Vital records are public records that document life events and are kept and maintained by the state and county governments. Vital records include birth certificate records, death certificates, divorce records and marriage licenses. In some states, they may also include civil unions and domestic partnerships. These records are typically maintained by the county in which the event occurred.

Birth certificates include pertinent information such as name at birth, birth date, time of birth, sex, place of birth, and the names of the legal parents. Official birth certificates are stored by the county government record office. Certified copies of the original may be requested. A person may obtain a copy of their own certificate and may also be able to obtain a copy of another person's birth for a small fee. The birth certificate is often used to authenticate a person's identity and nationality.

Death certificates declare the date, location and cause of a person's death. Death certificates may be required to arrange burial or cremation as well as to prove a person's will or to claim on a person's life insurance policy. Authorities require that a certificate from a physician or coroner validate the cause of death and the identity of the deceased. The documents are considered free public records that may be obtained by any individual regardless of relationship to the deceased.

Marriage licenses are considered permission by legal authority for the marriage of two people to be performed. These are typically obtained from the county courthouse in the city or town where the couple resides. Both spouses and the officiant are required to sign the marriage license. Some states also require that witnesses sign the marriage license as well. The officiant then files for a certified copy of the marriage license and a marriage certificate with the government.

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• Alabama Department of Public Health - Offers information on obtaining Alabama vital records and ordering the certificates online. Locate more Alabama Vital Records Here.
• Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics - Responsible for managing the vital records of Alaska including birth, death, divorce, fetal deaths and marriage certificates. Find more Alaska Vital Records information.
• Arizona Office of Vital Records - Maintains and issues certified copies of vital records including birth, death, fetal birth, marriage and divorce certificates. Also issues certificates for births resulting in stillbirth. Office has been recording births and deaths since July, 1909. Locate Arizona Vital Records information and instructions for obtaining them.
• Arkansas Birth and Death Certificates - Information regarding the issuance of birth cards, death certificates and general information on obtaining these vital records. Also supplies marriage and divorce records. Find additional Arkansas Vital Records details.
• California Center for Health Statistics - In charge of the dissemination of health data in support to the California Department of Health Services and offers the opportunity to order certified copies of vital records through the mail. Locate California Vital Records information in the state here.
• Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment - Certified copies of birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates. They also allow you to order certificates for a fee through a private company. Find Colorado Vital Records in the state here.
• Connecticut State Library - Connecticut vital records information offered through the state library's Barbour Collection, which features vital records information dating back to 1850. Search for Connecticut Vital Records information here.
• Delaware Office of Vital Statistics - Information on how the public may obtain individual copies of birth, death, adoptee and marriage certificates through the state. They also offer downloadable forms for ordering these records. Find more information for Delaware Vital Records in the state here.
• District of Columbia Department of Health - Instructions and applications for ordering birth certificates, death certificates and other vital records through the Department of Health. Also includes a vital records FAQ's.  Locate additional resources for DC Vital Records.
• Florida State Office of Vital Statistics - Information on obtaining Florida vital records such as birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates and dissolution of marriage certificates as well as apostille or exemplified certification. Commemorative birth and marriage certificates are available as well. Locate additional information on Florida Vital Records.
• Georgia Department of Human Resources - Includes a description of vital records under Georgia code as well as general information as to when the state began collecting Georgia vital records. Also offers information on how to obtain Georgia vital records including birth certificates, death certificates and marriage and divorce records. Search for Georgia Vital Records in the state here.
• Hawaii State Department of Health - Information about vital records including information on birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates. Marriage licenses and reciprocal beneficiary relationship and licensing of marriage performers. Locate additional Hawaii Vital Records information here.
• Idaho Bureau of Health Policy and Vital Statistics - Maintains birth and death records filed from July 1911 to present. Information regarding marriage and divorce records that were filed from May 1947 to present. Search out Idaho Vital Records details here.
• Illinois Vital Records - Offers information regarding adoption, birth records, divorce records, death records, genealogy, marriage records, international travel and surrogate parentage records. Find more information on Illinois Vital Records here.
• Indiana Department of Health - Offers certified copies of birth and death certificates. Allows users to apply online to obtain vital records through the office. Discover more information on Indiana Vital Records in the state.
• Iowa Bureau of Health Statistics - Provides information on vital events that occurred in the state including Iowa births, death and marriage information. The bureau offers official registration including births, deaths and marriages since 1880. Many Iowa Vital Records resources are available here.
• Kansas Department of Health and Environment - The Office of Vital Statistics provides information regarding deaths, births, divorces and marriages. The office holds more than 10 million vital records with 100,000 new records per year being added. Additional information on obtaining Kansas Vital Records are available here.
• Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services - Vital records and genealogy information offered through the Office of Vital Statistics. Provides for the legalization and registration of births and deaths in the state of Kentucky. There are no records for life events that took place before January 1, 1911. Here you will find more information on Kentucky Vital Records.
• Louisiana Office of Public Health Director - Offers walk-in services and mail services regarding the dissemination of vital records in Louisiana. Each parish may have different operating capacities due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Locate more information on Louisiana Vital Records.
• Maine Department of Health and Human Services - Birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates information regarding records from 1923- the present.  More information on obtaining Maine Vital Records can be found here.
• Maryland Vital Statistics Administration - Applications fro Certificates, frequently asked questions and reports and vital statistics information provided by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Locate Maryland Vital Records are available here.
• Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services - Registry of Vital Records and Statistics is responsible for collecting, processing, corrects and issues copies of birth and death and marriage records. Information about divorces is also available. Search out Massachusetts Vital Records in the state.
