Newfoundland and Labrador Civil Registration

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Introduction

Newfoundland, including the area of Labrador, became a province of Canada in 1949. Official registration of births, marriages, and deaths began in 1891.

Until 1948, most vital records were copies of church records. Clergy were required to register the baptisms, marriages, and burials they performed with the civil authorities. The collection is not complete as many clergy and churches did not respond to the request of the Department of Public Health and Welfare to transcribe their records. The collection is predominately Protestant as only 6 of the 124 volumes are Roman Catholic. The remainder of the volumes are the records of the Church of England, Congregational, Methodist, Presbyterian and Reformed Episcopal Churches. They are digitized and indexed in Newfoundland, Vital Statistics, 1753-1893 and Newfoundland, Canada, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1757-1901.

By 1948, official death certificates were being prepared by physicians and other medical personnel for the civil authorities.[1]

Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador

Records of this civil registration are available on microfilm at the Archives.

  • Births - 1891-1899
  • Marriages - 1891-1922
  • Deaths - 1891-1949

All of these records are available online in the listings above.

The Rooms does not make prints of these records or issue certificates based on the records. Certificates can be obtained from the province’s Vital Statistics Division.

Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Rooms
9 Bonaventure Avenue
P.O. Box 1800, Station C
St. John’s, Newfoundland A1C 5P9
Canada
Telephone: 709-757-8000
Email: information@therooms.ca<bt>Fax: 709-757-8017

Recent Records

Recent vital statistics for Newfoundland and Labrador are held in the Service Newfoundland, Vital Statistics Division. You need their application form for these events; this can be obtained by writing or on their website:

Digital Government and Service Newfoundland and Labrador
Vital Statistics Division
P.O. Box 8700
St. John’s, Newfoundland A1B 4J6

Tel: 1-709-729-4834
E-mail:servicenlinfo@gov.nl.ca

Divorce and Adoption

For Further Reading

Newfoundland and Labrador Birth, Marriage, and Death Records - International Institute

References

  1. Murphy, Sharon L. "Newfoundland and Labrador Birth, Marriage, and Death Records - International Institute, " International Institute of Genealogical Studies (2012), https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Newfoundland_and_Labrador_Birth,_Marriage,_and_Death_Records_%28National_Institute%29.