Victoria Civil Registration -- Vital Records

How to Find the Records
Civil registration in Victoria began July 1853; before 1853 see New South Wales (1836).


 * National Library of Australia Website: Australian birth, death and marriage records: Victoria
 * FamilySearch Webinar: Australia BDM Civil Registration Index online tutorial.

Online Resources

 * Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria
 * 1836-1913 Victoria Births 1836-1913 - at Findmypast, Index ($)
 * 1837-1917 Victoria, Australia, Birth Index, 1837-1917, index - at Ancestry ($). Also at MyHeritage ($)
 * 1836-1942 Victoria Marriages 1836-1942 - at Findmypast, Index ($)
 * 1837-1950 Victoria, Australia, Marriage Index, 1837-1950, index - at Ancestry ($). Also at MyHeritage ($)
 * 1836-1985 Victoria Deaths 1836-1985 - at Findmypast, Index ($)
 * 1836-1988 Victoria, Australia, Death Index, 1836-1988, index - at Ancestry ($). Also at MyHeritage ($)

New South Wales Online Records, Including Victoria Prior to 1853

 * New South Wales Birth, Death, and Marriage Index
 * 1787-1986 - Australia, New South Wales Death Index at MyHeritage - index only ($)
 * 1788-1945 - New South Wales Deaths at Findmypast; index only ($)
 * 1788-1914 - New South Wales Births at Findmypast; index only ($); Also at MyHeritage ($)
 * 1788-1856 - New South Wales, Australia, Colonial Secretary's Papers at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1788-1945 - New South Wales Marriages at Findmypast; index only ($)
 * 1788-1966 - Australia, New South Wales Marriage Index at MyHeritage - index only ($)
 * 1813–1835,1894 - New South Wales, Australia, Butts of Marriage Licenses at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1825-1851 - New South Wales Registers Of Convict Applications To Marry at Findmypast - index & images ($); Also at Ancestry ($)
 * 1826-1856 - New South Wales, Australia, Colonial Secretary's Letters at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1826-1879 - New South Wales, Australia, Convict Death Register at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1828-1839 - New South Wales, Australia, Convict Applications for the Publication of Banns at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1850-1942 Military records : marriages, baptisms and births of military units in New South Wales, ca. 1850-1942 at FamilySearch, images.

Australia Online Records

 * Australia, Birth, Marriage, and Death Exchange, index
 * 1776-1980 at FamilySearch; index & images
 * 1787-1985 Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985, index - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1788-1922 Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922, index - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1788-1950 Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950, index - at Ancestry ($)
 * 1788-1935 Australia, Marriages, 1788-1935, index - at Findmypast ($)
 * 1792-1981, index, incomplete. How to Use this Collection
 * 1792-1981 Australia, Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981, index - at Ancestry ($). Also at Findmypast ($). Also at My Heritage ($)
 * 1810-1980, index, incomplete. How to Use this Collection
 * 1810-1980 Australia, Marriages, 1810-1980, index - at MyHeritage ($)
 * 1816-1980, index. How to Use this Collection
 * 1816-1980 Australia Deaths & Burials, 1816-1980, index - at Findmypast ($). Also at My Heritage ($)
 * 1851-1997 Australia Newspaper Vital Notices, 1851-1997 - at Ancestry, ($), index, incomplete.
 * 1860-2019 Australia Death Notices, 1860-2019, ($), index

British Armed Forces

 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms at Findmypast - index & images ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages at Findmypast - index & images ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials at Findmypast - index & images ($)

Contact an Office
Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria:
 * Birth records from 1853 to 100 years before today's date
 * Marriages and registered relationships from 1853 to 60 years before today's date
 * Death records from 1853 to 30 years before today's date
 * An events at sea index: births, deaths and marriages on ships bound for port in Victoria, between 1853 and 1920.
 * Church baptisms, marriages and burials in Victoria from 1836 to 1853.
 * See website for periods of restriction for available records, and for links to get birth, marriage and death certificates within the restricted period.

New South Wales Archive Resources Kit, Including Records for Areas now in Victoria

 * Archive Resources Kit
 * Abstracts of all licences for marriages granted to free persons, 1813-27
 * Registers, 1787-1856
 * Reports of inquests, 1796-1828
 * Indexes and registers of Coroners' inquests and magisterial inquiries, 1834-1942

"The ARK is held by 40 community access points across NSW. The majority of access points are libraries. The ARK consists of microfilm copies of our most popular and heavily used colonial records. Included are records relating to convict arrivals, assisted immigrants, births, deaths and marriages, publicans' licences, electoral rolls, naturalisation, returns of the colony ('Blue Books'), land grants, and the wide range of functions of the Colonial Secretary (1788-1825). You may find that the ARK (or parts of it) are held at a library near you."
 * Community Access Points A list of libraries and archives which hold microcopies of the Archive Resource Kit records

Information Recorded in the Records
When civil registration first began, there was no common standard of recording information, so the information listed may vary from state to state. Later records generally give more complete information than earlier ones.

Birth records


 * Surname and forenames of child
 * Date and place of birth of child
 * Sex of the child
 * Multiple births
 * Surname and forenames of father
 * Age, birthplace, and occupation or rank of father
 * Maiden surname and forenames of mother
 * Place and year of marriage of parents
 * Age and birthplace of mother
 * Number and sex of previous issue, if deceased
 * Name, relationship, description, and residence of informant

Marriage records


 * Surname and forenames of parties
 * Occupations and places of residence of parties
 * Ages and places of birth of parties
 * Marital status prior to the marriage
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Name of celebrant and denomination
 * Names of witnesses
 * Surnames and forenames of parents

Death records


 * Surname and forenames of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Occupation, age, and sex of deceased
 * Place of birth and place and date of marriage of deceased
 * Length of residence in Australia and in what colonies, states, and territories
 * Name of spouse and names and ages of living children of deceased
 * Number and sex of issue, if deceased
 * Name and occupation of father
 * Maiden surname of mother
 * Cause of death and duration of last illness
 * Name of medical practitioner
 * Date and place of burial
 * Religion and name of minister or witness
 * Names of undertaker and informant
 * Residence and relationship or description of informant
 * Date and place of civil registration

FamilySearch Library
Additional sources are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog: