Haywood County Death Index

Haywood County death index records are stored at the Register of Deeds office in Waynesville, North Carolina. The death index covers files from 1913 to the present. Haywood County sits in the far west of the state near the Tennessee border. You can search for death certificates in person or by mail. This guide walks you through how to find and request death records from the Haywood County death index, including tips for genealogy research.

Haywood County Death Records Office

The Haywood County Register of Deeds is the custodian of all death records for the county. The office is in the Historic Courthouse at 215 N Main Street, Suite 213, Waynesville, NC 28786. Sherri Rogers is the Register of Deeds. The phone number is (828) 452-6635 and the fax is (828) 452-6762. You can email sherri.rogers@haywoodcountync.gov for questions.

Haywood County was named for John Haywood, who was the state treasurer at the time of its founding. A few records were lost in 1932 when the office moved to a new courthouse. The death index is intact from 1913 to the present. The office keeps birth records, death records, marriage bonds and licenses, land records, and military discharge forms. Death certificates are indexed and can be pulled by name or date.

A certified copy of a death certificate costs $10. Uncertified copies are just $0.15 each. The office takes business checks, certified bank checks, and money orders made out to the Haywood County Register of Deeds. These low fees make the county office a good first choice for death index lookups.

Haywood County Death Index for Genealogy

Haywood County is a strong spot for genealogy work. The Register of Deeds has taken on the task of digitizing documents in the office. Several computer workstations are open to the public for accessing these digital files. You can view death records on screen at the office.

The Haywood County Historical and Genealogical Society provides helpful guides for researchers. Vital records can be viewed upon request at the Register of Deeds office. North Carolina began requiring death records in 1913. Before that, very few counties kept them. Some delayed death certificates in Haywood County date back to the mid-1800s, which can be a great find for family research.

Death certificate images are only available on the workstations inside the Register of Deeds office. They are not online. This means you need to visit the office in Waynesville to see the actual images from the Haywood County death index. The index itself can help you find the right file before you go.

The records that the Haywood County office holds include:

• Death certificates from 1913 to present (indexed)
• Birth certificates from 1913 to present (indexed)
• Delayed birth certificates from 1913 to present (indexed)
• Marriage bonds and licenses from 1850 to present (indexed)

Note: Delayed birth certificates include many Haywood County births from the mid-1800s and are not yet in digital format.

How to Get Death Records in Haywood County

You can get death records from Haywood County in person or by mail. Visit the Register of Deeds office at 215 N Main Street in Waynesville. Bring a valid photo ID. Staff will search the death index and pull the file. Certified copies cost $10 and uncertified copies are $0.15 each.

To request by mail, send a written letter to the office address with the full name of the person who died, the date of death, your tie to the person, a copy of your photo ID, and payment. The Haywood County public records page confirms that mail requests are accepted. Only close family and legal representatives can get certified copies under North Carolina law. Anyone can get uncertified copies for a small fee.

For records outside Haywood County, try the North Carolina Vital Records office. They hold death records from 1930 to the present for the whole state. The state fee is $24 per search. The North Carolina State Archives has originals from 1913 to 1975 at a lower cost.

Online Death Index Resources for Haywood County

The FamilySearch page for Haywood County is a key resource. It links to free databases that cover death records across North Carolina. These include North Carolina Deaths and Burials from 1898 to 1994, North Carolina Deaths from 1906 to 1930 and 1931 to 1994, and North Carolina Death Certificates from 1909 to 1975. These tools can help you find death index entries for Haywood County ancestors when you cannot visit the office.

The recorded document search portal lets you search Haywood County land documents by name, date, or instrument number. While this focuses on property records, it can also turn up vital records indexes that point to death records in Haywood County.

Haywood County Death Index Research Tips

Haywood County sits in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina. The death index covers Waynesville, Canton, Clyde, and surrounding mountain communities. Many families in this area trace their roots to the early 1800s. Common surnames in the Haywood County death index include Caldwell, Ferguson, Messer, and Smathers.

The Register of Deeds in Waynesville holds death records from 1913 onward. Mountain communities in Haywood County were sometimes isolated, and not all deaths were reported right away in the early years. Delayed death certificates may exist at the North Carolina State Archives for some of these cases. The Haywood County Public Library also has genealogy resources that can complement what you find in the death index. Cemetery records from across the county add another layer of detail for family researchers.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Haywood County in western North Carolina. Contact the right county's Register of Deeds for death index records based on where the death took place.