GuidedResearch:Why Can't I Find the Record - Netherlands Deaths (2024)

FAQs

How to check if someone died in the Netherlands? ›

The Nationaal Register Overledenen – NRO (national register of deceased persons) contains personal data of residents in the Netherlands who have died since 1939. The register includes, for example, dates of birth and addresses. You can request information from the NRO, for example for genealogical research.

You request this in the municipality where the person died. You will then get a copy or a multiple-language (international) extract of the certificate. The original certificate remains the property of the municipality.

In 2020, just over 150,000 people passed away in the Netherlands. The most common causes of death were neoplasms, diseases of the circulatory system as well as mental and behavioural disorders.

Online death indexes

Familysearch.com has a database that provides information based on each state's death records.

Online obituaries and death notices

Typically, discovering if an individual has passed away is facilitated by perusing obituaries available on various online platforms. The practice of sharing obituaries and death notices on the internet has surged in popularity over the last few years.

The embassy or consulate can make enquiries

The embassy or consulate will then contact the local authorities, such as the municipality or the police. If you receive information from anyone else about the situation of your partner, relative or friend, let the ministry know immediately.

The common procedure when someone passes away in the Netherlands, is that a funeral director or undertaker (begrafenisondernemer) will assist the family in making arrangements. This will include picking a date for the service, reporting the death to the municipality, but also taking care of the body.

If you need to prove a birth, decease, marriage, divorce or partner registration, you need a copy or extract from the civil registry. A copy (afschrift) contains all the data from the certificate from the civil registry. An extract (uittreksel) contains limited information from the certificate.

Personal data in the BRP

Municipalities record the personal data of all residents in the BRP. These data include marriage, the birth of a child, or a change of address. If someone moves to another municipality, their personal data moves with them.

In 2020, Dutch men had an average life expectancy at birth of 79.7 years. For women, this was 83.1 years. These ages were still 70.3 and 72.6 years in 1950.

How many murders in the Netherlands per year? ›

The Dutch murder rate continues to fall, with 128 people dying a violent death last year, compared with 142 in 2022, according to police figures. Twenty years ago 247 people were murdered in the Netherlands. Most murders – 11 – were committed in Rotterdam.

Within these main disease groups, coronary heart disease caused the highest disease burden, followed by diabetes mellitus, stroke, anxiety disorders, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), lung cancer, mood disorders, and neck and back problems.

Funeral home records vary in format and content, but they can all be valuable for determining someone's death date. Check genealogical and historical societies; state, county, and local libraries; and municipal archives for possible holdings.

The National Vital Statistics System analyzes ~2.8 million records each year to produce timely and accurate information on death and its causes in the United States.

Local newspapers, obituary pages, and social media can help you determine whether someone recently died. States and the U.S. government have online death records (sometimes called death indexes) for deaths within the past 50 years or so. To find out if you're in someone's will, you may want to visit a probate court.