Where to Go for Vital Records



records-1910s-babyThe majority of vital records you need are stored with the individual states. So an ancestor could have been born in Virginia, married in New York, divorced in Vermont and died in Georgia. So each of those states needs to be contacted to get copies of the vitals records for birth-marriage, divorce and death.

You need a good source to find the information, fees and addresses for contacting the different states for the necessary document. Using the online national ‘Center for Disease Control’ they have a site titled ‘National Center for Health Statistics‘. On the site every state and territory (Puerto Rico, etc) are listed.records-1890-wedding

Just scroll down the list and find the state / territory you need. Click on the name and up will be all the information about contacting that state for what you need.

For example: Virginia has the Birth-Marriage-Divorce-Death lists. Each has the address and contract information plus the fee charged to get a copy of the vital records. Each state is different how much is charged. Very important is the information of what dates the records are available, and which counties in that state. For Virginia, marriage records go back to 1853 but death records to 1918.records-divorce-in-1900

Everything you need to know to get a specific vital record is listed. A big time saver. You will want to bookmark the site.  records-death-cert-1925

Photos: Birth of a child in 1910s, marriage in 1890, divorce percentage in 1900 and death certificate in 1925.

Related FamilyTree.com Blogs:

Details Missed in Marriage Records

Public Online Records

Can’t Find a Relative’s Records?

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