Alabama Vital Records: Difference between revisions

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded in registers, certificates, and documents. [[Locating United States Vital Records|United States Vital Records]] has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the [http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/alabama.htm Alabama Vital Records State Department of Health] or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also [http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/frameset_rg.asp?Dest=G1&Aid=&Gid=&Lid=&Sid=&Did=&Juris1=&Event=&Year=&Gloss=&Sub=&Tab=&Entry=&Guide=AL_BMDT3_Statewide_Indexes.ASP#Step Alabama Statewide Indexes and Collections] at the Family History Library.  

The following is a list of online resources useful for locating Alabama Vital Records. Check [[Alabama, United States - Online Vital Records|Alabama Vital Records&nbsp;Online]] for more information about the resources listed below. Most online resources for Alabama Vital Records are indexes. After locating a person in an index always consult the original record to confirm the information in the index. '''<br>'''

The [http://www.alabama.gov/portal/secondary.jsp?page=AboutAlabama_Genealogy State of Alabama] required the registration of births on a state level beginning in 1908. Early registration in this time period was sketchy. Most births were recorded by 1927. Early birth&nbsp;registers and certificates generally do not contain the name of the child but may contain other important information (see table below). It is more common to find the child's name by the 1920's.&nbsp;Some sources for&nbsp;online indexes&nbsp;are at&nbsp;[[Alabama Vital Records Online]].&nbsp; [http://adph.org/vitalrecords/Default.asp?id=1559 Alabama Vital Records State Department of Health]&nbsp;has instructions for ordering copies of birth certificates.  

| valign="middle" align="center" width="16%" height="25" | seldom  

| valign="middle" align="center" width="16%" height="25" | &nbsp;  

Alabama law requires the creation of a new birth certificate after a legal adoption has taken place. The original birth certificate and evidence of adoption are then placed in a sealed file and the new certificate is substituted for the original birth certificate in the [http://adph.org/vitalrecords/ State Department of Vital Statistics] files. Starting August 1, 2000, original birth records (as well as all documents in the sealed file) became available to adoptees once they reached the age of 19. The [http://adph.org/vitalrecords/Default.asp?id=1563 Alabama Department of Public Health] has detailed information about obtaining copies of sealed birth records. See [[Adoption Research]] for more information.  

In January 1950, Alabama started keeping statewide divorce records. Contact the [http://adph.org/vitalrecords/Default.asp?id=1561 Alabama Department of Public Health] to obtain divorce records for this time period.&nbsp; [[Alabama Vital Records Online|Alabama Vital Records Online]] has an index of divorces from&nbsp;[http://search.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=List&dbid=8976&offerid=0%3a7858%3a0 1950-1959].  

Alabama. Department of Health (Montgomery, Alabama). ''[http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/printing/titledetailsprint.asp?titleno=683729 Deaths, 1908–1972; Index to Deaths, 1908–1969]''. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1993.  

*[[Alabama Obituaries|Alabama Obituaries]]