Florida Vital Records

City and County Records of Births and Deaths

The Family History Library has copies of original birth and death records for some counties of Florida as well as an extensive collection of delayed birth records dating to the 1960s. For example, there are 22 microfilms of delayed birth records for Leon County, 1874 to 1948, and two films of Pensacola birth and death records, 1891 to 1910.

State Records of Births and Deaths

Statewide registration of births and deaths began in 1899 and was generally complied with by 1920. Some earlier city and county records have been deposited with the state office. They include incomplete records of births from 1865 to 1917 and incomplete records of deaths from 1877 to 1917. The Family History Library has 143 microfiche of the Florida Combined Death Index, 1877-1969 (FHL fiche 6081769-817). You can obtain copies of the state's records by writing to:

Office of Vital Statistics
1217 Pearl Street
P.O. Box 210
Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042
Telephone: 904-359-6900
Fax: 904-359-6931
Internet: http://www.doh.state.fl.us/planning_eval/vital_statistics/index.html

State records are closed to the general public. Conditions for obtaining a record may be obtained from the Office of Vital Statistics.

Marriage and Divorce Records

Marriage records have been kept by each county, usually from the date the county was created. The Family History Library has a large collection of county marriage records. For example, the marriage licenses of the county judge for Hillsborough County are on 93 microfilms for the years 1849 to 1951, 1853 to 1927, and 1940 to 1956, with an index for 1846 to 1980.

Statewide registration of marriages began in June 1927. The Family History Library has 471 microfiche of the Florida Combined Marriage Index,1927-1969(FHL fiche 6081726-68). These records are in the Office of Vital Statistics.

Records of divorce proceedings are kept by the clerk of the circuit court in each county. You can write to the clerk for records up to June 1927. For records since then, write to the Office of Vital Statistics. The Family History Library has 305 microfiche of the Florida Combined Divorce and Annulment Index, 1927-1969 (FHL fiche 6081683-725).

Guide to Vital Records

An explanation of the history and availability of vital records is in Guide to Public Vital Statistics Records in Florida (Jacksonville, Florida: Florida Historical Records Survey, 1941; FHL book 975.9 A5h; film 1036590 item 3; fiche 6019962).

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)