Vital Records
How to Find Vital Records?
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
What is a Vital Record?
Births, Marriages, and Deaths
Vital Records is a United States record type that consists of births, marriages, and deaths collected and recorded in a variety of formats (such as registers, certificates, or documents) by city, county, or state officials. Other countries may call this "Civil Registration."
While religions, organizations, and businesses (such as cemeteries, newspapers, funeral homes, and more) do collect records about births, marriages, or deaths, they were created for different purposes and are not considered official "vital records."
Divorces
Divorces are not considered a vital record but it is often combined with information about marriages as it can only happen if a marriage has occurred.
When did Vital Records Start?
Vital Records in the United States are created by the state government, and is not administered by the United States Government. Each state has a vital records office although they go by many different names including health department, vital statistics department, etc. Each state has a different set of laws regarding access to the records. Privacy laws keep individuals who are not the individual in the vital record in obtaining these documents.
Each state was different in instituting statewide registration of births, marriages, and deaths. Sometimes counties or towns kept this information before the state government took control.