Question: Where Can I Copies of My Ancestor's Birth, Marriage or Death Certificate?
Answer: Vital records -- records of birth, marriage, death and divorce -- are perhaps the most sought after genealogical records. Generally, in the U.S., the individual states are the responsible authority for all vital records. Many states, however, did not require birth, death or marriage records to be registered until late into the 1800s, and in some cases not until the early to mid-1900s. While some New England states kept town and county records as early as the 1600s, other states such as Pennsylvania and South Carolina didn't require birth registration until 1906 and 1913, respectively. about 1900 on average (this varies in each state).
Marriage records, unlike birth and death records, can also usually be found at the county level, and are often available from the date the county was organized (going back into the 1700s in some instances). In some areas, marriage records may also be found at the town level (e.g. New England), the city level (e.g. NYC) or the parish level (e.g. Louisiana).
For a list of vital records offices and information on the dates and records available for each U.S. state, visit Where to Find U.S. Vital Records. Like court records, many of these birth, marriage and death records have been microfilmed, and are also available at your local LDS family history center.
