GuidedResearch:Why Can't I Find the Record - Maryland Births

This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find birth information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the birth section of the Maryland Guided Research page.

How to Request the Record When It's Not Online
Beginning in 1898, Maryland law required counties to record births. General compliance occurred in the 1910s. An earlier law, in 1865, also required the recording of births, but there was low compliance and only limited information recorded. To learn more about record limitations and restrictions, see the article How to Find Maryland Birth Records. To find or order birth records after 1865, visit or contact:


 * Maryland State Archives 350 Rowe Blvd. Annapolis, MD 21401 Phone: (410) 260-6400 Website Guide to Government Records
 * Birth records can be viewed onsite or a research request can be made.

To order birth records after 1924, contact:


 * Department of Health Division of Vital Records Reisterstown Plaza, 6550 Reisterstown Road Baltimore, MD 21215 Phone: (410) 764-3038 Website

NOTE: Birth records are confidential for 100 years from the date of birth or until the death of the named individual. Only the person on the certificate, parents, or spouse may obtain a birth certificate during this restricted period (see Restrictions for more details).

Additional Records with Birth Information
Substitute records may contain information about more than one event and are used when records for an event are not available. Records that are used to substitute for birth events may not have been created at the time of the birth. The accuracy of the record is contingent upon when the information was recorded. Search for information in multiple substitute records to confirm the accuracy of these records.

Tips for finding births
Successfully finding birth records in online databases depends on a few key points. Try the following search suggestions:
 * Spelling variations. Your ancestor's name may be misspelled. Search with spelling variations for the first and last name of your ancestor.
 * Search parents. Search for the parents, if known, as the child's first name may not be on the birth record.
 * Search given name. Search by given name (leave out the last name) with the approximate date of birth.
 * Add information. For common names, add more information to narrow the search such as approximate birth date or parent's names if known.
 * Date range. Expand the date range of the search by 5 years.
 * Search state. Search using the state name only instead of by county.

Known Record Gaps
Records Start
 * 1865-1884 Births recorded at County Circuit Courts but registration was inconsistent.
 * 1898-1972 Births recorded at the county level.

Records Published Collection coverage tables show the places and time periods of original records published. Check the coverage table for the collections you searched which did not include your ancestor. Gaps in the online collection may require searches in other records or original birth records at an archive.
 * Maryland Births and Christenings (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Records Destroyed The following counties had record loss. Click on the county for more information.