New
York State Dept of Health
Vital Records Section
Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12237
(518) 474-3077
(518) 474-3038 Information
Fax: (518) 432-6286
Please
note: Genealogy Requests are $11.00 for uncertified copy and
may take six months to process.
For the area outside of the five boroughs of New York City (except
for births occurring in Queens and Richmond counties for the
years 1881-1897). For vital records in the five boroughs of
NYC contact the New
York City Dept of Health.
Some documents are just too important to wait six weeks for. With VitalChek Express Certificate Service you won’t have to. Birth, Marriage, Divorce & Death Certificates Signed. Sealed. Delivered. Often in as few as three business days!
You
may also send your request directly to the local registrar or
town clerk of the city, town or village where the birth or death
occurred. A marriage license may be obtained from any town clerk
in the state.
The
time periods listed below for obtaining a vital record are waived
if the applicant is a descendant or has been designated to act
on behalf of a descendant of the person whose record is being
requested. The $11.00 fee for a genealogical copy includes both
a copy of the certificate (marked "For Genealogical Purposes
Only.") and a search of their files for up to three years.
If they can find no certificate for the event, you will receive
a "No Record Certification" form.
New
York State Archives
New York Department of Education
Cultural Education Center, Room 11D40
Albany, NY 12230
(518) 474-8955
An
index to genealogy records is available for searching at the
State Archives, located at the Empire State Plaza in Albany.
Not
until the mid-nineteenth century was any attempt made by the
state of New York to mandate the keeping of vital records. This
makes the use of substitutes, such as church, cemetery, census,
and newspaper records, that much more important. A few vital
records were entered into some early town records on Long Island
and later in some towns along the eastern border, the latter
evidently by New England settlers bringing with them a long
standing tradition of such practice. However, the mass migration
into New York just after the Revolution took place at a time
when vital event recording slacked off greatly, even in New
England.
The earliest items that might be classified as civil vital records
in New York were marriage bonds, issued from 1639 to 1783. Names
of the parties and the date of the bond were published in Names
of Persons for Whom Marriage Licenses Were Issued by the Secretary
of the Province of New York, Previous to 1784, commonly referred
to as "New York Marriages." This work did not include
all the important information in the bonds, many of which were
destroyed or damaged in the 1911 fire at the New York State
Library. Some records of marriages performed by justices of
the peace have survived, of which a few have been published
in Tree Talks and The New York Genealogical and Biographical
Record.
In 1847 a law was enacted requiring school districts to keep
records of births, marriages, and deaths. While not a complete
failure, compliance was scattered, and some towns that began
to record vital events quickly stopped. Those that were kept
are incomplete, and the latest that records were continued was
1852, as the law was repealed in 1853. Originals of a few of
these records are still with the town clerks or have been placed
in historical societies. Some records have been published in
Tree Talks and in the Cemetery, Church, and Town Records volumes
compiled by the Daughters of the American Revolution in the
State of New York (see Cemetery Records). Also useful for the
nineteenth century are the marriages and deaths listed in the
1865 and 1875 New York state censuses for the census period
ending 31 May of those years (the 1865 census also included
deaths of officers and enlisted men). Marriages and deaths were
also recorded in the 1855 state census but without names. The
statistics of births, marriages, and deaths for each household
in the 1825, 1835, and 1845 censuses can sometimes be used to
advantage.
Another attempt by the state to require the keeping of vital
records was made in 1880, and this law is the basis for the
recording of births, marriages, and deaths in New York today.
The original record is made in the town, village, or city in
which the event took place, and a copy is sent to Albany where
alphabetical indexes of names are arranged by event and thereunder
by year. Each index entry lists the name, date of event, place,
and certificate number; no maiden names, marital status, or
ages are shown. Marriages are indexed by the name of each party,
but there is no cross-referencing. Indexes for marriages for
1908 through 1914 are arranged by a Soundex code. It should
be kept in mind that compliance with the 1880 law was slow,
and many events were not recorded.
Some cities kept vital records earlier than those sent to Albany
under the 1880 law. These include Albany, Buffalo, Rochester,
Syracuse, Utica, Yonkers, and New York City. For Albany, Buffalo,
and Yonkers, birth and death records before 1914 and marriages
before 1908 should be sought from those cities' registrar of
vital statistics, as copies were not sent to the state until
those years. For the period 1908 through 1935, marriages were
recorded with the county clerk, with copies sent to Albany,
although some counties do not have these records for all of
this time period.
Copies of vital records for New York City are not duplicated
in Albany except for those areas annexed to the cities of New
York or Brooklyn after 1880, such as Staten Island (Richmond
County), the present Queens County, and certain parts of Bronx
and Kings counties. For early vital records of New York City
(Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island),
contact the New York City Municipal Archives. Births through
1897, marriages through 1937 (currently only for Manhattan and
Brooklyn), and deaths through 1929 can be obtained by mail,
or one may visit the archives and search indexes and films of
the records for a daily search fee. Marriage records for the
Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island, and for Manhattan and Brooklyn
after 1937 should be obtained from the appropriate borough office
of the city clerk. Printed New York City vital records indexes
(from 1888 for Manhattan and from 1898 for the other boroughs)
are available at the New York Public Library for births and
deaths to 1982 and for marriages to 1937. These are also available
at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society from about
1900 to the early 1930s.
