How to Find Virginia Birth Records
How to Find United States Birth Records 
Virginia Births
Statewide registration of births began in 1912 in Virginia.
Next Step: When did the birth occur? [edit | edit source] |
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Births before 1853[edit | edit source]
Before 1853, no births were recorded by the county or state. You must search substitute records to locate your ancestor’s birth date and place.
| Records that give birth information: | ||
Births from 1853 thru 1912[edit | edit source]
In 1853, Virginia passed a law requiring counties to record births, although not all counties complied or continued to record them on a consistent basis. Birth registers during the Civil War period (1861-1865) are incomplete. From 1896-1912, births were not recorded. Delayed birth registrations for the years 1896-1912 exist. If you cannot locate your ancestor in the databases below, try searching for birth information in other records.
For births that exist during the time period, try the following databases.
| Includes Index Only | ||||
| Try 1st: | ||||
| Virginia Births, 1853-1917 | FamilySearch - Free; most counties go to 1896 | |||
| Try 2nd: | ||||
| Virginia Births, 1853-1896 | Ancestry Subscription - $; most counties go to 1896 | |||
| Can't find your ancestor in the index? | Tips for searching indexes | |||
| No birth record for your ancestor? | Other records with birth information | |||
Obtain the Record[edit | edit source]
With approximate birth years and places (counties or cities), you can locate birth records from 1853-1896 on microfilm available through the Library of Virginia and the Family History Library.
Delayed birth records for the years 1869-1912 are available for a fee at the Virginia Division of Vital Records (PDF file).
There are no restrictions on these records.
Births after 1912[edit | edit source]
Currently, there are no online indexes to Virginia births after 1912.
Obtain the Certificate[edit | edit source]
With full names, dates and places of an event, you can order a copy of the birth certificate for a fee from the Virginia Division of Vital Records (PDF file) or VitalChek.
Restrictions for persons born within the last 100 years:
To obtain a copy of the birth certificate for those born within the last 100 years, you must be:
- The person on the certificate
- The parent or grandparent of the person on the certificate
- The spouse of the person on the certificate
- The child of the person on the certificate
- The sibling of the person on the certificate
- The legal guardian of the person on the certificate
- Anyone who has legal interest in the certificate
- NOTE: A copy of the birth certificate cannot be obtained by anyone except those listed above until 100 years have passed from the date of the birth.
If you do not want to order the birth record, there are other records with birth information you can search.