Maryland Birth Records

Quick Reference

Maryland Birth Records (for Baltimore City after 1874 see next table)

Years	Where Can I Get it?	Restrictions	Indexes/Documents online?	Notes
Colonial (1654 to 1776)	Maryland State Archives; Family History Library	None	Transcriptions: Kent, Talbot, & Somerset Counties, various years Transcriptions: Kent County, 1694-1707 Transcriptions: Kent County, 1676-1698	Not all births were recorded.
1800-1864	NO BIRTH RECORDS KEPT BY THE COUNTY COURTS			Try Searching church records
1865-1884	Maryland State Archives	None	No	Not all births were recorded.
1898-1972, County Records	Maryland State Archives	Birth records are restricted for 100 years.	No	Registration of births can be incomplete until 1914
1973 to Present	Division of Vital Records	Birth records are restricted for 100 years. Can only provide individual’s certificate for parent, guardian, or legal representative.	No

Baltimore City, Maryland Birth Records

Years	Where can I go to get it?	Restrictions	Indexes/documents online?	Notes
Before 1875	Check County Records Above			Try Searching church records
1875 to 1972	Maryland State Archives	None for births occurring over 100 years ago.	No	Registration of births can be incomplete until 1914
After 1973	Division of Vital Records	Birth records are restricted for 100 years. Can only provide individual’s certificate for parent, guardian, or legal representative.	No

Content

Colonial Period (Up to 1800)

Beginning in 1654, the Maryland General Assembly required the recording all births by the clerk of the county court. Later, the responsibility was assigned to the Clerks of the Protestant Episcopal Vestry. The Protestant Episcopal Church was required to register all births that occurred – regardless of the parents' religion – until 1776. Other churches also recorded births of their congregation members, thus creating a second recording of some individual's birth.

The information requested normally included:

Birth date of child
Child’s name
Names of parents (sometimes the mother's name was not recorded).

Maryland Births, 1800-1864

During 1800 to 1864, Maryland did not require the recording of any birth information. Only local churches were recording births occurring during this time period.

County Circuit Court, 1865-1884

Registration of births was reestablished in 1865 and assigned to the county circuit courts by the Maryland General Assembly. Most people did not comply with the new law, which resulted in a small number of births actually being recorded. Church records continue to be a primary source of birth information.

Information on births registers normally included:

Date of birth
Place of birth
Name of child
Names of parents
Occupation of father
Residence of parents
Date of record
Usually sex and race of child

Baltimore City, 1875 to 1972

Baltimore City had different laws regarding the recording of births compared to the rest of Maryland. In 1874, the Mayor and City Council required registration of all births that occurred in Baltimore City. This registration requirement lasted until 1972, when the state Division of Vital Records became responsible for all 23 counties and the city of Baltimore. The Maryland State Archives has an 1875 - 1941 index for the Baltimore City births. The index is public even though the birth records are restricted for 100 years.

Information on Baltimore City birth records included:

Sex
Race
Number of child (birth order)
Date of birth
Place of birth
Names of parents
Birthplaces of parents
Occupation for father
Name and address of medical attendant
After 1903, name of child (not commonly reported until 1911)
After 1910, residence, race, age and occupation of both parents

Maryland County Birth Records, 1898-1972

A new law by the General Assembly in 1898 required birth registration in Maryland’s 23 counties. Baltimore City was excused from the new law because it had required registration since 1875. The citizens and counties were slow to comply with the registration requirement. A high compliance rate did not occur until approximately 1914.

Information on birth records from 1898 to 1972 include:

Name of child
Birth date
Birth place
Sex
Race
Number of the child (birth order)
Living or still born
Names of parents
Race of parents
Occupation of parents
Birth place of parents
Residence of parents
Medical attendant’s name and address

Maryland Births, 1973 to Present

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Division of Vital Records became the only agency to register births for all 23 counties and Baltimore City beginning in July 1972.

Birth certificates from 1973 to the present include:

Name of child
Sex
Date of birth
Place of birth
Parents’ names
Parents’ birthplace
Parents’ race
Parents’ age
Parents’ residence
Parents’ occupation
Number of children previously born to mother
Medical attendant name and address

Locating Records

Maryland State Archives

Birth records and indexes located at the Maryland State Archives can be viewed onsite or a research request can be made. To view fees and how to request information, go to the Maryland State Archives website, Placing Research & Copy Orders.

Below is a list of the necessary information to view or request copies of microfilm and original records that are available at the Maryland State Archives. The list includes birth indexes and birth records available seperated by time period.

Colonial Births (up to 1800)

INDEXES to births

Bible and Tombstone Records, Index: Maryland Indexes various dates MSA S1406, Index 32
Church Indexes, Birth & Baptism Index: Maryland Indexes 1663-1967, various dates for 13 churches MSA S1401, Index 28
Birth Records, Index: Maryland Indexes, 1649-1720, 1804-1877, 1898-1923, incomplete MSA S1403 Index 30

Birth Records

Charles County Court, 1654-1706 (original) MSA C653
Charles County Court, 1654-1693 (microfilm) MSA CM1234
Somerset County Court, 1649-1720 MSA C1739, original; MSA CM956, microfilm
Talbot County Court, 1657-1691 MSA C1840, original; MSA CM1009, microfilm

Births in Circuit Court records from 1865-1884:

Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, 1804-1877 MSA C39
Baltimore County Circuit Court, 1865-1883 MSA C283
Caroline County Circuit Court, 1865-1884 MSA C474
Cecil County Circuit Court, 1865-1891 MSA C593
Charles County Circuit Court, 1865-1877 MSA T2144
Frederick Courty Circuit Court, 1865-1873 MSA C759
Kent County Circuit Court, 1865-1873 MSA C1027
Montgomery County Circuit Court, 1865-1899 MSA C1116
Prince George's County Circuit Court, 1865-1867 MSA C1167
Queen Anne's County Circuit Court, 1865-1881 MSA C1358
Somerset County Circuit Court, 1865-1870 MSA C1738
St. Mary's County Circuit Court, 1865-1867 MSA C1534
Washington County Circuit Court, 1865-1867 MSA C1935
Worcester County Circuit Court, 1865-1889 MSA C1998

The Maryland State Archives is always receiving additional records. Check the list of “transferred records” to see newly acquisitioned birth records.

County Birth Records from 1898 to 1972

INDEXES to Birth Records:

1898-1909, Board of Health MSA S1035 microfilm
1898-1919, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Division of Vital Records MSA T1332
1910-1919, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics MSA S1045
1910-1950, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics MSA SM27;MSA SM35 microfilm

INDEX to Delayed Birth Records:

1860-1921, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics MSA SM29 microfilm

There are no indexes from 1951-1972 at the Maryland State Archives

Birth Records (Restricted for births occurring in the last 100 years):
1898-1951, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics MSA SM35 microfilm
1898-1924, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Division of Vital Records MSA T1886
1951-1969, Department of Health, Division of Vital Records and Statistics MSA SM32 microfilm
1969-1972, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Division of Vital Records MSA SM36 microfilm

Baltimore City Birth Records

INDEXES to Balitmore City Birth Records

1875-1941, Baltimore City Health Department, Bureau of Vital Statistics MSA C2 original; MSA CM1134 microfilm

1918-1941, Baltimore City Health Department, Bureau of Vital Statistics MSA C8

There are no indexes from 1941-1972 at the Maryland State Archives

Baltimore City Birth Records:

1875-1972, Baltimore City Health Department, Bureau of Vital Statistics MSA CM1135 microfilm

1890-1911, Baltimore City Health Department, Bureau of Vital Statistics MSA C6

1875-1896, 1911-1924, [Baltimore City] Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Division of Vital Records MSA T310

Delayed Balitmore City Birth Records:

1876-1925, Baltimore City Health Department, Bureau of Vital Statistics MSA C2145

Birth indexes and records are available from 1875 to 1941 for Baltimore City, although actual birth records have restrictions within the last 100 years.

Family History Library

There are some Maryland Colonial birth records available at the Family History Library. The following are links to topics in the Family History Library Catalog that list sources that can be viewed at the Family History Library. Each source has either a book call number or microfilm number assigned to it. Microfilm records and books can be viewed at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Only microfilms and microfiche can be loaned and viewed at local Family History Centers. Below are links that contain birth record sources for different counties in Maryland:

Department of Health & Mental Hygiene - Division of Vital Records

Birth certificates from 1898 or beginning in 1875 for Baltimore City to the present can be ordered from the Division of Vital Records. However, they are unable to issue certificates for genealogical purposes. If you are not immediately related to the individual, you must order the birth certificate from the Maryland State Archives.

Records are restricted for 100 years after the date of birth unless you are:

Requesting your own birth certificate
Parent or guardian of indivdiual named on certificate
Representative of the individual named on certificate, parent, or guardian

Click here, to download a birth certificate application

To mail in a request:

Division of Vital Records

P.O. box 68760

Baltimore, MD 21215-0036

To call for more information: (410) 764-3038 or (800) 832-3277

To order for same day service with an additional fee, go to Vitalchek.com.

References

Information provided here was taken from the following sources:

Eichholz, Alice. Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry Publishing, c2004).

The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America. (Logan, Utah : Everton Publishers, c2006).

Maryland: Research Outline. (Salt Lake City, Utah : Corp. of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of L.D.S., c1988).

Maryland State Archives

Division of Vital Statistics Department of Health & Mental Hygiene

Maryland Vital Records: Birth

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