Kentucky Vital Records

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Kentucky

Vital Records

Kentucky Vital Records Dates

Government Registration	Births*	Marriages	Deaths*
County/Town	1853-1862 1874-1878 1892-1910	County Formation	1853-1862 1874-1878 1892-1910
Statewide Registration	1911	1958	1911
*See Coverage and Compliance (below) for details

Online Resources

Births

• 1839-1960 Kentucky Births and Christenings, 1839-1960 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
• 1847-1911 Kentucky Birth Records, 1847-1911 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1852–1914 Kentucky Vital Records: 1852–1914(*); Kentucky Division of Archives and Records at FamilySearch Catalog
• 1874-1910 Kentucky Vital Records, Births, 1874-1878, 1907–1910(*) at FamilySearch Catalog
• 1911-1999 Kentucky Birth Index, 1911-1999 at Ancestry — index ($); Also at: MyHeritage($)
• 1911–1995 Birth Index, 1911-1995(*); Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics at FamilySearch Catalog - images

Marriages

• Pre-1800 Kentucky Marriages, Early to 1800: A Research Tool, by Jordan Dodd. Bountiful, Utah: Precision Indexing, 1990. FS Catalog book 976.9 V28k; At various libraries (WorldCat); Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
• 1600s-1900s US Marriages - Kentucky, 1600's to 1900's at Findmypast — index & images ($)
• 1700-1909 Kentucky Wills, Deeds, and Marriages, 1700-1909 at Findmypast — index ($)
• 1780-1865 Kentucky Marriage Records, by county at Ancestry — images ($)
• 1783-1965 Kentucky County Marriages Records, 1783-1965 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1785-1979 Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
• 1785-Onward Kentucky Marriages at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
• 1795-1850 Northern Kentucky Marriages, 1795-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1797-1865 Kentucky Marriages, 1797-1865 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1797-1954 Kentucky County Marriages, 1797-1954 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1802-1850 Kentucky Compiled Marriages, 1802-1850 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1851-1900 Kentucky Compiled Marriages, 1851-1900 at Ancestry — index ($)
• 1852-1914 Kentucky Marriage Records, 1852-1914 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1852–1914 Kentucky Vital Records: 1852–1914(*); Kentucky Division of Archives and Records at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1874–1914 Kentucky Vital Records, Marriages, 1874–1878, 1906–1914 (*); Kentucky Division of Archives and Records at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1960-1993 Kentucky Marriages, 1960-1993 at MyHeritage; — index ($)
• 1973–1995 Marriage Indexes, 1973–1995(*); Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics at FamilySearch Catalog - images; separate bride and groom indexes
• 1973-1999 Kentucky Marriage Index, 1973-1999 at Ancestry — index ($)
• Kentucky Marriage Records at Ancestry — index ($)

Deaths

• 1843-1970 Kentucky Deaths and Burials, 1843-1970 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
• 1852–1914 Kentucky Vital Records: 1852–1914(*); Kentucky Division of Archives and Records at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• 1852-1965 Kentucky Death Records, 1852-1965 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1874-1910 Kentucky Vital Records, Deaths, 1874–1876, 1905–1910(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• 1900-1999 Kentucky Deaths, 1900-1999 at MyHeritage — index ($)
• 1911-1962 Kentucky Death Certificates, 1911-1962(*) Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• 1911-1967 Kentucky Death Records, 1911-1967 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1911-2000 Kentucky Death Index, 1911-2000 at Ancestry — index ($)
• Kentucky Death Index at Boyd County Library

Divorce

• See Kentucky Divorce Records for more resources.

Print Publications

• 1797-1865 Kentucky Marriages, 1797–1865, by Garrett Glenn Clift. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub., 1966, 1940. FS Catalog book 976.9 V28cg; At various libraries (WorldCat);
• Kentucky Marriage Records, by Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub., 1983. FS Catalog book 976.9 V2km; At various libraries (WorldCat);

Get Copies

Restrictions:

• Births become public records 100 years after the event; Deaths become public records 50 years after the event
• Marriage records are public

Kentucky Department of Public Health
Office of Vital Statistics
275 East Main Street, 1 E-A
Frankfort, KY 40621
Phone: (502) 564-4212
Website

• What they have (per their site February, 2025):

• Birth records, 1911-present
• Marriage and divorce records June, 1958-present
• Death Records, 1911-present

• Links to order forms: Birth, Marriage, Death

• Order records online through VitalChek

Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives
300 Coffee Tree Road
Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: (502) 564-8300
Fax: (502) 564-5773
Website

• County records but varies by county:

• Births to 1910; Deaths to 1965
• Marriages to 1910

• Links to order forms: Birth;   Marriage;   Death

County Courthouses

• Marriages: each county clerk has the original records as filed in their county
• Births and deaths: May or may not be at the county level.

