How to Find Birth Information in Utah

United StatesVital Records United States Birth Records How to Find Birth Information in the United States See also Utah Utah Vital Records  See also United States, How to Use Birth Records

Introduction
Looking for a birth certificate for an ancestor might seem like the first place to start your genealogical research, but no government agencies in Utah were required by law to record birth before 1898. Though not required to do so, Salt Lake City and Ogden began registering births in 1890 and Park City began registering births in 1892. State registration of births began in 1905 and generally complied with by 1917. During the time period from 1898 to 1905 or later, you may wish to search individual county records. See Utah Vital Records.

Birth records are considered confidential for a period of 100 years so access to more recent records may require proof that you are a direct descendant of the person whose record you seek. To obtain more recent birth records in Utah see "Obtaining Birth Records Research Guide" from the Utah State Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Records.

Fortunately, there are many other record sources that contain birth information besides official state birth certificates. Some birth records are filmed and/or digitized and part of FamilySearch.org's Historical Record Collections. You can also search either by topic or geographic location in the Family History Library catalog.

You may also wish to search the following categories of records that can contain birth information:

Additional Sources for Birth Records

 * Family records including Family Bibles and personal histories. See United States, How to Find Family Histories
 * Birth records including city and county civil registrations.
 * Death records often contain birth information. See United States, How to Find Death Records
 * Marriage records
 * Census records sometimes give ages and in some records tell the month and year of birth.
 * Church records of births and christenings.
 * Obituaries often give birth information.
 * Cemetery records including Tombstonesusually give birth and death dates.
 * Funeral home records.
 * Emigration and immigration records.
 * Military records.
 * Newspapers often listed new births.
 * Probate records.
 * Land and Property records.
 * Territorial Records.
 * Court Records.

Content of Birth Records
Not all of the alternative sources for birth information are going to contain the same information. Some of the sources, such as U.S. Census records, may contain only an approximate date of birth. But birth records generally give the child's name, sex, date and place of birth, and the names of the parents. Records of the twentieth century or later, may provide additional details, such as the name of the hospital, birthplace of parents, occupation of the parents, marital status of the mother, and the number of other children born to the mother.

Types of information you may find in birth records

 * An address that would lead to the discovery of the family in a census or city directory
 * Ages of parents
 * Child’s birth order
 * Child's gender
 * Church records for the birth
 * Date of birth
 * Family’s home address
 * Full name of child
 * Hospital or name a medical attendant
 * Maiden name for the mother
 * Names of both parents
 * Names of the previous generation
 * Newspaper birth announcement
 * Occupation of parents
 * Parents' approximate years of birth
 * Parents' birthplaces
 * Place of birth
 * Race of child
 * Religious affiliation
 * Which children belong to which mother in the case of multiple marriages

Delayed or Supplementary Birth Records
Utah State law provides for the issuance of a delayed birth certificates if one was not created at the time of birth.

Utah law also provides for the creation of a supplementary birth certificate for any person born in this state who is legitimized by the subsequent marriage of the child's natural parents, or whose parentage has been determined by any U.S. state court or Canadian provincial court having jurisdiction, or who has been legally adopted under the law of this or any other state or any province of Canada.

Delayed birth certificates or supplemental birth certificates are dated back to the date of the original birth, if known.