North Carolina, vital records
NC Vital Records, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, issues birth certificates from 1913, death certificates from 1930, divorce certificates from 1958 and marriage certificates from 1962. County registers of deeds issue birth, death and marriage copies too.
Start here
Every card below goes to the government office responsible for that record. Use the category buttons to narrow the list.
Vital records
NC Vital Records questions that route you to the right order process, such as adoption orders or adding a father, before you order a certificate or book an appointment.
Open official site Order a North Carolina vital recordVital records
The NC Vital Records fee schedule. The standard search covers one three year period and includes one copy; pay by check or money order to NC Vital Records.
Open official site North Carolina vital records feesVital records
Which years the state holds, and where to go for older records: births before 1913 at the county register of deeds and deaths before 1930 at the State Archives.
Open official site Finding older North Carolina recordsVital records
Birth, death and marriage certificates can also be obtained at the register of deeds office in the county where the event took place, often the same day.
Open official site County offices with North Carolina vital recordsCity records
The State Archives preserves historical North Carolina records and takes copy and research requests, including death certificates from before 1930.
Open official site State Archives of North CarolinaCourt records
North Carolina Judicial Branch guide to court records. A copy of a divorce judgment comes, for a fee, from the clerk of court in the county where it was granted.
Open official site North Carolina courts, obtaining court recordsState agencies
Microfilm copies of more than 1,000 North Carolina newspaper titles preserved by the State Archives since 1959, most of them no longer published.
Open official site State Archives of North Carolina, newspapersVital 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
National Archives guide explaining that birth, death, marriage and divorce records are made by local authorities and are not federal records, so it sends researchers to the CDC state list.
Open official site National Archives, vital records research 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
North Carolina Vital Records, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, issues divorce certificates for 1958 to the present. The same certificate can also be obtained from the Clerk of Court in the county where the divorce was filed, and the clerk is the source for the judgment itself, with its equitable distribution and support terms. The ordering page is at vitalrecords.nc.gov.
Guide
Record guide
At a glance
More North Carolina records on this site: North Carolina public records, Free Background Checks.
Straight answers
Open only the answer you need.
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.