Search St. Francis County Death Index
St. Francis County death records are held at the Arkansas Department of Health in Little Rock, not at the Forrest City courthouse. If you need to search the Death Index or get a certified copy of a death certificate for someone who died in St. Francis County, this page covers the state vital records process, what local offices maintain in Forrest City, and how to use historical databases and genealogy collections that reach back to 1914 and beyond. St. Francis County is in the Arkansas Delta region, with a history of strong community ties and records that span nearly two centuries since the county's founding in 1827.
St. Francis County Death Index Overview
St. Francis County Death Certificate Requests
All certified copies of death certificates for St. Francis County residents are issued by the Arkansas Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, at 4815 West Markham Street, Slot 44, Little Rock, AR 72205. The main phone number is (501) 661-2174, and the toll-free number is (800) 637-9314. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Same-day service requires arriving by 3:00 PM. No copies are available at the St. Francis County courthouse in Forrest City or at local health offices. Every request, whether in person, by mail, or online, routes through Little Rock.
The fee is $10.00 for the first certified copy and $8.00 for each additional copy of the same record requested at the same time. If a search turns up no record, the $10.00 search fee is still charged and is non-refundable. Photo ID is required for all requests. Records less than 50 years old are restricted to immediate family and authorized legal representatives under Arkansas Code § 20-18-305. Records 50 years and older are open to the public without requiring proof of a family connection.
Online orders go through VitalChek, the state-authorized ordering platform for Arkansas vital records. VitalChek adds $5.00 for processing and $1.85 for identity verification on top of the certificate fee. Mail requests should include a completed application, a copy of your photo ID, and a check or money order payable to "Arkansas Department of Health" sent to the Little Rock address. The local St. Francis County health unit in Forrest City can answer general questions but does not issue copies directly.
State-by-state death certification law summaries cover the Arkansas requirements that apply to all St. Francis County death records, including registration timelines, physician duties, and public access rules.
St. Francis County Clerk and Probate Records
The St. Francis County Clerk is located at the courthouse in Forrest City, Arkansas. The Clerk handles marriage records, probate filings, county court documents, and administrative records. Marriage records in St. Francis County go back to around 1827, when the county was established and named for the St. Francis River. That long run of marriage data is one of the county's most valuable assets for genealogical research. When tracing a family line that includes a St. Francis County death, marriage records often provide the spouse's name, approximate birth year, and family connections that help confirm the correct death certificate.
Probate records held by the St. Francis County Clerk are a strong secondary source for death research. When a St. Francis County resident died and left property or debts, a probate case was typically opened in Forrest City. Those estate files contain dates of death, surviving heirs, property inventories, and often letters testamentary that confirm basic facts about the death event. For deaths before 1914, when state registration had not yet begun, probate records and church registers are frequently the only documentary evidence that a death occurred. The Clerk's office is the best starting point in Forrest City for both records types.
Death certificates have never been held at the county level in Arkansas. Registration has gone to the state since February 1, 1914, and the County Clerk can refer you to the correct agency if you arrive in Forrest City looking for a death certificate.
Circuit Clerk and Court Records in St. Francis County
The St. Francis County Circuit Clerk maintains civil and criminal court records, land documents, and divorce filings for the county. The Circuit Clerk also serves as the ex-officio county recorder. Property records here can help trace transfers that follow a death in Forrest City or elsewhere in the county. When a St. Francis County resident died and their land passed to heirs, the deed transfer typically appears in the Circuit Clerk's records. For estate disputes that went through the courts, additional detail about the death and surviving heirs is often found in case files that do not appear in the Death Index itself.
The Arkansas CourtConnect portal provides online access to court case indexes across the state. Searching by the name of a deceased St. Francis County resident can bring up probate cases, estate litigation, and related civil filings. Case documents are not always available through the portal, but the index entries confirm whether a filing exists and provide a case number to use when requesting copies from the Forrest City clerk's office. Court records are public under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act § 25-19-101, with standard exceptions for juvenile, adoption, and protected matters. Copies cost $0.25 per page, and agencies must respond to written requests within three business days.
Historical St. Francis County Death Records
St. Francis County was established October 13, 1827, named for the St. Francis River that defines much of the eastern boundary of the region. It is one of the older counties in Arkansas, with nearly two centuries of record history. The Delta setting means agricultural records, plantation documents, and church registers are part of the local historical landscape and sometimes provide evidence of deaths that predate or fall outside the formal registration system. Early compliance with state registration requirements was uneven in Delta counties, so some deaths from the first decade after 1914 may not appear in the index even though they occurred during that period.
The Arkansas Digital Heritage Death Records Index covers 1935 to 1961 and is searchable online at no cost. It provides certificate numbers for St. Francis County deaths in that range, which you can then use to order the full document from the Department of Health. The Arkansas State Archives in Little Rock holds the statewide Death Index for 1914 through 1949 and the In Remembrance Database for deaths going back to 1819. FamilySearch offers free access to indexed collections for Arkansas vital records and includes county-specific notes for St. Francis County that document known record sets and their locations.
Ancestry.com carries Arkansas Death Certificates from 1914 to 1969. MyHeritage holds the Arkansas Deaths and Death Index for 1935 to 1961. The Arkansas Genealogical Society provides county-level research guides and can point researchers toward specific St. Francis County collections, including cemetery transcriptions and local historical indexes that cover deaths before formal registration began.
VitalChek is the official online ordering service for all Arkansas death certificates, including St. Francis County records from 1914 forward, and provides order tracking without a follow-up call to the state office.
St. Francis County Death Registration Law
Arkansas required death registration beginning February 1, 1914. Under Arkansas Code § 20-18-601, deaths must be registered within 10 days and the attending physician must complete the medical certification within three business days. Today, records are filed electronically, but older St. Francis County records exist only in paper or on microfilm held at the state archives. The State Registrar's authority over all Arkansas vital records is set by § 20-18-203.
The 50-year public access rule under § 20-18-305 means St. Francis County deaths before the mid-1970s are now open to anyone. No family relationship is required to request those older records. More recent deaths remain restricted to immediate family and authorized legal representatives, with photo ID required for all in-person and mail requests.
Cities in St. Francis County
No cities in St. Francis County currently meet the population threshold for a dedicated records page. Forrest City is the county seat and largest community. Wynne, Hughes, and Madison are smaller communities in the county. For death records tied to any of those towns, use the county resources listed on this page.
Nearby Counties
Deaths near the St. Francis County border may have been recorded in a neighboring county. Check these nearby county pages for local Death Index access and courthouse contact information.