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United States  >   U.S. Vital Records >  Summary of Births in the United States by State
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Birth Records by State

The local health departments of a few large cities began recording births the mid-1800s. Early records are usually incomplete. Many counties in the East and Midwest were recording births by the late 1800's. Each state eventually developed its own laws and created a statewide registration system. Unfortunately, these records do not exist until the early 1900's in most states. Local offices did not always comply immediately with the registration laws. Within 20 years after registration laws were enacted, most states were recording at least 90 percent of the births and deaths. To learn more about the creation of civil records and the regional differences go to the United States Civil Records page. For more information about birth records in the United States go to the United States Birth Records page.

Look for more detailed information in the Wiki under each State by clicking on the link for Vital Records.

Summary of Online Birth Records by State

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arizona Births through 1932 searchable online at the Arizona Department of Health Services web site.

Arkansas

California

  California Births 1905-1995 searchable online at Ancestry.com for a fee.

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Illinois, Cook County Birth Certificates, 1878-1922 is free at FamilySearch Record Search.  It is not yet complete.

Illinois, Cook County Birth Certificates, 75 years or older is at Genealogy Online, Historical Cook County Illinois Vital Records, Cook County Clerk.  Using the index is free, but there is a fee for the records.

Indiana

Indiana Births, 1880-1920 searchable online at Ancestry.com for a fee. 

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Kentucky Birth Index, 1911-1999 searchable online at Ancestry.com for a fee.

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Vital Records of Massachusetts to 1850 at Google Books many these books are searchable free online at Google Books.

Vital Records of Massachusetts to 1850 at Ancestry.com many of these books are searchable at Ancestry.com

Michigan

Michigan Birth Records 1867-1902 available to search free online at FamilySearch Record Search.

Minnesota

Minnesota Birth Certificates, 1900-1934, searchable online at the Minnesota Historical Society.   Using the index is free, but there is a fee for the records.

Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002, searchable online at Ancestry.com for a fee.

Mississippi

Missouri

  Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910, searchable online at Ancestry.com for a fee.

  Missouri Birth & Death Records Database, Pre-1910, searchable free online at the Missouri State Archives web site.

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico 

New York

  Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003, searchable at Ancestry.com for a fee.

  New York City Births, 1891-1902, searchable at Ancestry.com for a fee.

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Utah State Archives has some indexes available to search online for some counties.

Utah Births, 1895-1905 available to search online at Ancestry.com. This database is comprised of Utah birth registers from Beaver, Carbon, Davis, Emery, Grand, Iron, Kane, Piute, Rich, Uintah, and Weber (excluding the city of Ogden) Counties from the years 1898-1905.

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

West Virginia Births 1853-1930 available to search free online at FamilySearch Record Search.

Raleigh County, West Virginia Birth Records, 1853-75 available to search online at Ancestry.com

Wisconsin

Wyoming

• This page was last modified on 27 November 2012, at 18:00.
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