Event: Birth since 1881
Cost
of copy: $15, Genealogy copies are $11.00
Remarks: Genealogy copies are $11.00 and are available if the certificate
has been on file for at least 75 years and the person whose
name is on the birth certificate is known to be dead
Event: Death since Jan 1906
Cost
of copy: $3 by mail, $10 by fax (add'l extra
$7.00 service fee)
Remarks:
Event: Death since 1880
Cost
of copy: $15
Remarks: Genealogy copies are $11.00 and are available if the certificate
has been on file for at least 50 years.
Event: Marriage since 1881
Cost
of copy: $5
Remarks: For genealogy use are available if the certificate has been
on file for at least 50 years and the bride and groom are both
known to be deceased.
Event: Marriage 1880-1907
Cost
of copy: Fees vary
Remarks: For marriage records and licenses issued in the cities
of Albany, Buffalo or Yonkers, apply to:Albany:
City Clerk, City Hall, Albany, NY 12207
Buffalo: City Clerk, City Hall, Buffalo, NY 14202
Yonkers: City Clerk, City Hall, Yonkers, NY 10701
Event: Divorce since Jan 1963
Cost
of copy: $15
Remarks: If the records are not available at the State office, they should
be available from the County Clerk in the county where the divorce
was granted.
Event: Divorce since 1847
Cost
of copy: N/A
Remarks: Since 1847 divorce actions in New York have been handled
in the supreme court for the county in which the divorce was
heard. New York divorce files, however, are sealed for one hundred
years. In colonial times, petitions for divorce had to be made
to the governor or legislature, and only a few were granted.
The court of chancery granted divorces from 1787 to 1847. These
older records are in the state archives or for the New York
City area at the New York County Clerk's Office, Division of
Old Records, 31 Chambers Street, 7th Floor, New York, New York
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Most early birth records contain very little biographical information. Typical early New England town and church records, for example, give little information beyond the name of the child, date and place of birth, and parents’ names. Some localities listed only the name of the father.
While early birth records can be discouragingly lacking in information, by the mid-nineteenth century birth records in the United States began to include more information. Even though births were not widely recorded during the early years of America’s existence, the records that do exist may be the only source of a birth date for an individual and should always be consulted.
Delayed births are also important vital registrations that you should consider for obtaining biographical information. When Social Security benefits were instituted in 1937, individuals claiming benefits had to document their birth even if the state of their birth did not require registration when they were born. Individuals who were not registered with state or county agencies at the time of their birth often applied for a delayed birth registration. Obtaining passports, insurance, and other benefits also required proof of age. Applications were accompanied with full name, address, and date and place of birth; father’s name, race, and place of birth; and evidence to support the facts presented. The evidence could be in the form of a baptismal certificate, Bible record, school record, affidavit from the attending physician or midwife, application for an insurance policy, birth certificate of a child, or an affidavit from a person having definite knowledge of the facts. Delayed birth records are usually filed and indexed separately from regular birth registrations, and it may be necessary to request a separate search for them.
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Because of the importance of the legal distribution and control of property, most states and counties began to record marriages before births and deaths. The recording of a marriage is a two-step process. Traditionally, couples apply for a license to marry, and the applications are usually filed loose among other applications or in bound volumes. Marriage returns are filed once the marriage has taken place. The latter document is the proof of a marriage (not the license application).
Marriage applications are often filled out by both the bride and groom and typically contain a significant amount of genealogical information. They may list full names of the bride and groom, their residences, races, ages, dates and places of birth, previous marriages, occupations, and their parents’ names, places of birth, and occupations.
Marriage certificates are issued by counties after the marriage ceremony is completed, and these are usually found among family items. While the certificates tend to have less biographical data than the application, the name of the individual officiating at the wedding may lead you to religious records by revealing the denomination. The religious records, in turn, may reveal the names of witnesses and other useful information.
Early American records sometimes include marriage bonds, which served as a protection for the future children of the marriage. A bond obligated a prospective groom to pay the bond if he were discovered to be a bigamist or imposter or otherwise ineligible to contract a valid marriage. As long as the marriage was legal, the bond was void. Bonds generally include the groom’s name, name of the surety, the sum, and the date of the agreement.
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Early death records in the United States provide little more than the name of the deceased, the date of death, and the place of death. Obituaries and cemetery, court, and other records often provide more information about the deceased than do most official death records created before the last quarter of the 1800s.
By 1900 death records included more details. They often include the name of the deceased; date, place, and cause of death; age at the time of death; place of birth; parents’ names; occupation; name of spouse; name of the person giving the information; the informant’s relationship to the deceased; the name and address of the funeral director; and the place of burial. Race is listed in some records, and modern death certificates generally include a Social Security number.
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