy and family history research. The court is accessible through the Virginia Beach city government website at vbgov.com for current contact information and office location.
Virginia Beach is part of the 2nd Judicial Circuit, which is a large circuit given that Virginia Beach is the most populous city in Virginia. As an independent city, the Virginia Beach Circuit Court handles all city cases separately from any county courts. Because the city absorbed Princess Anne County in 1963, old Princess Anne County probate records are now accessible through the Virginia Beach Circuit Court Clerk as well.
Newer records may be searchable through the Virginia Courts Case Information system at vacourts.gov. For full case files or certified copies of estate records, contact the clerk's office directly. Staff can help you locate records by name and time period and explain what is available for older Princess Anne County-era filings.
| Office | Virginia Beach Circuit Court Clerk |
|---|---|
| Court Website | vbgov.com |
| Court | 2nd Judicial Circuit |
| Hours | Monday through Friday, regular business hours |
| Virginia Courts Search | vacourts.gov |
Virginia Beach Public Library and Historical Obituary Collections
The Virginia Beach Public Library Local History Collection holds genealogy materials, newspaper obituary archives, and local history resources specific to Virginia Beach and the former Princess Anne County. The collection includes historical newspapers from the Virginia Beach area and Princess Anne County, as well as city directories, genealogy reference books, and research guides. Staff genealogists can help researchers navigate the collection and locate death notices and obituaries from local papers going back to the early 20th century.
The Princess Anne County Historical Society archives, accessible through the society at pachshistory.org, hold materials from before the 1963 merger with Virginia Beach. These archives include historical records, photographs, and documents from the Princess Anne County era. If you are researching deaths from before 1963, the PACHS materials may be essential for understanding where a person lived and which records apply.
The Library of Virginia at lva-virginia.libguides.com/bmd/death holds Virginia death registers from 1853 to 1896. For the Virginia Beach area, older death records appear under Princess Anne County in the library's microfilm holdings. The library's research guide explains how to locate records for the area across the jurisdictional changes that occurred in 1963.
Virginia Beach became an independent city through the merger with Princess Anne County in 1963. Deaths before that year are recorded under Princess Anne County. If you are researching someone who died before 1963 in what is now Virginia Beach, look for Princess Anne County records at the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Beach Circuit Court Clerk's older files.
Statewide Resources for Virginia Beach Obituary Research
The Henley Marriage and Obituary Index at lva-virginia.libguides.com/henley covers Virginia obituaries from 1736 to 1982. This index includes death notices from Tidewater and Hampton Roads area papers and is searchable online. For more recent obituaries, local news sources such as The Virginian-Pilot hold digitized archives with Virginia Beach obituaries going back many decades. These can be searched through Newspapers.com and other digitized newspaper services.
Find It Virginia at finditva.com gives Virginia library card holders free access to Ancestry Library Edition and other genealogy databases from home. Virginia Beach Public Library card holders can use this service to search digitized death indexes, historical Virginia Beach and Princess Anne County newspapers, and other genealogical resources without paying for a separate subscription.
The Virginia Genealogy Society at virginiagenealogy.org/obits maintains statewide obituary resource links. The Library of Virginia Chancery Records Index at lva.virginia.gov/collections/cri allows searching older court records from the Princess Anne County and Virginia Beach area, which may contain death dates and estate information from the 1800s and early 1900s.
The screenshot below shows the Library of Virginia death records guide, a key resource for historical Virginia Beach and Princess Anne County death research.
The Library of Virginia holds death registers and finding aids for Princess Anne County and Virginia Beach, covering the area from 1853 through the present-day independent city era.
Virginia Law and Virginia Beach Obituary Records
Virginia Code Title 32.1, Chapter 7 governs vital records in the Commonwealth. Virginia Beach follows the same rules as all other Virginia cities. Deaths from the last 25 years are restricted to qualified individuals. After 25 years, records become more broadly available to the public and to genealogy researchers.
Probate records and estate files at the Virginia Beach Circuit Court are generally public. Death-related civil court cases are public unless sealed. The Virginia Beach Public Library Local History Collection and the Princess Anne County Historical Society hold local materials that can supplement official vital records for both the pre-merger and post-merger eras of Virginia Beach history.
Virginia's Freedom of Information Act allows requests for government records beyond vital statistics. Coroner reports and administrative city death records may be available through a FOIA request to the appropriate Virginia Beach office. Virginia law requires a response within five business days.
Nearby County Records
Virginia Beach is bordered by Chesapeake to the west and has water boundaries on other sides. Deaths just outside Virginia Beach city limits near the land border may fall under Chesapeake jurisdiction. The city absorbed the former Princess Anne County in 1963, so those records are now held by the Virginia Beach Circuit Court.
Nearby Cities
These independent cities are in Hampton Roads near Virginia Beach. Each handles obituary and death records through its own Circuit Court Clerk and local health offices.