Find a Grave Florida by Name —
Cemetery & Burial Records Search
From colonial Spanish burial grounds in St. Augustine to the fastest-growing state in America — your complete guide to searching Florida cemetery and burial records by name.
Florida’s cemetery records span five centuries — from Spanish colonial burial grounds in St. Augustine (founded 1565, the oldest continuously occupied European city in the US) to massive modern memorial parks serving Florida’s population of over 22 million. With 67 counties, a uniquely diverse immigrant heritage from across the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe, and the Florida Death Index available free online back to 1877, Florida offers some of the most accessible burial records in the nation.
🔎 How to Search Florida Graves by Name — Micro Step-by-Step
- Go to findgraveusa.org — Florida and enter the person’s full name in the search bar.
- Use the county filter to narrow results — Florida has 67 counties and common surnames return hundreds of statewide results without county filtering.
- Click any result to open the full burial record: cemetery name, address, plot number, burial date, and headstone photo if available.
- No results? Try surname only first, then search maiden names for married women. Many older Florida headstones prominently display the maiden name.
- Visit findagrave.com — Florida Cemeteries. No account required to search basic records.
- Use wildcards for uncertain spelling:
?replaces one letter,*replaces multiple. Essential for immigrant surnames and phonetic spelling variants common in Florida records. - Click “More Search Options” to filter by birth/death year range and specific Florida county.
- No headstone photo? Click “Request Photo” on any memorial — a local Florida volunteer typically photographs it within days at no cost.
- For Florida’s famous graves: use the “Famous Memorials” filter — Florida has 1,900+ notable figures indexed.
- Visit www.floridamemory.com/ — the official Florida state archives and primary repository for historical records.
- Search the free online death certificate database and county-level cemetery surveys, church records, and genealogy collections.
- In-person research: 500 S. Bronough St., Tallahassee, FL 32399. Phone: (850) 245-6700.
- Many state archives are FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries — free in-person access to restricted digital collections not available online at home.
- Visit billiongraves.com and search by name in Florida. Results show GPS-tagged headstone photos with exact grave coordinates.
- Click “View on Map” to see the grave’s precise position within the cemetery — navigate directly to any indexed grave.
- Download the BillionGraves app before visiting a Florida cemetery — it provides turn-by-turn navigation to any indexed grave within the grounds.
- Create a free account at familysearch.org — no cost, no subscription ever required.
- Search “Florida Deaths” in the Search → Records section to see all available indexed collections for this state.
- Also search county-level collections in Search → Catalog by typing the Florida county name plus “cemetery” for microfilmed cemetery records.
- For church burial records predating statewide registration: search “Florida church records” in the FamilySearch catalog — Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, and Catholic church registers are often available.
Pro tip: When you find a burial record, immediately cross-reference with FamilySearch census records for the same name and approximate birth year. Census entries reveal parents, siblings, neighbors, and often the county of origin — dramatically expanding your family tree beyond what any headstone alone can provide.
📊 All Florida Burial Record Databases — Free vs. Paid
Database | What It Covers | Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
Florida cemetery burial records searchable by name and county | Free | First stop for any Florida burial search | |
Millions of Florida memorials; wildcard search; photo request | Free | Headstone photos, memorial pages, family links | |
GPS-tagged headstone photos; in-cemetery navigation | Free | Finding exact grave location inside large cemeteries | |
Florida death records; county microfilm; church registers | Free | Historical death records; pre-registration research | |
Official Florida historical records; county records; cemetery surveys | Free | Official records research; state archives access | |
County-organized transcriptions from original cemetery registers | Free | High-accuracy transcriptions from official registers | |
Veterans buried in VA national cemeteries in Florida | Free | Military and veteran burial searches | |
Certified Florida death certificates | $5 first copy | Legal/official proof of death; parents’ names and details |
🗺️ Search Florida Burial Records by County
Florida has 67 counties. Click any county below to browse its indexed cemeteries on Find a Grave — all URLs verified working:
Browse all Florida counties at Find a Grave Florida or use Interment.net Florida for county-organized transcriptions from official records.
🪦 Notable Florida Cemeteries — History, Location & Search Links
Florida’s historic cemeteries are living documents of American history. These are the most significant and most-searched burial grounds in the state — with verified, clickable search links for each.
- Established 1821 — oldest Protestant cemetery in Florida
- Colonial and antebellum St. Augustine community leaders
- Near the historic St. Augustine city gates; free walking tours
- Address: 11 Huguenot Ave, St. Augustine, FL 32084
- Florida’s oldest continuous city dates to Spanish colonial era 1565
- One of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing national cemeteries
- All conflicts from WWI through present day — over 100,000 burials
- 800+ acres; serves the entire state of Florida
- Address: 6502 SW 102nd Ave, Bushnell, FL 33513
- Phone: (352) 793-7740 · Free search via VA Gravesite Locator
- Established 1913 — one of Miami’s largest and oldest cemeteries
- 75,000+ burials; diverse Miami community history
- Mayor Maurice Ferre and many prominent Miami families buried here
- Address: 3260 SW 8th St, Miami, FL 33135
- Phone: (305) 445-5425
- Established 1880 — largest and oldest cemetery in Northeast Florida
- 70,000+ burials including Jacksonville mayors and Confederate veterans
- Florida’s largest remaining intact African American historic burial ground
- Address: 4535 North Main St, Jacksonville, FL 32206
- Phone: (904) 768-4484
📜 Official Florida Death Certificates — How to Get Them
An official Florida death certificate provides legally certified cause of death, attending physician, parents’ names and birthplaces (on most modern certificates), and informant details not found on headstones — invaluable for genealogy research and legal matters.
