Nova Scotia Archives

Nova Scotia Births, Marriages, and Deaths

Death Registrations ~ 1864-1877; 1908-1972

Civil registration of deaths in Nova Scotia began in 1864, continued to 1877, then lapsed until 1908, when the province resumed record-keeping. Registrations for 1864-1877 are incomplete. There are two registers for the City of Halifax 1890-1908. Since 1 October 1908, the records have been maintained without interruption.

Death registrations normally include the following information, although many details will be missing from the early records:

  • surname and given name
  • sex
  • date of death
  • place of death
  • date of birth
  • age
  • place of birth
  • residence
  • occupation
  • marital status
  • name of spouse
  • name of father
  • name of mother
  • name of attending physician
  • name of funeral director
  • disposition
  • place of disposition
  • name of informant
  • address of informant
  • relationship to deceased
  • date of registration
  • registration number
  • date of issue
1864-1877

Records are in ledger form, with many entries spread across two facing pages.

1890-1908 (City of Halifax only)

Records are in ledger form, with many entries spread across two facing pages.

1 October 1908-1972

Records from 1908 to 1919 are in ledger form, with six (6) entries on each page.

Records from 1919 to 1972 are single-page registration forms.

1973-present

Records remain with Vital Statistics, Service Nova Scotia. Please contact them for further assistance.

previous

                FR

Nova Scotia Archives — https://archives.novascotia.ca/vital-statistics/death-registrations/

Crown copyright © 2024, Province of Nova Scotia.