Colorado Vital Records

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Colorado Vital Records Dates[edit | edit source]

Government Registration Births Marriages Deaths
County Registration 1876 County Formation 1876
Statewide Registration 1908 None 1908
General Compliance 1920's Early 1920's

Online Resources[edit | edit source]

Birth[edit | edit source]

Marriage[edit | edit source]

Death[edit | edit source]

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Get Copies[edit | edit source]

General access (no proof of relationship required) is limited to:

  • Birth records 100 years and older
  • Death records 75 years and older
  • Marriage applications 75 years and older. Marriage licenses not restricted.[1]

State Level[edit | edit source]

Colorado Department of Health (CO DPH)
Vital Records Section
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South
Denver, CO 80246-1530
Phone: 303.692.2000
Fax: USA 1.800.423.1108
Email: vital.records@state.co.us
Website

  • From the earliest dates to the present, vital records can only be released to those who are eligible. Proof of (close) relationship is required.[2]
  • Colorado Department of Health holds the Delayed birth certificates.

Colorado State Archives (CSA)
1313 Sherman St., Room 1B-20
Denver, CO 80203
Website

  • Holdings include:
  • Birth Records, Ledgers, Dockets, or Books pertaining to many births are official government records created at the time of the birth, usually contain information similar to a birth certificate.[3]
  • About Marriage Records at CSA: • Marriage License • Marriage Application • Marriage Certificate • Marriage Record or Register
  • Death Few found as of August 2024.
  • Certified copies are not available at CSA.

County Level[edit | edit source]

County Clerks

  • Clerks can issue birth, marriage, and death records from anywhere in Colorado.[4]
  • Some birth and death records may be earlier than 1908, when registration was required by state law.
  • Use county Wiki pages to locate clerk and recorder contact information.

Coverage and Compliance[edit | edit source]

Births and Deaths

  • 1876-1907 A law was passed in 1876 requiring counties and towns in Colorado to record births and deaths. Most early files are incomplete.
  • 1908-Present Statewide registration began in 1908 and was generally complied with by 1920.

Marriages

  • Each county has kept marriage records since the date it was organized, with high compliance.
  • Marriages usually were performed in the county where the bride was from, often a neighboring county.
  • Some couples eloped.

Information in the Records[edit | edit source]

Birth Records[edit | edit source]

Colorado Birth Records May Include*
Name of Child x
Birth Date/Place x
Sex/Race x
Parents' Names x
Parents' Birthplace x
# of Children Born/Living x
Residence/Occupation x
Midwife/Doctor x
* Early records may have less information


In 1876, a few Colorado counties began recording births. However, births were not officially registered with the State until 1908. [5]

Delayed Birth Records
Delayed birth records were created in the 1940s for adults without birth certificates in order to be eligible for Social Security benefits or for passports.

See also:

Marriage Records[edit | edit source]

Colorado Marriage Records May Include:*
Names of Bride/Groom** x
Date/Place of Marriage x
Presiding Official x
# of Times Married x
Dates/Places of Birth x
Residences/Race x
Parents' Names x
* Early records may have less information
** May be previous married name of bride

Each county has kept marriage records since the date it was organized. A few records date from 1860.

Most couples married in the county where the bride lived. Most Colorado marriage records do not include the names of the parents of the bride and groom.[6]

Some county marriage records have been extracted and published in Periodicals such as The Colorado Genealogist.

Gretna Greens. When eloping, couples would get married in alternate places instead of the county they lived in.
For those from Ohio, these locations include:[7]


For more information, see:


Death Records[edit | edit source]

Colorado Death Records May Include:*
Name of Decedent x
Date/Place of Death x
Sex/Race x
Occupation x
Age/Date of Birth x
State/Country of Birth x
Length of Residence x
Name of Spouse x
Parents' Names x
Birth Places of Parents x
Physician x
Cause of Death x
Informant x
Cemetery x
* Early records may have less information

Deaths in Colorado were not officially registered with the State until approximately 1908.

Colorado State Archives (CSA's) best collection of death records before 1908 are deaths that happened in a Denver hospital, although other early death records exist. CSA does not have death records after 1908.[8]

See also:

Cause of Death

  • Causes of Death - use this resource when trying to interpret a disease or medical condition listed on a death record or certificate.

Additional Information[edit | edit source]

See also:

Strategy[edit | edit source]

Tips for Using Vital Records

  • Certificate or record is not found:
  1. Couples often married in the county where bride lived or they may have eloped
  2. Search the towns and cities where the event took place. Also search surrounding counties to locate the document.
  3. The record may not exist because of record loss at the the county courthouse. See Burned, Lost, or Missing Records.
  4. The event may not have been recorded by the government at that time. Substitute Records.
  • Examine the record to determine accuracy:
  1. Person providing information may not remember events accurately
  2. Informant may not have been present at the time of the event
  3. Informant may give false information to hide age, race, religion, or illegitimacy
  4. Grieving relatives may not have remembered correctly
  • Review the informant on the document:
  1. Learn the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) of the record
  2. See if records about the informant may have clues about the family
  3. Verify vital information with other sources


See also:


Burned, Lost, or Missing Records[edit | edit source]

The following counties had record loss. Click on the county for more information.

See also:


Substitute Records[edit | edit source]

For other records that may give birth, marriage, or death information, see:

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Phone call to Pueblo County Recorder, 719-583-6507 August 5, 2024
  2. ↑ Colorado Dept of Public Health. Vital Records "Vital records, including birth, death, adoption, and marriage are confidential per Colorado state statute (C.R.S. 25-2-117). As a result, Colorado vital records are not public records and therefore not searchable online. Vital records can only be released to those who are eligible [close relationship]." accessed August, 2024
  3. ↑ Colorado State Archives. Birth Records accessed August, 2024
  4. ↑ per Elbert County
  5. ↑ Colorado State Archives. Births accessed August 2024
  6. ↑ Colorado State Archives. Requesting Marriage Records accessed August 2024
  7. ↑ Arlene H. Eakle,"Have you searched and searched for a marriage without finding it?" in Genealogy Blog at http://www.arleneeakle.com/wordpress/2007/02/19/have-you-searched-and-searched-for-the-marriage-without-finding-it/ (accessed 8 January 2011).
  8. ↑ Colorado State Archives. Death Records accessed August 2024

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