Free Obituary Search: How to Search Obituaries Online by Name

The fastest free obituary search is to enter the person’s full name and city into an obituary database, then check the website of the local funeral home. You can search obituaries and death notices by name at no cost in The U.S. Will Registry’s free obituary and death notice search. If that search comes up empty, the steps below cover serveral free methods to find an obituary online, whether you know the full name, only the last name, or just the state.

Search or Post an Obituary Free through The U.S. Willl Registry

How to Search Obituaries Free by Name

Follow these steps to search obituaries by name for free and narrow the results to the person you are looking for.

1. Search the full name with the word “obituary.” Put the name in quotation marks, for example: “Mary Ellen Smith” obituary.
2. Add a location. Adding the city and state is the quickest way to narrow results for a common name. If the person moved during their lifetime, repeat the search for each city where they lived.
3. Add the year of death. A year, or a range of two or three years, removes most unrelated results.
4. Try the name without the middle name or initial. Many newspapers and funeral homes drop it. In our experience reviewing estate cases, more searches fail because a middle name was included than because the obituary doesn’t exist.

What to Try When a Name Search Finds Nothing

1. Try other versions of the name. Search nicknames (Bob for Robert), maiden names, and earlier married names. Older obituaries sometimes list a married woman only as “Mrs.” followed by her husband’s name, and obituaries are almost always published under the most recent legal name.
2. Search a relative’s name. Obituaries nearly always list surviving family, so searching a spouse, sibling, or adult child often finds the record when the exact date of death is unknown.
3. Remove the quotation marks. If an exact-name search returns nothing, search the first and last name without quotes. Overly specific searches can filter out the exact page you need.

To search obituaries free by name across the USA, start with a national database rather than a single newspaper, because a national search covers every state at once. If you are looking for one particular person and already know details such as their hometown or family members, our guide to finding an obituary for a specific person walks through a more detailed process. If you don’t know when the person died, see how to find an obituary without a date of death.

How to Search Obituaries by Last Name Only

If you only know a surname, you can still find an obituary by adding one more detail to narrow the results:

• Last name plus location: Search the last name with “obituary” and a city or county.
• Last name plus year: Add an approximate year of death.
• Browse by location: Several obituary sites, including The U.S. Will Registry and Ever Loved, let you browse recent obituaries by city or region.
• Search newspaper archives by surname: Historical newspaper archives allow keyword searches of a last name within a single newspaper and date range.

For a full walkthrough, see our guide on how to find obituaries by last name.

The Fastest Free Obituary Search Methods

These six methods offer free starting points for finding an obituary. If one source returns no results, try the next.

1. Obituary databases. Databases such as The U.S. Will Registry, Legacy.com, and Ever Loved index current and historical obituaries and let you search by name and location for free.
2. Funeral home websites. Funeral homes usually post obituaries on their own websites before they appear anywhere else. Expert tip: if you can identify the funeral home first (a quick search of funeral homes in the person’s city often does it), you will usually find the obituary faster than by searching the name, because funeral home sites are smaller and easier to search.
3. Search the full name in quotation marks with the word “obituary,” the city, and the year.
4. Local newspaper websites. Check newspapers in both the person’s hometown and their last city of residence.
5. Online memorial pages and social media. Some families post a memorial page or a Facebook announcement instead of a newspaper obituary.
6. Cemetery and burial records. Find a Grave and cemetery offices list burial dates and locations, often with headstone photos, even when no obituary was published.

Timing tip: Obituaries are sometimes published days or weeks after a death, especially when a family is waiting on service arrangements. If a search fails right after a death, try again in a week or two.

POST OR SEARCHDEATH NOTICE AND OBITUARYFreeSTART HERE →

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Free Obituary Lookup: The Best Free Obituary Search Sites

No single website indexes every obituary, so a free obituary lookup works best when you check two or three of these sites instead of relying on one.

Website	Best For
The U.S. Will Registry	Free obituary and death notice search in one database, with will search and estate resources in the same place
Legacy.com	One of the largest collections of newspaper-published obituaries in the U.S.
FamilySearch	Historical and genealogical records, free through a nonprofit archive
Ever Loved	Family-created memorial pages and obituaries, searchable by city
Find a Grave	Cemetery and burial records, useful when no obituary was published

Where to Start Based on Your Situation

Situation	Start Here
Recent death (within the last few weeks)	Funeral home website, obituary databases, Google
Death more than 10 to 20 years ago	Library of Congress newspaper archive, historical and genealogy societies
Common name that is hard to narrow down	Name plus city and state, relatives’ names, maiden name
Rural or small-town death	Funeral home, church office, county genealogy society
Settling an estate	Probate records, death certificate, funeral director

How to Search Obituaries by State

Obituaries are usually published where the person lived or died, so searching state and local sources often finds records that national sites miss. In any state, check these free sources:

• The state library and state archives, which often hold digitized or microfilmed newspapers.
• The state historical society, which may keep obituary indexes and clipping files.
• State digital newspaper projects, which put local newspapers online for free.
• The state vital records office, which can confirm a date of death. Access rules differ by state: some limit death records to immediate family, while others make basic index information public.

