Georgia Birth, Marriage, Divorce and Death Records

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See Also Researching in Vital Records - Vital records, as their name suggests, are connected with central life events: birth, marriage, and death. Maintained by civil authorities, they are prime sources of genealogical information; but, unfortunately, official vital records are available only for relatively recent periods. These records, despite their recent creation in the United States, are critically important in genealogical research, often supplying details on family members well back into the nineteenth century.......

Georgia attempted to require registration of births, marriages, and deaths on a county level in 1875, but the law was repealed in 1876. Some vital records for fourteen Georgia counties for 1875 have been microfilmed and are available at the Georgia Department of Archives and History.

In 1919 Georgia law required the registration of all births and deaths in the state. As in many other states, Georgia's county governments were slow to respond to the new law and most did not comply until 1928. A few major cities required birth and death registration early:

  • Atlanta—births, 1896; deaths, 1887. Fulton County Health Department, 99 Butler Street, S.E., Atlanta, GA 30303.
  • Savannah—births, 1890; deaths, 1803. Chatham County Health Department, P.O. Box 14257, Savannah, GA 31406. Early death records have been published by the Georgia Historical Society.
  • Macon—births, 1891; deaths, 1882. Bibb County Health Department, 770 Hemlock Street, Macon, GA 31298.
  • Columbus—births, 1869; deaths, 1890. Muscogee County Health Department, 1958 Eighth Avenue, Columbus, GA 31901.
  • Gainesville—births, 1865; deaths, 1909. Available on microfilm at the Georgia Department of Archives and History.

Birth and death records in Georgia can be requested from the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Vital Records Unit, Room 217-H, Health Building, 47 Trinity Avenue, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30334. If your request is urgent, call and charge certificates to a Visa or MasterCard. There is an additional fee for this service.

Like in most other states, marriage records in Georgia are created at the county level. Some Georgia counties kept early marriage bonds before 1805; however, Georgia law did not require marriage licenses to be recorded until 1805. Officials were careless in adhering to the law and some marriages were consequently not recorded. Some records were also lost in various courthouse fires. All recorded Georgia marriages to 1900 are available on microfilm at the Georgia Department of Archives and History and the FHL. The former also has some loose, original county marriage records. Heritage Papers' periodical Georgia Genealogist contains published marriages to 1810. Mary B. Warren's Georgia Marriages 1811 Through 1820 (Danielsville, Ga.: Heritage Papers, 1988) continued publishing the marriages.

From 1793 to 1832, divorces in Georgia were subject to legislative approval after being approved by the county superior court. The divorce files continue to be in the custody of the county superior courts. Divorces, name changes, and decrees of feme sole granted by the Georgia legislature are abstracted in Robert S. Davis, Jr., The Georgia Black Book II (Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1987).

Search Georgia Historical Records - Databases include Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records; Birth, Marriage & Death Records; Voter Lists & Census Records; Immigration & Emigration Records; Obituary Records; Military Records; Family Tree Records; Pictures; Stories, Memories & Histories; Directories & Member Lists and much more....

Georgia State Vital Records, Center for Health Statistics Office is located at State Dept of Human Resources, 2600 Skyland Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30319-3640 (404) 679-4730 info, (877) 572-6343; Fax: (404) 524-4278. They have the following records:

  • Birth & Death Certificates: Birth records are available from 1919 to the present. For earlier records in Atlanta or Savannah or other cities or counties, write to the Vital Records Office (see above) in county where event occurred. Fees are listed below. You can download an application online for Birth Certificates. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates much quicker by ordering HERE.
  • Death Certificates: Certified copies of death records are available from 1919 to the present. Death certificates are available to the general public. For earlier records in Atlanta or Savannah or other cities or counties, write to the Vital Records Office (see above) in county where event occurred. Fees are listed below. You can download an application online for Death Certificates. Click Here to Search the Social Security Death Index for FREEicon
  • Marriage Certificates: Centralized State records since June 9, 1952. Certified copies of marriage documents up to 1966 are issued at State office. Contact the Wilcox County Probate office for marriages in Wilcox County occurring before June 9, 1952, and all other counties will be forwarded to appropriate Probate Judge in county where license was issued.The state office does no record marriage license or applications after July 1, 1997.
  • Ordering Vital Records Online- You can also order Order Electronically Online to obtain a certified copy of a birth, marriage, death or divorce record with a credit or debit card and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering from VitalChek Express Certificate Service.

The fee to search for a birth, Marriage or Death certificate is $10.00, which includes one certified copy of the certificate or a "Certificate of Failure to Find." For each additional copy of the certificate ordered at the same time, the fee is $5.00. Make certified checks and money orders should be made payable to "Vital Records, GA. DHR". Credit Cards may be uses by using VitalChek services. Please do not send cash or checks. Fees are non refundable. Additional fees are required for expedited service. Mail all Applications to:Vital Records, 2600 Skyland Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30319-3640. You can download an application online for Birth Certificates or Death Certificates.

Links For Birth Records

Links For Marriage Records

Links For Death Records

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