Fort Smith Death Index Database
Fort Smith holds a special place in Arkansas death record history. The city kept its own birth and death records starting in 1881, more than 30 years before the state began mandatory death registration in 1914. That makes Fort Smith one of a small number of places in Arkansas where death records predate the statewide system. If you are searching the Fort Smith Death Index, you may find what you need through the Fort Smith Public Library for older records, the Arkansas Department of Health for certified certificates from 1914 forward, or the Sebastian County Circuit Clerk for court-related death records. This page covers all of those sources and helps you understand which office holds what.
Fort Smith Death Index Overview
Fort Smith Death Certificate Requests
Certified death certificates for Fort Smith residents are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, at 4815 West Markham Street, Slot 44, Little Rock, AR 72205. Call (501) 661-2174 or toll-free (800) 637-9314. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, with walk-in requests needing to arrive by 3:00 PM for same-day service. The state office in Little Rock is the only place that issues official certified copies for deaths registered after February 1, 1914. The Fort Smith city records predating 1914 are a separate category handled through the library and historical archives described below.
The first certified copy of a death certificate costs $10.00. Each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time is $8.00. Photo ID is required. For deaths less than 50 years old, access is restricted to immediate family members and legal representatives under Arkansas Code § 20-18-305. Once a record passes the 50-year mark, it becomes publicly accessible and can be requested by anyone without showing a family connection. Online orders go through VitalChek, the official state-authorized platform, which adds $5.00 for processing and $1.85 for identity verification. Mail requests go to the Little Rock address with a completed application, a copy of your ID, and payment by check or money order made out to "Arkansas Department of Health."
Note: The Fort Smith city records from 1881 to 1924 are held at the Fort Smith Public Library, not at the Department of Health. Those pre-1914 records are not accessible through VitalChek or the standard certificate ordering process.
Fort Smith Public Library Death Records Collection
The Fort Smith Public Library maintains one of the most significant local death record collections in Arkansas. The library holds Fort Smith City Death Records covering 1881 through 1924, which are updated periodically as new materials are digitized or indexed. Fort Smith City Birth Records for 1881 through 1921 are also part of the collection. Sebastian County Marriage Records from 1863 through June 2001 are available as well. These holdings reflect Fort Smith's status as a city that maintained its own vital records before the state system existed, and the library has preserved that history in a form that researchers can access.
The library's cemetery indexes cover several major Fort Smith burial grounds, including Calvary, Forest Park, Rose Lawn, U.S. National Cemetery, Washington, and Woodlawn. Cemetery records give you burial dates and sometimes additional biographical information that can confirm a death and help you locate the right certificate. The U.S. National Cemetery index is particularly useful for veterans, as those records often include military service information and may point to pension files that document the death in more detail. Library staff can assist with research visits and help you navigate the indexes if you are not sure where to start.
Because Fort Smith kept birth and death records before state-level registration began, some researchers will find everything they need at the library for deaths before 1914. For deaths after 1913, the library's collection overlaps with the state Death Index from 1914 through 1924, giving you two independent sources to cross-reference. That overlap is useful for catching errors in one system or confirming details that appear unclear in the other.
Sebastian County Resources for Fort Smith Death Records
Deaths in Fort Smith fall under Sebastian County jurisdiction for court and estate matters. The Sebastian County Circuit Clerk maintains two offices. The Fort Smith office is at 901 South B Street, Room 205, Fort Smith, AR 72901. Phone: (479) 782-1046. Fax: (479) 784-1580. The Greenwood office is at 301 East Center Street, Greenwood, AR 72936. Phone: (479) 996-2817. Both offices are open Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
The Circuit Clerk handles civil, criminal, domestic relations, and probate court records for Sebastian County. When a Fort Smith resident died and left property or debts, a probate case may have been opened. Estate files from those cases contain death dates, lists of heirs, and documentation of asset transfers. They are public records and can be a strong secondary source when a death certificate is unavailable or when you need to confirm information that appears on a certificate. Online access to court records is available through the Arkansas CourtConnect portal for cases from June 2015 forward. Older pre-2015 cases are in the iSeries system, which requires contacting the Circuit Clerk directly for access.
The Arkansas CourtConnect portal provides online access to Sebastian County court records from June 2015 forward, including probate cases tied to Fort Smith deaths that can support Death Index research.
The Fort Smith FOIA portal at the city level is managed through the Fort Smith City Clerk at 623 Garrison Avenue, Fort Smith, AR 72901. Phone: (479) 784-2201. The City Clerk handles FOIA requests at www.fortsmithar.gov/foia for city-level records. Under Arkansas FOIA § 25-19-101, public records must be provided within 3 business days, with copies at $0.25 per page for standard documents. The City Clerk does not hold death certificates but is the right office for city records requests tied to events surrounding a death.
FamilySearch and Genealogical Sources for Fort Smith Deaths
FamilySearch holds dedicated collections for Sebastian County that are free to search online. The FamilySearch Sebastian County births and deaths page covers birth records from 1877 to 1913 and death records from 1881 to 1929. Those death records overlap with the early Fort Smith city records at the public library and give you another indexed source to check if the library materials are inconclusive. FamilySearch also holds probate records, land records, and marriage records for Sebastian County that can support research when you know someone died in the Fort Smith area but cannot pinpoint the exact date or certificate number.
The Arkansas Genealogical Society publishes guides and maintains indexed collections for multiple Arkansas counties, including Sebastian County. Membership provides access to additional research databases and expert guidance for navigating both the older city records and the state-level Death Index system. The Society is a good resource when your research covers multiple record types or spans the transition from city records to statewide registration in 1914.
The Arkansas Genealogical Society provides indexed collections and research guides that cover Sebastian County, making it a useful resource for Fort Smith Death Index research that spans the pre-1914 city records and the statewide system.
The Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock holds the statewide Death Index for 1914 through 1949 and the In Remembrance Database for 1819 through 1920. Both are searchable for Fort Smith deaths. The Arkansas Digital Archives Death Records Index for 1935 through 1961 is free to search online by name and county and can help you locate a certificate number before placing a formal order with the Department of Health.
Death Registration Law and Fort Smith Records
Arkansas required all counties to begin registering deaths on February 1, 1914, under what became Arkansas Code § 20-18-601, which sets a 10-day window for death registration. But Fort Smith had been recording deaths locally since 1881, well ahead of that requirement. The transition from city recordkeeping to state registration in 1914 means researchers have two overlapping systems for Fort Smith deaths between 1914 and 1924: the city records at the public library and the state Death Index. Both should be checked when researching a death in that period.
Compliance with the state registration requirement was not uniform statewide in the early years, but Fort Smith's existing municipal system gave it a head start. Deaths in Fort Smith from 1914 onward are generally well-documented in the state Death Index. The bigger gap in Fort Smith research involves deaths between roughly 1825 and 1881, where only scattered records exist through church registers, cemetery indexes, and probate files. For that period, the Washington County Archives and the Fort Smith Public Library's historical collection are the main options, along with FamilySearch and the Arkansas State Archives In Remembrance Database.
The 50-year public access rule under § 20-18-305 means Fort Smith deaths before the mid-1970s are now publicly accessible. Anyone can request those records, and no family relationship needs to be shown. For more recent deaths, family members or legal representatives must present identification and documentation of their relationship to the deceased before a certified copy will be issued.
Nearby Cities
Other qualifying cities near Fort Smith have dedicated Death Index pages with local office contacts and search resources.