What is the Deaths Index?

It is an index to the deaths registers that have been produced since compulsory civil registration of deaths began in England and Wales on 1st July 1837 (although penalties for non-registration were not introduced until 1875). The index is maintained by the General Register Office (GRO).
The deaths registers themselves are not available to the public but anyone can inspect the index to the registers.
The details given in the deaths index may be helpful in themselves but they are usually used to find the details necessary for ordering a copy of a death certificate.
In particular, the deaths index gives you the 'GRO index reference' for each death. The 'GRO index reference' consists of the details given in the volume and page columns for each death entry.
For a useful guide to how the deaths index is arranged and what it contains, click the link 'Family History at the FRC' on the Family Records Centre's 'Research' page.
See also Where can I search the deaths index?

Page last updated: 27th January 2006