Nevada County Death Index
Nevada County is located in southwest Arkansas, and its Death Index holds records for families from Prescott and the smaller communities scattered across this part of the state. Death certificates for Nevada County have been filed with the Arkansas Department of Health in Little Rock since February 1, 1914, not with any local county office. This page explains how to request those certificates by mail, in person, or online through the state's authorized system, what secondary records exist locally through the county clerk and circuit clerk, and how to locate older death records through state archives and historical collections. All of these tools are covered here in one place.
Nevada County Death Index Overview
Requesting Nevada County Death Records
Death certificates for deaths in Nevada County are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Health, Division of Vital Records. The office is at 4815 West Markham Street, Slot 44, Little Rock, AR 72205. Call (501) 661-2174 or toll-free (800) 637-9314. Walk-in hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, and you should arrive before 3:00 PM for same-day processing. The Nevada County Local Health Unit in Prescott can help you identify whether you are reaching the right agency and may be able to answer basic questions about the request process.
The cost for a certified death certificate is $10.00 for the first copy and $8.00 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time. If the Department of Health searches for a record and cannot find it, the $10.00 fee is still charged. That is a nonrefundable search fee. You must present a government-issued photo ID with every request. Under Arkansas Code § 20-18-305, records less than 50 years old are restricted. Only immediate family members, legal representatives, and people with a direct and tangible interest may access them. Deaths older than 50 years are public and open to anyone.
For online orders, use VitalChek, the state-authorized platform. VitalChek adds a $5.00 processing fee and $1.85 for identity verification. Mail-in requests go to the Little Rock address with a completed application, copy of photo ID, and a check or money order payable to "Arkansas Department of Health."
The Arkansas CourtConnect portal lets you search probate and court case indexes statewide, including Nevada County estate filings that can help confirm a death when a certificate is restricted or not yet located.
Nevada County Clerk and Probate Office
The Nevada County Clerk is located at the courthouse in Prescott. This office maintains probate court records, marriage licenses, and county court filings. Death certificates are not held here. That has always been a state function. But probate records are one of the most practical secondary resources for death research. When someone died in Nevada County and left property or debts, a probate case was often opened. Those files contain dates of death, lists of heirs, inventories, and sometimes a copy of a will. All of that can help confirm the circumstances of a death, identify the correct certificate, and establish eligibility for a restricted record request.
Marriage records in the County Clerk's office go back to approximately 1871, the year Nevada County was formed. Those records are useful for genealogy work and for establishing family relationships. If you are trying to request a restricted death certificate on behalf of a spouse or child, a marriage record or birth record can document that relationship and satisfy the eligibility requirement under state law.
Note: Nevada County Clerk records are available in person during regular courthouse hours. Call ahead to confirm current hours and whether any records in your date range have been transferred to storage or microfilm.
Circuit Clerk Court Records in Nevada County
The Nevada County Circuit Clerk, also at the Prescott courthouse, maintains civil, criminal, domestic relations, probate court case files, and real estate records. As ex-officio county recorder, the Circuit Clerk records deeds, mortgages, and liens. Land transfer records are particularly useful for death research. When a person died and their property was conveyed to heirs or sold to pay estate debts, that transaction was recorded with the Circuit Clerk. Deed records from the early 1900s forward can confirm approximate death dates even when a certificate has not been located.
Court records in Arkansas are public under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, § 25-19-101. Written requests must be fulfilled within three business days. Document copies cost $0.25 per page. The Arkansas CourtConnect portal allows online searching of case indexes for the state, including Nevada County. Search that system by name to find probate case numbers, then follow up with the Circuit Clerk for copies of specific documents. Older cases from the early registration era may require an in-person visit or written request to the Prescott office.
Historical Death Records in Nevada County
Nevada County was established March 20, 1871, and named after the state of Nevada, which had entered the union just a few years earlier. The county's formation came during Reconstruction, and families who settled here in the decades that followed left records through a mix of church registers, cemetery logs, and eventually state vital records after 1914. Pre-1914 death research relies on those informal sources, since no official certificate system existed in Arkansas before that date.
The Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock holds the Death Index for 1914 through 1949. Searching that index by name and county can identify a certificate number, which you then use to request a copy from the Department of Health. For deaths between 1935 and 1961, the Arkansas Digital Archives Death Records Index is free and searchable online. Always check that digital index first for deaths in that range. It can save you the nonrefundable search fee if the state office would otherwise have to perform a manual lookup.
FamilySearch holds compiled genealogical records for Nevada County, including some probate entries and land records. Local cemeteries have been inventoried by genealogical volunteers, and those records are sometimes available through county libraries or local historical groups. The Arkansas Genealogical Society maintains a library in Hot Springs that includes published histories and death registers from southwest Arkansas counties, and membership provides access to expanded research materials.
VitalChek is the state-authorized online service for ordering Nevada County death certificates, covering all deaths registered with the Arkansas Department of Health from 1914 to the present.
Death Registration Law and Public Access
Arkansas death registration has been mandatory since February 1, 1914. Under Arkansas Code § 20-18-601, a death must be registered within 10 days. The attending physician or medical certifier completes their section within three business days of the death. Electronic filing is now standard, but records from the 1914 to 1940s period exist in paper or microfilm format only. Rural counties like Nevada had inconsistent compliance in the first two decades of registration, so some early deaths may not appear in the index even when they are known to have occurred.
The 50-year public access rule under § 20-18-305 means Nevada County death records older than approximately 50 years are available to any member of the public. No family relationship is required to request those records. For deaths within the past 50 years, the requester must document eligibility. The State Registrar's authority over death records, including the system that cross-references birth and death registrations to prevent fraud, is established under § 20-18-203. That statute also sets the framework for how the registrar manages the statewide database used for Nevada County and all other Arkansas counties.
Note: The standard FOIA document copy fee of $0.25 per page applies to court records. Vital records fees are separate and set by the Department of Health under a different fee schedule.
Cities in Nevada County
No cities in Nevada County currently meet the population threshold for a dedicated records page. Prescott is the county seat and the largest community. For death records tied to any Nevada County town, use the resources on this county page.
Nearby Counties
Deaths near the Nevada County border may have been recorded in a neighboring county. Check these county pages for local court contacts and search resources.