Pulaski County Death Records and Index

Pulaski County death index records require special attention because local courthouse records were destroyed in a fire in 1903, making the Missouri Bureau of Vital Records and the State Archives the primary sources for most requests. This page explains what survives, where to find it, and how to get a certified copy.

Pulaski County Death Records: Important Note on Local Records

Pulaski County courthouse records were destroyed in a fire in 1903. This is a significant fact for anyone researching the county's history. Many local records from before that date are simply gone. For death certificates, the local Pulaski County Health Department has limited holdings, and the county directs most requests to the Missouri Department of Health Bureau of Vital Records in Jefferson City. If you are looking for a Pulaski County death certificate, going directly to the state Bureau or the State Archives online database is the most reliable approach regardless of the time period involved.

The Pulaski County Health Department can be reached for inquiries at pulaskicountyhealth.org. Staff there can advise you on what the local office holds and direct you to the right source for your specific request. Given the 1903 fire and the county's connection to Fort Leonard Wood, the volume and complexity of records requests here can vary widely.

Fort Leonard Wood, the Army installation located in Pulaski County, has brought a large transient military population to the county for decades. This means a significant portion of deaths registered in Pulaski County involve military personnel or their dependents. For deaths connected to military service, VA records and the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis may also be relevant sources alongside standard state death certificates.

The Missouri Department of Health vital records page gives context on the statewide registration system and where to go for certified death certificates in counties like Pulaski where local holdings are limited.

This state page covers the full process for requesting Pulaski County death certificates from the Bureau of Vital Records, which handles the bulk of requests due to the county's limited local records.

Missouri Bureau of Vital Records for Pulaski County Deaths

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Bureau of Vital Records in Jefferson City is the main source for Pulaski County death index records. The Bureau is at 930 Wildwood Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65109. Phone is 573-751-6387. Lobby hours run Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The Bureau holds records from January 1, 1910, to the present. Given the 1903 courthouse fire and the limited local health department holdings, the state Bureau is generally the first and best contact for any Pulaski County death certificate request. The fee is $14 for the first certified copy and $11 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time, under RSMo 193.265.

The Missouri Bureau of Vital Records ordering page walks through the steps for requesting a certified Pulaski County death certificate by mail or through the state's online vendor. The downloadable application form and mailing address for the Jefferson City office are on this page.

Under RSMo 193.255, certified copies within the 50-year confidentiality window are issued only to those with a direct and tangible interest in the record. Eligible parties include spouses, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and close relatives of the person on the certificate, plus legal representatives, funeral directors, and those with documented estate or property interests. Records older than 50 years move to the State Archives under RSMo 193.225, where they become public records with no restrictions.

VitalChek is Missouri's authorized online ordering vendor. Orders placed through VitalChek arrive in 3 to 5 business days and do not require a notarized application. Phone orders are handled at 1-877-817-7363. All major credit cards are accepted.

VitalChek processes online and phone orders for certified Pulaski County death certificates, offering a straightforward option that skips the notarization requirement of direct mail requests.

Pulaski County Death Index in the Missouri State Archives

The Missouri State Archives holds digitized death certificates for the period from 1910 through 1975. Pulaski County records from this span are free to search through the Archives Death Certificates portal. You can search by first name, last name, county, and year or month of death. For records from 1954 through 1975, the database also allows searches by surviving spouse, father, or mother. Each certificate in the database shows the full name of the deceased, date and place of death, birth information, both parents' names, spouse's name, occupation, cause of death, attending physician, funeral home, and burial location.

Pulaski County was organized in 1833, and its central Missouri location put it along key routes for settlement and military movement through the 19th and 20th centuries. The Archives database covers the county's records from 1910 onward. Keep in mind that due to the 1903 courthouse fire, some county-level documents that might normally supplement a death certificate search are missing. The Archives database itself is not affected by the fire since it is based on state-level filings that predate and survive the local loss.

For deaths before 1910, the Missouri Birth and Death Records Database, Pre-1910 covers microfilmed records from roughly 1883 to 1893. Pulaski County pre-1910 records are limited. Church records, cemetery transcriptions, and what little survived the 1903 fire are the main alternatives. Military records from the Civil War and later conflicts are also relevant given the county's long association with Army installations. The National Archives and the Missouri State Archives both hold relevant military-related collections.

The FamilySearch Pulaski County genealogy page catalogs available collections and notes the impact of the 1903 courthouse fire on local records. FamilySearch provides free online access to many digitized collections and microfilm records that can supplement what the State Archives holds for this county.

What Pulaski County Death Records Contain

A certified Pulaski County death certificate lists the decedent's full legal name, date and place of death, date and state of birth, sex, race, and occupation. The certificate names both parents, including the mother's maiden name, along with the surviving spouse, cause of death and contributing conditions, attending physician, funeral home, and burial location. The informant who provided details at the time of registration is also identified. Long form certificates, which carry extended medical certification language, are available only through the Bureau of Vital Records in Jefferson City. If you need the long form, note it on your application.

Death records in the State Archives from 1910 through 1975 include the same core fields, though older forms are simpler and some entries may be incomplete. Cause-of-death language on records from the 1910s and 1920s can be unfamiliar. The Archives provides a medical terminology guide to help interpret these entries. For Pulaski County records connected to military personnel, the occupations listed on older certificates may include military designations that require additional context to interpret correctly.

Access to recent Pulaski County death certificates is restricted under RSMo 193.255. Only those with a direct and tangible interest may receive certified copies of records within the 50-year window. For deaths more than 50 years ago, records are public and free to search through the State Archives. No proof of relationship is required for those older records.

Under RSMo 193.145, all current Missouri death certificates are filed electronically through the MoEVR system. Every recent Pulaski County death is registered centrally and accessible through the state Bureau once the record is complete, regardless of the county's limited local office holdings.

Nearby Counties

Pulaski County is in south-central Missouri and borders several counties in the region. If the person you are researching lived near a county line, check the adjacent offices listed here.