Find Death Index Records in Kent County

Kent County death index records and death certificates are available through the Kent County Health Department in Chestertown. No appointment is needed. Walk-in service is available at 125 Lynchburg Street. For older records and genealogy research, the Maryland State Archives holds historical Kent County death records going back to the late 1800s. This page explains how to get death records in Kent County.

Kent County Health Department , Walk-In Death Certificates

The Kent County Health Department issues death certificates at 125 Lynchburg Street, Chestertown, MD 21620. You can call the office at 410-778-2880 with questions before you go. No appointment is required. Walk-in service is available during regular business hours. This makes Kent County more accessible than many other Maryland counties, which require appointments or redirect the public to Baltimore or Annapolis.

The fee is $20.00 per copy. Kent County accepts cash and credit cards. There is no mention of a credit card surcharge at this office. Bring a valid photo ID when you come in. Staff will want to confirm your identity and your relationship to the deceased. For most requests, a government-issued ID with a photo is enough to get started. Call 410-778-2880 if you have questions about what documents to bring for a specific type of request.

Kent County is one of Maryland's smaller counties with a population of around 19,000. The health department office in Chestertown handles a manageable number of requests compared to larger counties. Wait times are generally short. The straightforward walk-in process here is less complicated than in places like Anne Arundel or Baltimore County, which have more steps and restrictions.

The Kent County Health Department vital records page at kenthd.org/vital-records provides information on obtaining death certificates in Chestertown without an appointment.

Walk-in service is available at 125 Lynchburg Street, Chestertown, making Kent County one of the more accessible counties on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

How to Search the Kent County Death Index

The Maryland State Archives SE151 Death Index is the primary tool for searching Kent County deaths from 1973 through 2014. Kent County uses code 14 in the index. Search at no cost through the Archives SE151 series guide. Each result shows the decedent's name, date of death, county code, and certificate number. Write down the certificate number before you order. It speeds up processing at the Kent County Health Department or the Division of Vital Records.

Kent County is one of the smallest counties in Maryland by population. The SE151 index for code 14 will have far fewer entries than larger counties like Montgomery or Baltimore. That can actually make searching easier. If you are looking for a common name, the smaller pool of results narrows your list quickly. VitalChek at vitalchek.com is available for online ordering if you cannot get to Chestertown in person.

For deaths after 2014, SE151 is not the right source. Contact the Kent County Health Department directly at 410-778-2880. For deaths before 1973, the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis holds the records. The Archives death records FAQ explains which series to search for each time period and county.

Note: SE151 runs from 1973 to 2014. Deaths outside that range require different sources at the health department or the Archives.

Fees and Payment in Kent County

Kent County charges a flat $20.00 per death certificate copy. The fee is the same for each copy regardless of how many you order. Payment is accepted in cash or by credit card at the health department office in Chestertown. This is a simple fee structure compared to some counties where the first copy and additional copies are priced differently.

If you are ordering through the Maryland Division of Vital Records by mail, the fees are different from the county office fee. The Division charges $10 for a search that returns no certificate and $12 for a certified copy. VitalChek adds its own service fee on top of whatever the state charges. If cost is a concern, the fastest and most direct route is walking into the Kent County Health Department with $20 in cash. No service fees, no shipping charges, no credit card surcharges.

For historical records at the Maryland State Archives, certified copy fees are $25. That covers the search and the copy. You can request by mail to 350 Rowe Boulevard, Annapolis, MD 21401 or use the Archives order form online. Include the name, approximate year of death, and county of death with your request.

Kent County Circuit Court Records

The Kent County Circuit Court is at 103 N. Liberty Street, Chestertown, MD 21620. The clerk of court is Stacy L. Morgan. Reach the clerk's office at 410-778-4600. The court's page on the Maryland Courts system is at courts.state.md.us/clerks/kent. The circuit court handles civil cases, land records, and estate filings for Kent County. It does not issue death certificates. Those stay with the health department.

The circuit court in Chestertown is the place to go for land records if you are researching property tied to a deceased person's estate. Deeds and land instruments filed at the circuit court are public records. They often list the property owner's full name, address, and sometimes family relationships. For genealogists, land records at the Kent County circuit court can fill in gaps when death records are thin or missing.

Estate and probate actions related to Kent County deaths are filed at the circuit court as well. If the deceased owned property or had significant assets, a probate case may exist in the court records. Even small estates may have a filing. The court clerk at 410-778-4600 can tell you how to search case records in person or by mail for the Chestertown office.

The circuit court at 103 N. Liberty Street can be reached at 410-778-4600 for questions about court records and estate filings.

Historical Kent County Death Records

The Maryland State Archives holds historical death records for Kent County going back to the nineteenth century. On microfilm, Kent County records are filed under the code KE. The SE42 series covers deaths from 1898 through 1972. For deaths in Kent County between those years, SE42 is the first place to search. The Archives reading room at 350 Rowe Boulevard in Annapolis is open to the public, and staff can help locate records in the right series.

The S1179 series contains older registration ledgers from the Maryland Board of Vital Statistics. These records go further back than SE42 and can cover parts of the nineteenth century depending on county. For Kent County genealogy, this series supplements SE42 for older research. Not every death from that era was formally registered, so gaps in the records do exist. If you cannot find a record in S1179, look for church burial records or cemetery lists, which local historical societies in Chestertown may hold.

Kent County's small population means the Archives holdings for this county are smaller than for larger jurisdictions. That can make searching faster and results more manageable. For Eastern Shore research, Kent County death records at the Archives are typically well-organized and accessible with the standard finding aids. The Archives FAQ page is a useful guide before your visit.

Note: The Archives reading room has its own hours and sometimes requires advance reservations for microfilm equipment. Call 410-260-6400 before planning a trip to Annapolis.

Register of Wills and Probate in Kent County

The Register of Wills in Kent County handles probate and estate records for deaths in this Eastern Shore county. When a Kent County resident dies and leaves an estate, the personal representative or heirs file with the Register of Wills in Chestertown. The probate filing typically includes the decedent's name, date of death, list of heirs, and an inventory of assets. These records are separate from death certificates but often contain the same core information.

The statewide Maryland Register of Wills portal provides free online access to estate records from 1998 to the present. Search by decedent name and get a summary of the estate file at no cost. Full document copies require a visit or written request to the Kent County Register of Wills office in Chestertown. This is a good first step to confirm whether a probate record exists before requesting certified death certificate copies.

Probate records in Kent County are worth checking for several reasons. They can confirm the date of death when a certificate is hard to obtain. They name the surviving family members, which matters for genealogy. They also identify any real property the decedent owned in Kent County, which ties back to the circuit court land records. Using these sources together gives a more complete picture of a death and its circumstances than a death certificate alone.

The Kent County Health Department main site at kenthd.org serves this small Eastern Shore county from its Chestertown location and handles vital records including death certificates.

The health department serves one of Maryland's smallest counties with a straightforward process and no appointment needed.

Note: Estates with minimal assets or those held jointly may not have a probate filing at all. If no estate record appears in the Register of Wills portal, that does not mean the person did not die in Kent County.

Cities in Kent County

Kent County is one of the smallest counties in Maryland by population. Chestertown is the county seat and the largest community in the county.

Other communities in Kent County use the county health department for death index records.

Nearby Counties

These counties are adjacent to Kent County and maintain their own death index records.