Maine has one of the most thorough histories documented through records in the United States. Maine death records may be available for those who need this information dating back many years. Death records can be useful in many situations. They an answer questions and provide details about a person's home address, next of kin or other personally identifiable information. More so, these records can help you to build your family genealogy reports or help you to answer concerns about property ownership. Some of the older records do remain detailed, but the information you will find will vary considerably from one location to the next.

By the 1800's, more than 200 towns in Maine began recording birth and death records within the state. In 1820, the area became a separate state. During this time, records were not as well organized and were not kept as thoroughly as they were previously. However, by 1864, the state's legislation began requiring that these records be provided to the state from the township clerks. The clerks were required to gather this information and then to report it to the state in a timely manner. Eventually, by 1892, the State Board of Vital Statistics was created to help collect and manage this information. This is when most records were then organized and became easier to obtain.

For those who need to gather Maine death records, the first step is to determine when you need them from so you know where to gather this information from in your search. For those who need death records from 1923 or after, the following address is the best location for getting that data.

Maine Department of Human Services

Office of Vital Records

State House Station 11

Augusta, Maine 04333

If you need Maine death records for any time prior to this, you have a couple of options to choose to do so. It is possible to search for these records at the state level in the archives. The following address can help in that way.

Maine State Archives

LMA Building

State House Station 84

Augusta, Maine 04333

In addition to searching the state archives, you may be able to get this information from local county offices. In fact, the local counties have public records available dating back several hundreds of years. Local churches also gathered this information in the area of Maine since the founding of this area. Maine death records may or may not contain as much detail in the archives as these more local searches.

Depending on why you need them and when you need these records, Maine death records are available to the public. Obtaining them can be a process, especially if you are unsure of when a person died or where he or she lived. However, it is often the case that these records are available for genealogy searches, property ownership verification or just to learn more about the person's life. Even next of kin and the cause of death are often listed on these records, which can help you to answer many questions.

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