Vital Records Around the World

Vital records—birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates and divorce decrees—are some of the best resources to help build a family tree. Access guides, links and databases of vital records in countries around the world.

  • Group of people sitting at funeral, casket with flowers in front
    The History of Death and Burial Customs
  • WWII Draft Registration Records
  • Apple Ipad 2 with Google search engine on screen
    How to Search the Google News Archive
  • Library and Archives Canada - Genealogy
    Canada Ancestry
  • Traditional Protestant / Evangelical Preacher
    Historical Methodist Church Records and Archives
  • Workers celebrate completion of the Transcontinental Railroad
    Researching Old Railroads and Railway Records
  • Man looking at files in a storage room
    Records of Births, Marriages and Deaths in Germany
  • Ruins of Ballinskelligs Priory and Cemetery, Ballinskelligs, Ireland
    Irish Cemeteries and Burial Records Online
  • Australian flag
    Australia: Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths
  • Château Frontenac hotel, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
    Online Databases for French-Canadian Ancestry
  • Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
    New South Wales Genealogy Online
  • A woman working at a computer using software to analyze qualitative data.
    British Death and Burial Records Online
  • A wheelwright building a wagon wheel
    Dictionary of Old and Obsolete Occupations - W
  • Trunk Bay, St. John, US Virgin Islands
    US Virgin Islands Vital Records: Birth, Death, Marriage, and Divorce
  • Register of deaths
    Important Things You Can Learn From Death Records
  • Close-Up Of Eyeglasses On Letter
    Online Databases & Records for Research in British India
  • Memorial Day at the Cemetery
    Military Abbreviations Found on US Grave Markers
  • Stromovka park, Prague, Czech Lands 10/29/1916
    5 Places to Search for Your Czech Ancestors
  • Learn how to locate naturalization, citizenship and other documents related to US residency
    U.S. Naturalization and Citizenship Records
  • An abandoned wagon marks the site of a former homestead.
    U.S. Land Records Online
  • Social Security Cards
    How to Obtain a Copy of a Social Security Application Form SS-5
  • Young couple using laptop, indoors.
    How to Make Sense of Census Abbreviations
  • Subscription-based historical newspapers research
    Newspapers.com for Genealogy Research
  • Learn how to find and access digitized copies of vital records -- birth, marriage and death certificates -- for each US state online.
    Vital Records Online by State
  • Google search
    25 Google Genealogy Style
  • Land legislation and US public land acts played an important role in the settlement of the American West.
    A Timeline of US Public Land Acts
  • 1940 Census ED Descriptions, National Archives & Records Administration
    What Is a US Census Enumeration District?
  • New York City skyline looking south towards Lower Manhattan at sunset.
    New York City Vital Records
  • Passenger manifest for the SS Baltic arriving in New York on 29 June 1906 includes a number of markings and annotations that may lead to further information and records.
    U.S. Passenger List Annotations and Markings
  • Deed books
    Glossary of Common Land and Property Terms
  • There are many different types of marriage records available.
    Marriage Records
  • Black man using laptop in library
    10 Databases for Researching Enslaved Ancestors
  • An Indenture for the transfer of land from Nicholas Thomas to Lambert Strarenbergh in Albany, New York, circa 1734.
    Locating Historical U.S. Deeds Online
  • King Louis XIV
    Researching Ancestors in the Canadian Census
  • Two people drawing at a table with a protractor.
    Land Platting Made Easy
  • Explore online, digitized historical newspapers from across the US
    U.S. Historical Newspapers Online by State
  • french-burgundy-region.jpg
    French Genealogy Records Online
  • The Chronicling America website of the Library of Congress is a wonderful source for digitized historical newspapers.
    Historic Newspapers Online
  • Online Death Records and Indexes
  • Interior of Alcatraz US federal penitentiary.
    Historical U.S. Prison Records Online
  • Ellis Island, New York City
    Did My Ancestor Come Through Ellis Island?
  • What does that old occupation really mean?
    Free Dictionary of Old Occupations and Trades
  • U.S. State Archives Online
  • US Agricultural Census Schedules contain detailed information on farms, large and small, from 1840 to the present.
    Agricultural Schedules of the United States Census
  • How to Use Wills and Estate Records to Learn About Your Ancestors
  • Marriage license and family tree with pencil and other documents on a table.
    Vital Records Available in Alberta, Canada
  • 10 Fabulous Sources for Family History Books Online
  • Street scene, Dublin, Ireland
    Ireland Vital Records: Civil Registration
  • WWI Draft Registration Records
  • getty-gettysburg-cannon.jpg
    How to Trace Your U.S. Military Ancestors
  • Researching an ancestor's occupation
    Discovering the Occupations of Your Ancestors
  • Record your family medical history
    Tracing Your Family Medical History
  • Maryland Vital Records - Certificates of Birth, Death and Marriage
  • A "pitman" or "pit man" is a generic term for mine worker.
    Dictionary of Old Occupations - Occupations That Begin with P
  • New Zealand birth register
    New Zealand Births, Deaths and Marriages Available Online
  • Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
  • US flags on graves at a military cemetery
    Free Military Cemetery and Casualty Databases Online
  • NC Confederate Pension for Caroline Everett, widow of Joseph Everett, Edgecombe County, NC
    Confederate Pension Records
  • James Garfield Civil War index card on Fold3. Shared with permission.
    Civil War Union Pension Records
  • Locating records in a courthouse or archive is much easier with some advanced planning!
    Genealogy Research at the Courthouse, Archives or Library
  • Canadian Land and Tax Records
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