Vital record

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Austrian marriage license (duplicate) from 1854.


In the United States, vital records are typically maintained at both the county[1] and state levels.[2] In the United Kingdom and numerous other countries vital records are recorded in the civil registry.


In the fields of Records Management and Archival Science the term vital record is used[3] to mean "records, regardless of medium, which are essential to the organization in order to continue with its business-crucial functions both during and after a disaster. They need not be permanent, might be active or inactive, originals or copies."[4]



The governmental authority is tasked with the safekeeping of the vital records, effectively providing the government with another source of income through fees. The original copy of the vital record is always kept by the government authority. In the United States vital records are public and in most cases can be viewed by anyone in person at the governmental authority.[6] Copies can also be requested for a fee.[7] There are two types of copies: certified and uncertified. Certified copies are official copies that can be used as identification whereas uncertified copies do not contain the governmental authority's seal and often are marked that they should not be used for identification. There may be additional restrictions in place on who can actually request a certified copy, such as immediate family or someone with written authorization.[8] Certified copies are usually much more expensive than uncertified copies. Some states have started making vital records available online for free.[9] Vital records that are online typically are 90 or more years old and assume the person listed in the record is no longer alive.

See also[edit]


  1. ^ "Milwaukee Register of Deeds Vital Records System". 
  2. ^ "Florida Statutes, Chapter 382". 
  3. ^ See for example ISO 15489-1:2001 clause 9.3a.
  4. ^ "British Records Association Glossary". 
  5. ^ Nations, Marilyn K.; Mara Lucia Amaral (1991). "Flesh, Blood, Souls, and Households: Cultural Validity in Mortality Inquiry". Medical Anthropology Quarterly 5 (3): 204–218. doi:10.1525/maq.1991.5.3.02a00020. 
  6. ^ "Milwaukee Register of Deeds Genealogical Research". 
  7. ^ "Wisconsin Register of Deeds Association Vital Records Fee/Application". 
  8. ^ "Request for a Birth Certificate". 
  9. ^ "Seeking Michigan Death Records, 1897-1920". 

External links[edit]