• Michigan Department of Community Health - Birth, death, marriage and divorce records are available through the state of Michigan. Michigan marriages have been recorded since 1867 and divorces since 1897. Find information on Michigan Vital Records in the state here.
• Minnesota Department of Health - Information on how to obtain a birth or death certificate or non-certified copy of a record and is available by mail or fax through the Department of Health. Find more information on Minnesota Vital Records here.
• Mississippi Public Health Statistics - Provides ordering information as well as rules and regulations for births, deaths, marriages and online ordering information. Mississippi Public Health Statistics are also available. Mississippi Vital Records resources are available here.
• Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services - Offers vital records such as birth, death, marriage and divorce information. Information is also available regarding fetal deaths since 1910. Locate Missouri Vital Records in the state here.
• Montana Department of Health and Human Services - Birth and death certificates applications offers information such as birth certificates online. The Office of Vital Statistics offers information for applications for ordering applications by mail and fax. You may also use an online service that is offered by the state for a fee. Find information on Montana Vital Records in the state.
• Nebraska Health and Human Services - Offers vital records information and instructions for ordering birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates and divorce certificates. Also offers electronic death registration system and tutorials as well. Find more information on Nebraska Vital Records in the state here.
• Nevada State Health Division - Index of health division forms and information for obtaining vital records and statistics including applications for birth certificates, death certificates, delayed certificates of birth and information on receiving copies of marriage and divorce records. Additional Nevada Vital Records are available here.
• New Hampshire Department of State, Division of Vital Records Administration - Information for obtaining heirloom birth certificates and office information. More information on New Hampshire Vital Records are available here.
• New Jersey State Department of Health and Senior Services - Information regarding vital records including adoptions, birth certificates, death certificates, divorce decrees, domestic partnerships, marriage, civil union, stillbirth and information how to correct a vital record. Locate New Jersey Vital Records here.
• New Mexico Vital Records - Information on the history of the background of the office. Office supplies information on birth certificates, death certificates, schedule of fees, issuance office and information on how to obtain these records. Search for New Mexico Vital Records here.
• New York Department of Health - Birth, death, marriage and divorce records files certificates regarding births and deaths that occur in the state of New York. Divorce files and marriage files are available as well and may date back to 1963. Find information on New York Vital Records information here.
• North Carolina Public Health - North Carolina Vital Records office information regarding ordering certificates and amending certificates. Information on office hours and how to obtain records and make changes in person as well as the fees required. North Carolina Vital Records are available here.
• North Dakota Department of Health, Division of Vital Records - Information regarding the registration and certification regarding vital events that have occurred in the state. Order birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage certificates from the office. Search for North Dakota Vital Records available here.
• Ohio Department of Health - Office information as well as how to obtain vital records including stillbirth certificates, birth certificates, marriage and divorce records, as well as adoption information and other vital records that may be available. Find more information on Ohio Vital Records for the state here.
• Oklahoma State Department of Health - Information on how to obtain an Oklahoma birth or death certificate. Oklahoma has been filing birth and death records in October of 1908. Some records were not filed until 1917. Find more information on Oklahoma Vital Records here.
• Oregon Center for Health Statistics and Ordering Vital Records - Frequently asked questions regarding the ordering vital records for the state of Oregon. Find more resources on Oregon Vital Records.
• Pennsylvania Department of Health - Vital records general information regarding records available and frequently asked questions regarding how to obtain records such as birth records, death records, as well as marriage and divorce records. Locate more information on Pennsylvania Vital Records here.
• Rhode Island Department of Health - Office of Vital Records - Vital records are birth, death and marriage documents that are legal and contain information regarding the vital events of individuals. Search for more information on Rhode Island Vital Records.
• South Carolina Department of Health and Environment - Vital records services that are available to individuals seeking South Carolina vital records and instructions regarding the application of vital records. Search for South Carolina Vital Records in the state here.
• South Dakota Department of Health - Ordering South Dakota Vital Records instructions including information for ordering records for genealogy purposes as well as for certified copies. Here you can find more information on South Dakota Vital Records.
• Tennessee Vital Records - Contact information for the Tennessee Vital Records department as well as fee information and instructions for ordering copies of birth, death, marriage, divorce and older vital record documents. Additional information on Tennessee Vital Records can be found here.
• Texas Vital Statistics - Information regarding who can order vital records through Texas Online as well as how to obtain information regarding adoption, marriage and divorce records and birth and death records. Here are more additional details regarding Texas Vital Records.
• Utah Department of Health, Office of Vital Records - Frequently asked questions regarding certification and registration as well as vital statistics data, information on adoptions, marriages, divorces and popular names. Additional Utah Vital Records are available here.
• Vermont Department of Health - Information on how to obtain a copy of a vital record including birth, death, marriage, divorce and civil union certificates. Search for additional Vermont Vital Records information here.
• Virginia Department of Health - Office of Vital Records information regarding certified copies of vital records including birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates. There are over 7 million records housed by Virginia. Locate Virginia Vital Records information here.
• Washington State Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics - How to order birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates complete with instructions and the years the records date back to. Washington Vital Records information are available here.
• West Virginia Health Statistics Center - West Virginia Birth and Death Certificates include information on how to obtain copies of birth and death certificates. Locate West Virginia Vital Records in the state here.
• Wisconsin Vital Records Services - Responsible for filing, preserving, protecting, changing and issuing birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates. Find more information on Wisconsin Vital Records here.
• Wyoming Department of Health - Information regarding how to request copies of certificates such as marriage, divorce, birth and death certificates. Find more details on Wyoming Vital Records here.