Vital records, every state
Birth, death, marriage and divorce records are kept by the states and counties. Start with the CDC directory of every state vital records office, then the federal and archive sources below and the state pages on this site.
Start here
Every card below goes to the government office responsible for that record.
Vital records
The federal statistics program that compiles state birth and death data, with the directory of state vital records offices.
Open official site CDC National Vital Statistics SystemVital records
Where federal holdings help with births, deaths and marriages, and why most certificates come from the states.
Open official site National Archives, vital recordsVital records
Every state vital records office in one directory, with fees, addresses and the years each office covers.
Open official site CDC, where to write for vital recordsVital records
Federal guide to ordering birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates from the right office.
Open official site USA.gov, replace vital documentsVital records
How to request a deceased person's Social Security record and the death master file.
Open official site Social Security death recordsVital records
Consular reports of birth abroad, death abroad records and how to request copies.
Open official site U.S. Department of State, records of Americans born abroadGuide
Two different documents are both called a divorce record, and they come from two different offices. Knowing which one is needed saves a wasted request.
The divorce decree, also called the judgment of divorce or dissolution, is the court order that ends the marriage. It is signed by a judge and kept by the clerk of the court that granted the divorce, in the county where the case was filed. It states the property division, support, custody and the restoration of a name, and it is the document that banks, pension plans, title companies and courts in other states ask for. Certified copies come only from that court clerk. No state health department issues a certified copy of a decree.
Most states require the court clerk to report each divorce to the state registrar of vital statistics. From those reports the vital records office keeps a divorce index and, in many states, issues a divorce certificate or a divorce verification. It shows the names, the date and place of the divorce and the court, and nothing about property or support. Its uses are narrow: proving that a divorce happened, finding the county and year when they are unknown, and genealogy.
The years covered start at different dates, for example 1950 in Alabama, 1958 in North Carolina and Kentucky, 1962 in Illinois, 1963 in New York, 1968 in Texas and 1992 in Maryland, and some states hold indexes back to the early 1900s. Access differs too. Some states issue certificates to anyone, some restrict them to the parties and immediate family, and several keep no divorce index at all, among them Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia, where the court is the only source, while North Dakota issues no copies but will help a requester find the county. The state pages linked below carry the office, the years and the fee for each state.
Key Takeaway: Need proof that a divorce exists, or the county and year? Ask vital records. Need the terms, the property division or a certified copy for a bank or a pension plan? Ask the clerk of the court that granted it.
Common mistake: ordering a divorce certificate when a lender or plan administrator asked for the decree. The certificate will be refused.
Common mistake: assuming the state index is complete. Divorces before the state began collecting reports, and in a few states all divorces, are found only at the county courthouse.
Common mistake: expecting the certificate to show finances. It never does. The sworn financial statement, where public, is in the court file.
Guide
Birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates are issued by the government office that holds the record. These are the steps for a certified copy.
Decide whether you need a birth, death or marriage certificate, a divorce certificate or the divorce decree. Each comes from a different office.
Each state has a central vital records office, usually in its health department, and some records are kept by the county. The CDC Where to Write directory lists every state office with its fees and address.
Most states limit certified copies to the person named, close family or a legal representative. Some states sell informational copies to anyone.
Use the application form on the state office website, fill it out completely and pay the state fee. Most offices take requests by mail, in person or online through the state site or the vendor it names.
| Record | Common uses |
|---|---|
| Birth certificate | Proof of citizenship, passport applications, school enrollment |
| Death certificate | Estate settlement, insurance claims, genealogy research |
| Marriage certificate | Name changes, spousal benefits, legal proceedings |
| Divorce decree | Remarriage, property and support matters, court proof |
Record guide
Counts for the cards above, and which office issues each certificate.
At a glance
A certificate comes from the vital records office of the state where the birth, death or marriage happened, and the CDC Where to Write directory lists each office with its fees and address.
The federal cards cover narrower cases: the State Department holds reports of Americans born or dying abroad, and Social Security answers requests about deceased people.
Straight answers
Open only the answer you need.
Vital records are government documents that record key life events: birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates and licenses, and divorce decrees. They are maintained by state vital records offices (sometimes called the Bureau of Vital Statistics, Office of Health Statistics, or Division of Public Health).
Contact the vital records office in the state where you were born. You can usually order online, through the state's own site or a vendor it has authorized such as VitalChek, by mail, or in person. You will need government issued photo ID and, in some states, proof of relationship. Fees and processing times are set by each state and listed on its vital records site.
Marriage certificates usually come from the county clerk (in some states the probate court or town clerk) where the marriage license was issued, which is not always where the ceremony took place. Many state vital records offices also keep marriage records. Many counties offer online ordering, and each sets its own fee.
Divorce decrees are filed with the court that granted the divorce (usually the county superior, district or family court). Contact the court clerk's office. Some states also keep divorce records at the state vital records office. Fees for certified copies are set by each court.
Access varies by state and record type. Generally, the person named on the record, immediate family members, legal representatives, and authorized government agencies can obtain certified copies. Many states make older records (often 50 to 100 years or more) available to the general public for genealogy research. Informational (non-certified) copies are available to anyone in some states.
A certified copy bears the official seal and signature of the issuing authority and is accepted as legal proof for government, financial, and legal transactions. An informational copy contains the same data but is marked "not for legal purposes" and cannot be used for official business. Certified copies cost more and have stricter eligibility requirements.
Many state archives and some health departments offer free indexes of older births, deaths and marriages that you can search by name and date. A certified copy always costs a fee set by the state.
It depends on the state and how you order. Walk in service at a state or county office can be the same day, mail orders usually take longest, and online orders still wait on the state's own processing time. Each state office posts its current times.
All states
Every state page lists that state's official vital record sources, each opened and verified.