GuidedResearch:Why Can't I Find the Record - Ohio Births

This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find birth information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the birth section of the Ohio Guided Research page.

Mandatory birth registration started in 1908. Some counties began recording births in 1867, although registration was often incomplete. Births found before 1867 are from delayed birth records filed with the county and are only available for a few counties.

Additional Databases and Online Resources

 * 1774-1973: Ohio, Births and Christenings Index, 1774-1973  - ($)
 * 1908-1964: Ohio, Birth Index, 1908-1964  - ($)

Additional Records with Birth Information
Substitute records can contain information about more than one event and are used when records for an event are not available. Because the substitute records may not be created at the time of the event, it may contain incorrect information. Search for as many substitute records as possible to collaborate information found in substitute records to help improve accuracy.

Tips for finding births
Success with finding birth records in online databases depends on a few key points:
 * Your ancestor's name may misspelled. Try the following search tactics:
 * Try searching spelling variations for your ancestor.
 * Try searching for the parents if known. Sometimes a child's first name is not on the birth record.
 * Try different spelling variations of the first and last name of your ancestor.
 * Try a given name search (leave out the last names)


 * Expand the date range of the search.
 * Try searching with the state name only instead of by county.
 * If your ancestor's name is common, try adding more information to narrow the search.

Known Record Gaps
Records Start Mandatory birth registration started in 1908. Some counties began recording births in 1867, although registration was often incomplete. Births before 1867 in this index are from delayed births filed with the county and are only available for a few counties.

Records Published Collection coverage tables show the places and time periods of original records published. Check the coverage table for the collections you searched which did not include your ancestor. Gaps in the online collection may require searches in other records or original birth records at an archive.


 * Ohio Births and Christenings, Coverage Table
 * Ohio, County Birth Records, Coverage Table

Records destroyed United States Counties With Records Loss shows which counties and when the loss happened. Zoom in to the state and click on a county marked in red to see date details.