Find Easley South Carolina Death Records
Easley is the largest city in Pickens County and a center for vital records services in the upstate South Carolina foothills. Death records for Easley residents are maintained at the state and county level, with access routes depending on the date of death and your relationship to the deceased. This guide covers how to get a certified Easley death certificate, how the Pickens County Coroner's Office handles death investigations, which online databases support searching, and where to find historical death records at the local library.
Easley Quick Facts
Easley Death Certificates from State and County
Certified death certificates for Easley residents are issued by the South Carolina Department of Public Health. The state DPH Vital Records office is at 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201, phone (803) 898-3630. Records go back to January 1, 1915, and all ordering options are listed at dph.sc.gov/public/vital-records/death-certificates. The Pickens County DPH regional office at 200 McDaniel Avenue, Pickens, SC 29671, phone (864) 898-5950, also processes requests for deaths that occurred in the county.
Mail requests to the state cost $12 and take about four weeks. Online orders through VitalChek are $17 and arrive in five to seven business days. GoCertificates offers the same service at $17. Each additional certified copy is $3. Bring a government-issued photo ID for in-person requests. If you are picking up records for a deceased family member, bring documentation of your relationship to the decedent.
The image below comes from the official City of Easley website, which provides municipal services and can point residents to the right offices for death records, vital records, and other city services.
The City of Easley at 206 E. Main Street, Easley, SC 29640, phone (864) 855-7900, website cityofeasley.com, does not issue death certificates. All certified death certificate requests go to the county or state DPH office.
Pickens County Coroner and Easley Death Investigations
The Pickens County Coroner, Andrew Wilson, investigates deaths in Easley that are unexpected, violent, suspicious, or occur outside medical care. The Coroner's Office is at 216 C. David Stone Road, Pickens, SC 29671, phone (864) 898-5561. The coroner certifies cause and manner of death, and that determination becomes part of the official death certificate filed with the state vital records system. For deaths that occur at home or in accidents, the coroner often plays a central role in completing the registration process.
Coroner investigative reports and autopsy files are separate documents from the death certificate itself. Immediate family members and legal representatives may request these from the Coroner's Office. These records are used in insurance claims, estate proceedings, and legal actions related to the death. All Easley deaths are within the Pickens County Coroner's jurisdiction.
The image below is from the Pickens County government website, which covers county departments including the Coroner's Office that handles Easley death investigations and certifications.
Pickens County government resources, including department contact information, are available at pickens.sc.gov.
Searching Easley Death Records Online
The Pickens County Public Index at publicindex.sccourts.org/pickens/publicindex/ provides online access to probate and estate filings for Pickens County. These records often confirm a death date, identify heirs, and document estate settlements for Easley residents. Searching the public index is free and does not require a court account.
The statewide probate index at scprobate.net lets you search all 46 South Carolina counties from one tool. FamilySearch has free South Carolina death collections that include Pickens County records. The SC Department of Archives and History at scdah.sc.gov, phone (803) 896-6100, holds a statewide death index from 1915 to 1960. The state library genealogy guide at guides.statelibrary.sc.gov/genealogy organizes all these tools for researchers who are new to South Carolina vital records searching.
Note: Searching the SC Archives death index before placing a certificate request can confirm that a record exists and save time on requests that come back with no results.
Historical Easley Death Records and Library Access
The Captain Kimberly Hampton Memorial Library of the Pickens County Library System at 304 Biltmore Road, Easley, SC 29640, phone (864) 850-7077, website pickens.lib.sc.us, serves Easley residents and the surrounding community. The library provides access to South Carolina genealogy resources including obituary files, local newspaper death notices, and reference materials for Pickens County family history research. Staff can help guide you to the right collection for your research period.
For deaths before 1915, the most useful sources are Pickens County probate records, church burial registers, and cemetery records from the area's many historic congregations. Easley developed as a mill town in the late 19th century, and the county's records from that period survive in the SC Archives. Original probate packets for Pickens County going back to the early 1800s are held at the SC Archives and are available on microfilm for in-person research visits. These packets often include estate inventories, witness names, and family relationships that help confirm older death information.
The SC DPH genealogy death index at dph.sc.gov/public/vital-records/indexes-data/death-indexes-genealogy covers deaths from 1915 forward statewide. Searching by name and Pickens County gives a quick result before you place a formal certificate order. The index does not include all biographical detail but confirms whether a death record is on file for a given name and approximate year.
Vital Records Law and Easley Death Records Access
South Carolina's vital records statute at Title 44, Chapter 63 governs death registration and access for Easley records. The full text is at scstatehouse.gov/code/t44c063.php. Statewide registration of deaths has been required since January 1, 1915. Section 44-63-74 requires the attending physician or coroner to file a completed death certificate within five days of the death. South Carolina completed its move to electronic death registration in 2022, reducing delays in the process for Easley deaths.
Section 44-63-84 limits access to death certificates filed within the last 50 years. Only the decedent's immediate family members can receive a full certified copy during this restricted period. Spouses, parents, children, siblings, and grandparents all qualify. Others may receive a statement confirming the death but not the full record. After 50 years, the death certificate is open to any person who requests it. Submitting a fraudulent request for an Easley death certificate is a felony under Section 44-63-161 of South Carolina law.
Pickens County Death Records
All death records for Easley residents are part of the Pickens County vital records system. The county page below covers the full Pickens County office network, historical resources, and access information for all deaths that occurred within the county.
Nearby South Carolina Cities
These nearby South Carolina cities share the same upstate vital records system and genealogy resources as Easley.