Florida Vital Records

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Introduction to Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. United States Vital Records has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Florida State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also Florida Statewide Indexes and Collections at the Family History Library.

Florida Birth, Marriage and Death Records Online
The following is a list of online resources useful for locating Florida Vital Records which consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths. Check Florida Vital Records Online for more information about the resources listed below. Most online resources for Florida Vital Records are indexes. After locating a person in an index always consult the original record to confirm the information in the index.  


 * Florida Links from fhlfavorites.info - Free
 * Florida Databases listed on Rootsweb.com - Free
 * USGenWeb.org Florida Site - Free
 * Search for Florida Collections on FamilySearch Record Search under Canada, USA, and Mexico - Free
 * The Vital Records Search and Information Directory for Florida - Free/$
 * Wee Monster Links for Florida Birth &amp; Marriage and Death Records - Free/$
 * Linkpendium Links for Florida Genealogy and History, including individual Counties - Free/$
 * Progenealogists Links for the United States. Press Ctrl + F on the keyboard to search for Florida or FL - Free/$
 * Search the Florida Birth, Marriage &amp; Death Records at Ancestry.com - $
 * Order Florida Certificates online - $

Birth Records
early - 1899

The Family History Library has copies of original birth and death records for some counties of Florida as well as an extensive collection of delayed birth records dating to the 1960s. For example, there are 22 microfilms of delayed birth records for Leon County, 1874 to 1948, and two films of Pensacola birth and death records, 1891 to 1910.

1899 - present

Statewide registration of births and deaths began in 1899 and was generally complied with by 1920. Some earlier city and county records have been deposited with the state office. They include incomplete records of births from 1865 to 1917 and incomplete records of deaths from 1877 to 1917.

The Family History Library has 143 microfiche of the Florida Combined Death Index, 1877-1969. You can obtain copies of the state's records by writing to:


 * Office of Vital Statistics 1217 Pearl Street P.O. Box 210 Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042 Telephone: 904-359-6900 Fax: 904-359-6931 Internet: Florida Office of Vital Statistics

State records are closed to the general public. Conditions for obtaining a record may be obtained from the Office of Vital Statistics.

Adoption Records
Adoption records are confidential. Medical background on the birth family is given to the adoptive family at adoption. It can be obtained by the adoptee at age eighteen from the Family and Children Services Program, Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Servies.

Marriage Records
1927 - Present

Statewide registration of marriages began in June 1927.

Marriage records have been kept by each county, usually from the date the county was created. The Family History Library has a large collection of county marriage records. For example, the marriage licenses of the county judge for Hillsborough County are on 93 microfilms for the years 1849 to 1951, 1853 to 1927, and 1940 to 1956, with an index for 1846 to 1980.

Statewide registration of marriages began in June 1927. The Family History Library has 471 microfiche of the Florida Combined Marriage Index,1927-1969. These records are in the Office of Vital Statistics.

Divorce Records
Records of divorce proceedings are kept by the clerk of the circuit court in each county. You can write to the clerk for records up to June 1927. For records since then, write to the Office of Vital Statistics.

The Family History Library has 305 microfiche of the Florida Combined Divorce and Annulment Index, 1927-1969.

Death Records
1917 to Present

An explanation of the history and availability of vital records is in Guide to Public Vital Statistics Records in Florida.

Lost, Missing or Fragmented Records
When there is record loss usually there is an attempt to reconstruct some of the records; land records are reconstructed to establish clear or legal title, and for tax purposes.

Counties with record loss:

Santa Rosa (1869) and Wakulla (1896)

Substitute Records

 * Florida Church Records
 * Florida Cemetery Records
 * Florida Census Records
 * Florida History
 * Florida Military Records
 * Florida Newspapers
 * Florida Periodicals

Tips

 * Information listed on vital records is given by an informant. Learn the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) of the record.  The closer the relationship of the informant to the subject(s) and whether or not the informant was present at the time ot the event can help determine the accuracy of the information found on the record.
 * If you are unable to locate vital records recorded by govenments, search for church records for christening, marriage, death or burial. A family Bible may have been used to record births, marriages and death.
 * Records fro African Americans are often recorded in separate files with separate indexes.
 * Privacy laws may restrict your access to some vital records. Copies of some vital records recorded in the last 100 years may be unavailable to anyone except a direct relative.
 * Search for Vital Records in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search and then choosing Vital Records.  Search for Florida to locate records filed by the state and then search the name of the county to locate records kept by the county.

Archives, Libraries and Societies

 * Florida Archives and Libraries
 * Florida Societies