Civil Records: Deaths

The death record (Acte de décès) may contain the following identification information about the decedent:

• given name and surname 
• marital status. If the deceased was married, it may give the name of the spouse, indicating whether the spouse is dead or alive.
• nationality, or whether the deceased was a native Frenchman
• profession
• place of birth of the deceased and, frequently, the date of birth
• names and surnames of the parents of the deceased  
• cause of death of the deceased
• cemetery in which the deceased was buried​
• names of the children of the deceased, if any.​
  

Deaths from the early years of civil registration should be searched with special care as they may give information about people born in the eighteenth century with greater detail than the parish records. Such records are especially important where parish records have been destroyed.

Before the invention of photocopies, when people requested a copy of a death record, the civil registration officials would provide a certified copy or extract of the record. The French terms used to refer to these are usually: Acte de décès and copié or certificat de décès.