District of Columbia Vital Records

United States &gt; District of Columbia &gt; District of Columbia Vital 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.

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


 * The usgenweb.org site for Washington D.C. or District of Columbia - Free
 * Search for District of Columbia Collections on FamilySearch Record Search under Canada, USA, and Mexico - Free
 * The Vital Records Search and Information Directory for District of Columbia - Free/$
 * Linkpendium Links for District of Columbia Genealogy and History - Free/$
 * Progenealogists Links for the United States. Press Ctrl + F on the keyboard to search for District of Columbia or DC - Free/$
 * Search the District of Columbia Birth, Marriage &amp; Death Records at Ancestry.com - $

If you are aware of other online databases, please feel free to add them.

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: Department of Human Services

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. 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.

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. 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: District of Columbia Courts

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: United States District Court for the District of Columbia

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: Clerk of the Superior Court

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.