• If you know where the person was born, married, or died, you may contact the county clerk directly.
  
• County Officials Directory at Kentucky Association of Counties

Lexington Public Library, Kentucky Room
Central Library
140 East Main Street
Lexington, KY 40507
Phone: 859-231-5500
Website

• The Kentucky Room has many bound volumes of indexes of births and deaths for 1911 to about 1995 which were created by the Office of Vital Statistics.

Coverage and Compliance

Births and Deaths:

• 1852-1862 Registration was assigned to the [county] tax assessors who recorded events submitted by clergy, midwives, or doctors in attendance, as well as the head of household. Compliance with the law was minimal, and often incomplete or inaccurate
• 1874-1878 Records were kept intermittently through 1878
• 1891-1910 A few counties kept scattered records
• 1910-present High compliance by 1920

Notes:

• Early compliance for registering births was highest when midwives or doctors were used
• Registering deaths was highest when doctors or funeral homes were used
• In the early birth and death registration years, there may be under-representation for African Americans

Marriages:

• There was customarily high compliance with white marriages, due to the community's interest and to civil or church authorities performing the marriage

• As late as 1980, the registrar of vital statistics estimated that 20% of all marriages recorded in Kentucky’s counties were not reported to the state.

Information in the Records

Birth Records

Kentucky 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

Information in birth records can vary, depending upon the who made the report (midwife, doctor, parent, etc.).

• Some cities recorded births and deaths before 1910

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:

• Kentucky Guided Research
• How to Find Kentucky Birth Records
• United States Birth Records
• United States Delayed Birth Records
• How to Find Birth Information in the United States
• United States How to Use Birth Records

Marriage Records

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

County marriage records may be the earliest and most complete vital records for Kentucky. Most counties began recording and retaining marriage records soon after each was organized.

• Marriage records can include bonds, consents or permissions, licenses, certificates, ministers’ returns, and registers

Notes:

• The couple or a parent provided the information
• Certificates and "returns" are proof of marriage
• Bonds, licenses, and consents are not proof that the marriage took place

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

• Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky
• Pike County, Kentucky
• Aberdeen, Ohio
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Evansville, Indiana

See also:

• Kentucky Guided Research
• How to Find Kentucky Marriage Records
• United States Marriage Records
• United States How to Use Marriage Records
• Kentucky Divorce Records

Death Records

Kentucky 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

Death information can vary, depending on who reported them. (Funeral home directors, medical examiners, physicians, hospitals, and relatives)

See also:

• Kentucky Guided Research
• How to Find Kentucky Death Records
• United States Death Records
• United States How to Find Death Records
• United States How to Use Death Records

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

See also:

• Kentucky Guided Research
• United States Vital Records
• Locating United States Vital Records
• For Genealogists at Kentucky Historical Society
• Guide to Public Vital Records in Kentucky, by Historical Records Survey (online book) for the history and availability of vital records in Kentucky up to 1941
• A Guide to Kentucky Birth, Marriage and Death Records, 1852–1910, by Jeffrey Michael Duff This book shows the birth, marriage, and death records available for each county and the years they were recorded.
• Vital Statistics Records at KYGemWeb for additional resources and information

Strategies

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
   

• Blacks/African Americans may be recorded in separate files and indexes.

See also:

• Kentucky Research Tips and Strategies
• United States Basic Search Strategies
• United States Research Tips and Strategies

Burned, Lost, or Missing Records

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

Allen Anderson Ballard Bath Bell Boone Bourbon Boyle Bracken Breathitt

Breckinridge Butler Caldwell Calloway Carlisle Christian Clay Clinton Crittenden Cumberland

Daviess Elliott Estill Fayette Floyd Graves Grayson Hardin Harlan Harrison

Hart Henry Hopkins Jackson Larue Laurel Magoffin Marion Marshall Martin

McCreary McLean Meade Mercer Metcalfe Monroe Montgomery Morgan Ohio Oldham

Owsley Perry Pike Powell Pulaski Rockcastle Rowan Russell Scott Simpson

Spencer Taylor Trigg Trimble Warren Washington Wayne Whitley Wolfe Woodford

See also:

• Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki

Substitute Records

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

• Kentucky Substitute Records
• Substitute Records for United States Birth Information
• Substitute Records for United States Marriage Information
• Substitute Records for United States Death Information

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