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

Where to Find Marriage Registers

The Library has marriage registers from 1853 to 1935 on microfilm. Microfilm is available to borrow through Interlibrary Loan. Reels can be located using the following index:

Marriage records may also be obtained from:

If the place or date of the marriage is unknown, the following indexes may be of use: 

Using Marriage Registers

The Vital Records collection contains registers that are arranged alphabetically, first by county, and then by city, and document marriages in the commonwealth, 1853–1935. These registers include:

• date and place of the marriage
• full names of husband and wife
• age and "condition"
• place of their births
• place of residence
• names of their parents
• occupations
• the name of the person performing the ceremony

Marriage records begin long before 1853. Please consult the guide to Early Virginia Marriage Records for information on marriage records pre-dating 1853:

For post-1935 records, contact the Office of Vital Records for certified copies. Many marriage records post-1935 are available on Ancestry and FamilySearch as well. There is a 25-year privacy law for marriage records, so any available records falling within the restriction period will be indexed information only:

There may be marriage registers post-1935 in the Library's county or city records. Consult the guide to County and City Records on Microfilm for the locality of interest: 

Divorce records pre-1853 may be located in county records or in the Legislative Petition collection. The Library of Virginia does not have any vital records pertaining to divorce post-1853. Researchers will need to contact the Office of Vital Records: 

Some divorce records may be available on FamilySearch or Ancestry. There is a 25-year privacy law for divorce records, so any available records falling within the restriction period will be indexed information only: