Obituary & people search
Search Utah Obituaries
Look up obituaries, death records and people by name.
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Obituary guide
How to find an obituary in Utah
For a recent death, start with the funeral home's website and the obituary pages of the Salt Lake Tribune, the Deseret News or the local daily. For an older obituary, search Utah Digital Newspapers at the University of Utah. It has more than 9 million pages and charges no fees.
What to have ready
- Full name, including a maiden name or nickname
- Approximate date and place of death (city and county)
- Age at death or birth year
- Names of close relatives (spouse, children, parents)
Tip: Knowing the county narrows the search more than anything else, because it tells you which local paper to filter by.
Where to look, by when the person died
| When the person died | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Last few years | Funeral home websites; newspaper obituary pages (listed below); Legacy.com's Utah page |
| 1990s to recent decades | Utah Digital Newspapers (the Salt Lake Tribune through 2004); library newspaper databases such as Salt Lake City Public Library's NewsBank, with a library card |
| Older or historic | Utah Digital Newspapers (1850 on); FamilySearch's index of Utah obituaries, 1850–2005; Salt Lake County Library genealogy; Chronicling America; local genealogical societies |
| Official death record | The Utah State Archives has a death certificate index and certificate images for deaths more than 50 years ago. See how to order a Utah death record. |
Major newspapers' obituary pages
- The Salt Lake Tribune, on Legacy.com
- Deseret News
- Daily Herald (Provo)
- Standard-Examiner (Ogden)
- Legacy.com, Utah
Each page loaded without a login on our check. Older news archives usually need a subscription or a library card.
Libraries and archives
- Utah Digital Newspapers (J. Willard Marriott Library): about 400 newspapers from 1850 to 2025
- Utah State Archives: death certificates
- Salt Lake County Library genealogy
- Salt Lake City Public Library: NewsBank
- FamilySearch: Utah obituaries: an index whose images link to Utah Digital Newspapers
Timeline expectations
- Recent obituaries appear when the family or funeral home publishes them, so timing varies.
- Death certificate images are online for 1905–1958, and some later years can be browsed (1962–1963 and 1966–1970). For 1971–1975, ask the Archives. Certificates become public 50 years after death.
- Utah Digital Newspapers: coverage varies by paper.
Tips
- Utah began issuing death certificates in 1904. Use the certificate to get the exact date before searching the papers.
- The FamilySearch obituary index points to images on Utah Digital Newspapers, so it's a quick way to find the right page.
- The Salt Lake Tribune from 1872 to 2004 is on Utah Digital Newspapers, so for those years you won't need a paid archive.
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Note: Coverage years, fees and web addresses are set by the libraries, archives and newspapers listed and can change. PublicLibraries.com is not affiliated with them.