The city of St. Louis required burial permits starting in January 1882, continuing until October 1908. These records are the equivalent to an early death certificate since similar information is available on both records.

Each certificate contains a certificate number that corresponds with the number in the first column on the death register. The genealogical data includes the name of the deceased, date and place of birth, date, place, and cause of death, cemetery, undertaker, age, sex, race, marital status, and occupation.

To utilize these records, a researcher needs to know the date of death, then reference the list of existing records. Compare the date of death with the list of records available. Since death certificates were not available in St. Louis between 1882 and 1908, these certificates serve as a substitute for a death certificate. St. Louis County Library Finding Aids offers a guide to the available and missing records.

St. Louis Public Libary includes many burial permits in their St. Louis Argus and St. Louis Post-Dispatch obituary indices.


Last modified: 21-Jun-2016 16:41