South Dakota, Department of Health, Birth and Marriage Indexes - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection is a database of births from 1843 to 1914 and marriages from 1950 to 2016 provided by the South Dakota Department of Health.

Statewide registration of vital statistics began in 1905 and was generally complied with by 1932. Delayed birth records date from the early 1900's. Pre-1905 records exist for some South Dakota counties and are located in the office of the registrar of deeds in each county.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth
 * Name of the child
 * Gender
 * Names of the parents
 * Birth date
 * Birthplace

Marriage
 * Names of bride and groom
 * Date of Marriage
 * Birthplaces and residences of bride and groom
 * Ages of bride and groom

Collection Content
This collection does not contain any marriage records for the years 1986-1994. The collection does not include any birth records for the year 1915.

Coverage Map
Details on the number of records available by county, and number of records per year are available at South Dakota Birth Index and South Dakota Marriage Index.

To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of South Dakota marriages, click here.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this index it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the individual
 * Approximate date and or location of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
If these are indexes, the original records may contain additional information than was not indexed, or the information might have been indexed incorrectly. You may want to search for the original record at the South Dakota Health Department.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Search for vital records such as birth, marriage, and death
 * Search for burial information in newspapers
 * Use the information found in the record to find land and property
 * Use the information found in the record to find probate records
 * Use the information found in the record to find naturalization and citizenship records, if applicable
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in census records

I Can’t Find The Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching in a nearby locality
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names, or even initials

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of South Dakota.
 * South Dakota Guided Research
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research: 1850-1905 | 1905-Present

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.