Nebraska Vital Records

Nebraska Birth, Marriage and Death Records
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 Nebraska Vital Records State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also at the FamilySearch Library.

Vital Records Reference Dates
Nebraska vital records start the following years:

* "With the exception of some delayed birth registrations located in the office of the county clerk, Nebraska did not record births and deaths at the county level." The city of Omaha kept birth and death records prior to statewide registration.

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

Family Search Historical Records


 * 1855-1995 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * Nebraska, Marriage Records, 1855-1908($), Index and images

A wiki article describing a FamilySearch collection is found at:


 * Nebraska Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records - Free

Other


 * United States Marriages – Nebraska, 1778-1938 ($) index, some images
 * Nebraska Databases listed on Rootsweb.com - Free
 * USGenWeb.org Nebraska Site - Free
 * See Joe Beine's links to online Nebraska Birth &amp; Marriage and Death Records - Free/$
 * Linkpendium Links for Nebraska Genealogy and History, including individual Counties - Free/$
 * Search the Nebraska Birth, Marriage &amp; Death Records at Ancestry - $
 * I Dream of Genealogy Nebraska Marriages - Free/$
 * Order Nebraska Certificates online - $
 * Nebraska Death Records &amp; Indexes (deathindexes.com)
 * The Nebraska Death Index
 * 1956-1968 - A free searchable database of 185,806 deaths in the state of Nebraska between 1956-1968
 * 1904-1955 - Free digitized images of the approximately 1.4 million entries in the death index for the years 1904-1955.

Local Records of Births and Deaths
The earliest civil vital records were kept by a few city health departments. The city of Omaha has birth records dating from 1869 and death records from 1873. Lincoln has birth and death files from 1889.

A few Nebraska counties also began recording births and deaths before statewide registration. Contact the county clerk to obtain copies of the records. Copies of the incomplete county records before 1905 (except Douglas County) are also available at the Bureau of Vital Statistics (see below). For Douglas County records write to:

Douglas County Health Department Vital Statistics, Civic Center, Room 402 1819 Farnam Street Omaha, NE 68183-0401 Telephone: 402-444-7205

State Records of Births and Deaths
Statewide registration of births and deaths began in 1904 and was generally complied with by 1920. Delayed registrations are also available from 1917 for births that occurred before that time. To obtain copies of the records, write to:
 * 1904-1994 Nebraska, U.S., Birth Ledgers, 1904-1911, Birth Index, 1912-1994 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1873-1910 An Index to the Douglas County Birth Registers is available online through the Omaha Public Library. There are five volumes of the birth registers on three reels of microfilm with nearly 50,000 records in the collection. Only volume 5 of South Omaha is currently indexed. The records include the full name, sex, race, date of birth, place of birth, names of parents, and residence of parents.  Available at the Omaha Public Library Genealogy & Local History Room. Call number Nebraska Reference 929.3782254. Douglas County Birth Registers

Nebraska Department of Health &amp; Human Services Division of Public Health Vital Records P.O. Box 95065 Lincoln, NE 68509-5065 Telephone: 402-471-2871 E-mail: [mailto:DHHS.VitalRecords@nebraska.gov DHHS.VitalRecords@nebraska.gov]

State your relationship to the individual and the reason you want the information. Requests for records of persons born or married within the last 50 years are only available to a member of the immediate family.

The current fees for this service are listed at the above website and at VitalRecords.com.

The FamilySearch Library has not acquired copies of Nebraska birth or death records from state, county, or city offices. Some vital records have been transcribed and published in genealogical periodicals.

Marriage Records
Marriages have been recorded by individual counties since the date each county was organized. Marriage documents since 1867 often list the names of parents of the bride and groom. Copies can be obtained by writing to the office of the probate judge in the county. Some of the earliest marriage records are now in the custody of the Nebraska State Historical Society. The FamilySearch Library has microfilms of marriage records for many counties.

Statewide registration of marriages began in 1909. Since that time, each county clerk has been required to submit a copy of all marriage records to the Bureau of Vital Statistics. You can write to the Bureau (address above) for information. The Bureau of Vital Statistics will release records of marriages within the last 50 years only to a member of the immediate family.

Marriage records for some counties may be found at Nebraska Marriage Records and Nebraska, U.S., Index to Marriages, 1909-1955

Divorce Records
Divorce proceedings since the 1850's have been kept by the clerk of the district court for each county. Divorce records since 1909 are also at the Bureau of Vital Statistics.

Death Records
There are some online death records and indexes at Online Nebraska Death Records and Indexes.


 * 1861-1948 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1873-1915 Douglas County Death Register Indexes, free searchable PDF. Volumes 1-3 (1873-1904) of Douglas County, and volumes 4 and 5 (1895-1915) of South Omaha are available online. The index includes the full name, age, sex, race, nativity, occupation, marital status, residence, cause of death, death date, and place of interment. Images of the registers are available on microfilm at the Omaha Public Library Genealogy & Local History Room. Call number Nebraska Reference 929.3782254. Contains over 37,000 records.
 * 1904-1955 Nebraska, U.S., Index to Deaths, 1904-1955 at Ancestry - index only ($)
 * 1904-1968 The Nebraska Death Index - Index of years 1956-1968, and browsable digitized images for years 1904-1955.
 * 1919-1976 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1956-1968 Nebraska, Death Index, 1956-1968 at MyHeritage — index only ($)

Cause of Death

 * Causes of Death - use this resource when trying to interpret a disease or medical condition listed on a death record or certificate

Substitute Records
Nebraska Church Records

Nebraska Cemetery Records

Nebraska Census

Nebraska Newspapers

Nebraska Obituaries

Nebraska Military Records

Nebraska Periodicals

Nebraska History

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 of the event can help determine the accuracy of the infomation found on the record.
 * If you're unable to locate vital records recorded by governments, search for church records of christening, marriage, death or burial. A family Bible may have been used to record births, marriages and deaths.
 * 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 FamilySearch Catalog by using Place Search and then choosing Vital Records. Search for Nebraska to locate records filed by the State and then search the name of the county to locate records kept by that county.

Archives, Libraries and Societies
Nebraska Archives and Libraries

Nebraska Societies

Inventory of Vital Records
A description of the history and availability of existing records is in The Guide to Public Vital Statistics Records In Nebraska.