Rice County Death Records

Rice County death records are maintained at the county government services building in Faribault and at the Minnesota Department of Health in St. Paul. Rice County is one of the older counties in southeastern Minnesota, with a history that includes Faribault as a major regional center and Northfield as a college town. Death records here go back to approximately 1870 and are available through local and state channels. This guide covers how to find Rice County death certificates, search the death index online, and request copies for legal or personal use.

Rice County Court Administrator

The Rice County Court Administrator handles death records for the county. The office is at the Rice County Government Services Building on Northwest 3rd Street in Faribault. For deaths that occurred in Rice County before 1997, this is the primary local resource. Staff can search the county death index by name and date and confirm whether a certificate exists in the local system.

Rice County includes several larger communities, notably Faribault and Northfield, along with smaller towns like Lonsdale, Morristown, Dundas, and rural townships. All deaths in Rice County, regardless of the specific community, are filed here. Call (507) 332-6101 before visiting to confirm what is available and what payment is accepted. Office hours follow standard county business hours, Monday through Friday.

Rice County Online Resources

The Rice County website lists county departments and services, including the court administrator office that handles death records.

The county site gives contact details and links to the government services building in Faribault where vital records requests are processed.

The MDH death records page outlines the full statewide process for ordering a certified death certificate, covering all Minnesota counties including Rice.

MDH holds statewide death records from about 1908 forward and accepts mail, in-person, and online requests for certified copies.

Minnesota Department of Health Death Records

The Minnesota Department of Health is the central state agency for death records. MDH holds certificates for Rice County from approximately 1908 forward. Electronic statewide records begin in 1997. You can order certified or non-certified copies by mail, in person at the MDH office in St. Paul, or online through VitalChek.

The fee for a certified death certificate is $13 for the first copy and $6 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. Non-certified informational copies cost $13. Certified copies require proof of tangible interest in the record. Mail applications must be notarized and sent to MDH at P.O. Box 64882, St. Paul, MN 55164. Bring a valid photo ID for in-person requests. Call 651-201-5970 with questions. Veterans receive one free certified copy with proof of service. The full fee list is at the MDH fee schedule page.

Search the Rice County Death Index Online

The MDH Verify a Death tool is free and covers deaths from 1997 to the present. Enter a name and approximate year to confirm whether a death certificate is on file. This tool shows basic details and is a useful first check before ordering a copy.

The MNHS People Search covers Minnesota death certificates from 1904 through 2001. This free database includes Rice County deaths and is searchable by name and year. Results include the name, death date, location, and certificate number. The MNHS death records about page explains what the database covers and how to get the most out of a search.

Rice County has two college towns, Northfield (home of Carleton College and St. Olaf College) and Faribault (home of several schools). These institutions have alumni records and sometimes student death records that span back over a century. If you are researching a death connected to one of these colleges, the college archives may hold supplemental information beyond what appears in the official death index.

MNHS People Search for Rice County

The MNHS People Search indexes Rice County death certificates from 1904 to 2001 and is free to search at any time.

Search by name to find the certificate number, then use that number to order a copy from MDH or the Rice County Court Administrator in Faribault.

How to Request a Rice County Death Certificate

Death certificates for Rice County are available through the local courthouse or MDH. Here is how each method works.

In Person: Go to the Rice County Government Services Building at 320 NW 3rd St in Faribault. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID. Staff can search the index and process most requests the same day. If you are not an immediate family member of the deceased, be prepared to state your reason for the request. Same-day processing is standard for in-person visits.

By Mail: Send a written request to the Rice County Court Administrator or to MDH at P.O. Box 64882, St. Paul, MN 55164. All mail requests to MDH must include a notarized application form. Include payment by check or money order payable to the Minnesota Department of Health. Do not include cash. Expect one to three weeks for mail processing.

Online: VitalChek, accessed through the MDH website, accepts online certified copy orders for a convenience fee beyond the state fee. This option delivers a certified copy by mail. For quick verification, use the free Verify a Death tool on the MDH site. Rice County does not have its own online ordering portal; all online requests go through the MDH/VitalChek system.

Minnesota Statutes on Death Records

Death registration and access in Minnesota are controlled by Minnesota Statute 144.221, which requires registration of all deaths, and Minnesota Statute 144.225, which sets access rules for certified and non-certified copies. The data practices statute at Minnesota Statute 13.10 classifies vital records and restricts certain fields from general access. These statutes apply to Rice County and all other Minnesota counties equally.

For most family history and research purposes, a non-certified copy gives enough information. For legal uses such as estate settlement, insurance, name changes, and government benefits, a certified copy is required. Certified copies are issued only to those with a tangible interest: a close family member, legal representative, or person with a court order. Non-certified copies can be obtained by anyone without showing a specific interest.

Genealogy Research in Rice County

Rice County was organized in 1853 and is one of the original counties in Minnesota. Faribault grew quickly as a regional center, and the county attracted large numbers of Norwegian, German, and Irish settlers in the mid-to-late 1800s. Death records from this era are plentiful compared to more recently settled parts of Minnesota.

The Rice County Historical Society in Faribault holds genealogy collections, obituary files, cemetery records, and family history materials. Northfield has additional historical resources through the Northfield Historical Society. Both organizations welcome research inquiries. The Faribault Daily News and the Northfield News have long publishing histories and both papers have some issues digitized in historical newspaper databases.

Carleton College and St. Olaf College in Northfield both maintain archives with historical records that can be relevant for researchers tracing deaths connected to those institutions. FamilySearch and Ancestry both include Rice County death records in their Minnesota collections. Free library access to these databases is available at the Faribault Public Library and at most other Minnesota public libraries.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Rice County in southeastern Minnesota.