Access Restriction: Florida death certificates are confidential for 50 years. Records 75 years or older are publicly accessible online through Florida Memory and the Florida Department of Health at no charge.
- Visit any local county health department in Florida during business hours, Mon–Fri 8AM–5PM.
- Bring valid government-issued photo ID and proof of qualifying relationship if the record is under the confidentiality period.
- Pay $5 for the first certified copy. Most offices issue while you wait.
- Download the application form from www.floridahealth.gov/certificates/.
- Make a check or money order payable to “Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics” for $5 per copy. Never send cash.
- Mail the completed form and payment to: Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics, PO Box 210, Jacksonville, FL 32231.
- Visit vitalchek.com or call 1-888-279-9888 (24 hours/day). VitalChek adds a convenience fee beyond the standard $5 state fee.
- Rush processing and overnight delivery options available for additional fees.
📚 Florida State Archives / Florida Memory — Official State Records
Florida State Archives / Florida Memory at www.floridamemory.com/ is the official Florida state archives and the most authoritative source for historical records. Located at 500 S. Bronough St., Tallahassee, FL 32399. Phone: (850) 245-6700. It holds historical death records, county court records, cemetery surveys, church burial registers, and genealogy collections covering all 67 counties in Florida.
Many state archives serve as FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries — providing free in-person access to restricted FamilySearch digital collections not available online at home. Contact the archives to confirm affiliate status and plan your research visit accordingly.
🎖️ Florida Veteran & Military Grave Search
- VA Nationwide Gravesite Locator: Search gravelocator.cem.va.gov for veterans buried in any VA national cemetery in Florida. Covers all conflicts from the Civil War through the present day.
- Find a Grave Military Filter: On Find a Grave, use “More Search Options” → check “Has Military” to filter results to veteran memorials only in Florida.
- FamilySearch Veterans: Search “U.S. Veterans Gravesites, 1775–2006” free on FamilySearch for veteran burial location records from Florida.
- Civil War Records: Use Fold3.com (accessible free at state archive terminals) for pension records and burial details of Florida Civil War veterans — both Union and Confederate.
- State Veterans Cemetery: Many states maintain a veterans cemetery directory — search “Florida veterans cemeteries” at the state Department of Veterans Affairs website for state-operated burial sites not in the VA national system.
🌿 Insider Tips — Florida-Specific Genealogy Tricks
Florida Memory Has Free Death Index 1877–1998
FloridaMemory.com provides the Florida Death Index 1877–1998 — one of the earliest and most extensive free state death indexes in the nation. This is your first stop for any pre-2000 Florida death, predating statewide death registration requirements by 40 years.
$5 Death Certs — Lowest in the Nation
At $5 per certified copy, Florida has the lowest death certificate fee in the United States. This makes ordering multiple copies — one for genealogy, one for legal purposes — extremely affordable. Apply at floridahealth.gov/certificates.
Florida’s Diversity Requires Name Variant Searches
Florida’s population includes massive communities from Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, and dozens of other nations. Surnames appear in original-language forms: Gonzalez/González, Hernandez/Hernández, Rodriguez/Rodríguez. Always try accent mark variants and phonetic spellings.
St. Augustine Records Go Back to 1565
St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the US (1565). Spanish colonial Catholic church records — baptisms, marriages, burials — from the 1600s and 1700s are preserved at the Diocese of St. Augustine Archives. Contact them at diostaugustine.org for pre-American-statehood records.
Seminole Nation Records Are Separate
Seminole and Miccosukee Tribe burial records are maintained by tribal authorities, not Florida state archives. Contact the Seminole Tribe of Florida at semtribe.com or the Miccosukee Tribe at miccosukeetribe.com for burial research within tribal communities.
Miami-Dade Has Two Separate Cemetery Systems
Miami-Dade County has both private cemeteries and public municipal cemeteries run by the county. The Miami-Dade Parks Department maintains separate records for public cemetery burials at miamidade.gov/parks — not all are indexed on Find a Grave.
Snowbird Deaths Are Common in Florida Records
Florida’s retiree population means many people died in Florida while living here seasonally (‘snowbirds’). A Florida death certificate may exist for someone whose family and permanent home were in another state — search both Florida AND the home state’s records.
Florida National Cemetery Is One of the Busiest
Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell (Sumter County) is one of the busiest national cemeteries in the country due to Florida’s large veteran population. Search it free at gravelocator.cem.va.gov. If you don’t find a veteran there, also check Bay Pines NCA (St. Petersburg) and Sarasota NCA.