Birth, Marriage, and Death Records (1853–Present)

Where to Find Birth Registers

The Library has birth registers from 1853 to 1896 on microfilm. Microfilm is available to borrow through Interlibrary Loan. Reels can be located using the following indexes:

Birth register records can also be obtained from:

Using Birth Registers

Between 1853 and 1896, the information recorded in birth registers changed very little. The registers contain headings for: 

• date and place of birth 
• name of child (if named) 
• race
• enslaved status (until 1865) 
• sex
• whether born alive or dead
• name of father or name of enslaver
• father’s occupation
• father’s residence (county or locality in the county)
• mother’s name
• how many infants at this birth (whether this was a multiple birth)
• “deformities” or any circumstances of interest
• informant’s name
• the relation of the informant to the person born.

Information is often missing from the records. If an infant had not been named at the time of birth or death, the entry would record only the surname or note “Smith, infant.” In most cases, only a given name is recorded for enslaved people, and some enslaved and free Black people are listed without a name. In some instances, only the month appears for the date of birth.

Metropolitan Birth Records

The majority of counties and cities did not record births and deaths between 1897 and 1911. However, some metropolitan areas continued to record birth information, though the state did not require it. These localities include: 

The Library of Virginia holds some original records or copies of the original records for Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Richmond. Please contact Archives Reference Services for assistance.

Birth records between 1897 and 1911 for Lynchburg, Newport News, Petersburg, Roanoke, and Elizabeth City County (now Hampton) are not available at the Library of Virginia. Please contact the city health department or the Office of Vital Records to check their availability. 

Delayed Birth Index, 1912–1950

In some cases, people born between 1896 and 1911 filed for a delayed birth certificate. The Library has an index to delayed birth certificates issued between 1912 and 1950 (Vital Records microfilm reels 26–27). A digitized index is also available through FamilySearch:

However, the Library does not have copies of the actual certificates. They are available digitally and through the Office of Vital Records:

Birth records for births starting in 1912 can be obtained from:

There is a 100-year privacy law for birth records, so any birth record falling within the restricted period will be indexed information only on Ancestry.