Connecticut, vital records
The Connecticut Department of Public Health, State Vital Records Office, issues birth, death, marriage and civil union certificates. The town vital records office where the event took place keeps and issues them too.
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Every card below goes to the government office responsible for that record. Use the category buttons to narrow the list.
Vital records
Department of Public Health page for birth, death, marriage and civil union certificates, with where to order each one, from the town or from the state office.
Open official site Connecticut State Vital Records OfficeVital records
Send the application to the town where the event took place or to the State Vital Records Office. Birth requests need a copy of government photo ID.
Open official site How to obtain a Connecticut vital recordVital records
The state system funeral directors, medical certifiers and local registrars use to create and register Connecticut death certificates. Copies are not ordered here.
Open official site CT-Vitals, electronic death registrationVital records
Connecticut State Library guide to vital records, explaining that original births, marriages and deaths stay with each town hall and that the state began keeping copies in July 1897, with town by town listings.
Open official site Connecticut State Library, vital records guideVital records
Finder for each local town vital records office, plus the State Vital Records Office at 410 Capitol Avenue in Hartford with its walk-in and phone hours.
Open official site Connecticut town and state vital records officesVital records
National Center for Health Statistics links to every state and territory vital records office, with fees and mailing addresses. The federal government itself issues no certificates.
Open official site CDC, Where to Write for Vital RecordsVital records
National Center for Health Statistics data on births and deaths in the United States, such as leading causes of death and life tables. It publishes statistics, not copies of records.
Open official site CDC, National Vital Statistics SystemVital records
Research guide noting there is no statewide index for 1850 to 1897, so you need the town, and that the Barbour Collection indexes most records before 1850.
Open official site Library of Congress, Connecticut vital records guideFederal
Social Security Administration form to apply for an original or replacement card or to correct your record. It generally asks for your birth certificate as proof of age.
Open official site SSA, Form SS-5, Social Security card applicationGuide
Connecticut has no state divorce certificate. The Department of Public Health State Vital Records Office keeps births, marriages and deaths from July 1, 1897 and states that it does not maintain copies of divorce decrees; to obtain a copy of a divorce decree or a dissolution of civil union decree, a requester contacts the Superior Court where the divorce or dissolution was granted. The decree, with the separation agreement and support terms, is a Superior Court record. The Department's page is at portal.ct.gov/dph.
Guide
Record guide
At a glance
More Connecticut records on this site: Connecticut public records, Free Background Checks.
Straight answers
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No. The CDC is explicit: 'The Federal Government does not maintain files or indexes of these records.' Every U.S. vital record is kept by the state where the event occurred.
A certified copy has a raised seal and is accepted by SSA, passport offices, and courts. An informational copy is marked 'Informational, Not a Valid Document to Establish Identity' and cannot be used for legal ID.
It varies by state, but a mail order to a state vital records office is typically 4, 8 weeks. Walk-in county clerk requests can be same-day. Online orders through VitalChek add a separate processing time on top of the state's.
Most states limit certified copies to the registrant, immediate family, and legal representatives. Informational copies are generally available to anyone after a waiting period defined by state law.
You should have a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA, form FS-240). Replacements come from the U.S. Department of State, not from a state vital records office.
All states
Every state page lists that state's official vital record sources, each opened and verified.