State Newspaper Archives for Obituary Searches

Historical newspapers can help you find older obituaries and death notices. Choose the state where the person lived or died, then check the available newspapers and dates. Some resources below offer digitized newspapers; others provide research guides or newspaper indexes. Coverage and access requirements vary, and some records require a library card or an in-person visit.

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How to Find an Old Obituary for Free

Many obituaries published before the mid-2000s were never put online, so older searches need historical sources:

• Chronicling America, the Library of Congress’s free archive of historic U.S. newspapers.
• FamilySearch, for free genealogical and death records.
• County genealogy and historical societies, whose volunteers often index local obituaries that national databases miss.
• Your local library, which may have newspapers on microfilm and staff who can help search them.

Older obituaries are often indexed by publication date rather than date of death, so widen your date range by a week or two. For a step-by-step guide, see how to find an obituary from years ago.

Free vs. Paid Obituary Archives

Free sources cover most recent obituaries and many historical ones. Paid newspaper archives such as Newspapers.com, GenealogyBank, and Ancestry hold larger collections of scanned newspapers, which can help when an obituary appeared only in print decades ago or when you are researching a family over several generations.

Before you pay for a subscription, ask your public library. Many libraries give cardholders free access to newspaper databases that are not free to the public online.

Why You Might Not Find an Obituary

If a thorough search still finds nothing, one of these is usually the reason:

• No obituary was published. Publishing one is voluntary, and some families choose a private service.
• It was never digitized. It may exist only in print or on microfilm.
• The newspaper removed or moved its archive.
• The name is recorded differently than the version you are searching.

A failed search is useful information in itself. At that point, a phone call to the funeral home or the county vital records office usually works better than another round of online searching. Our article on why you can’t find an obituary explains each reason in detail, and if you only need to confirm a death, see what to do if you can’t find a death notice.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I search obituaries by name for free?

First, enter the person’s full name and city into The U.S. Will Registry’s free obituary search. Next, check the local funeral home’s website. If nothing appears, search Google for the name in quotation marks with the word “obituary.” Finally, try searching without the middle name or initial.

Is there a free obituary lookup?

Yes. The U.S. Will Registry, Legacy.com, Ever Loved, FamilySearch, and Find a Grave all let you look up obituaries or burial records for free. Funeral home websites and many local newspaper sites are also free to search.

What is the best free obituary search website?

No single site has every obituary. Therefore, for recent deaths, start with an obituary database and the funeral home’s website. For older deaths, try FamilySearch and the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America newspaper archive instead. Finally, check two or three sites to broaden your search.

How do I find obituaries by last name?

Search the last name with the word “obituary” plus a city, county, or year, or browse obituaries by location on sites that allow it. See our full guide to finding obituaries by last name.

How do I search obituaries in a specific state?

First, add the state name to your Google search. Next, check that state’s library, archives, historical society, and digital newspaper project. Additionally, the state vital records office may help you confirm a date of death. However, access rules vary by state.

Can I search obituaries free by name across the USA?

Yes. National obituary databases, including The U.S. Will Registry and Legacy.com, search obituaries from every state at once for free. Try the name without the middle name or initial. The obituary may use only the person’s first and last name. Searching both versions can help you find a record you initially missed. Add a city or state if the name is common.

How do I find an old obituary for free?

Use the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America archive, FamilySearch, county genealogy societies, and your local library’s microfilm collection. Widen your date range, since older obituaries are indexed by the date they were published.

What is the difference between an obituary and a death notice?

A death notice is a short, factual announcement, usually a name, age, and date of death. An obituary is longer and typically includes a biography, surviving family, and service details. Learn more about the difference between a death notice and an obituary.

Is an obituary proof of death?

No. Courts and financial institutions require a certified death certificate as legal proof of death. An obituary is often the first public confirmation, which makes it a useful starting point. See how to find a death certificate and why accurate death verification matters before probate.