District of Columbia Vital Records

Births and Deaths
Registration of vital statistics began in 1874 for the District of Columbia and was generally complied with by 1915 for births and 1880 for deaths. You can obtain copies of these records by writing to:

Department of Human Services Vital Records Division 800 9th Street S.W. Washington, DC 20024 Telephone: 202-645-5962 Internet: http://www.dhs.dc.gov/dhs/site/default.asp

The current fees for obtaining copies of the state's records are listed in Where to Write for Vital Records: Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Divorces (Hyattsville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, March 1993 FHLbook 973 V24wv). Copies of this booklet are at the Family History Library and many Family History Centers. You can also write to the Department of Human Services (address above) for current information.

Some earlier records of deaths exist from 1855, except for the war years of 1861 to 1865, and can be obtained from the above address. The Family History Library has copies of some of the District's vital records: births, 1874-1897 (FHL films 2020343-4; deaths for 1855-1949 beginning on film 1994618).

Marriages
Registration of marriages began in 1811. Some of the early marriages for the years 1811 to 1858 have been transcribed by the DAR and are at the Family History Library. (FHL book 975.3 V28p; films 485769-70). You can obtain marriage records from 1811 to the present by writing to:

Superior Court of the District of Columbia Marriage License Bureau 500 Indiana Avenue N.W. Washington, DC 20001 Telephone: 202-879-4840 Internet: http://www.dccourts.gov/dccourts/superior/index.jsp

Divorces
Divorce proceedings prior to September 1956 are available from:

Clerk of the U.S. District Court 3rd and Constitution Avenue N.W. Washington, DC 20001 Telephone: 202-273-0555 Internet: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/general.html

Some of the early divorce records are at the National Archives. Divorce documents filed since 1956 are at:

Clerk of the Superior Court Family Division 500 Indiana Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 Telephone: 202-879-1418 Internet: http://www.dccourts.gov/dccourts/superior/clerk.jsp

The old divorce docket, 1803 to 1848, is in four volumes at the National Archives in Suitland. The Family History Library has no District of Columbia divorce records.