US Vital Records

Virginia Vital Records
Virginia registration of births, deaths, and marriages began on a county level in 1853 and continued until 1896. Many counties abandoned registration during the Civil War, or recorded only a small percentage of events. Except in some independent cities, records were not kept between 1896 and 14 June 1912, when statewide registration of vital statistics began. Early records, 1853–96, have been microfilmed and are available at The Library of Virginia and the FHL. Marriage bonds and licensing were in place from the 1600s in Virginia, though are sporadic and fragmented. They are usually found among the county levels of records, and are often published.

For birth and death records from 1913-present and marriages from 1936-present, write:

(There was no law requiring registration of births and deaths between 1896 and 1912.)

Virginia Department of Health
Office of Vital Records
James Madison Building
P.O. Box 1000
Richmond, VA 23208
Tel: 804-786-6228 (Recorded Message)
  804-786-6201

For earlier marriage records, write to the clerk of the county in question.

Virginia Department of Health - Vital Records

Virginia Research Sources

Swem, Earl Gregg. Virginia Historical Index. 1934–36. Reprint. Gloucester, MA: Peter Smith, 1965).

"A Guide to the Counties of Virginia," published serially in volumes 3–25 of The Virginia Genealogist. Falmouth, VA: John Frederick Dorman, 1957–.

Clay, Robert Young. Virginia Genealogical Resources. Detroit: Detroit Society of Genealogical Research, 1980.

Jester, Annie Lash. Some Peculiarities of Genealogical Research in Virginia: Colonial. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1969.
Livingston, Virginia Pope. Some Peculiarities of Genealogical Research in Virginia: Post Revolutionary. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1969.

Library of Virginia, Digital Collection
http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/

Virginia Genealogical Society
5001 West Broad Street, Suite 115
Richmond, VA 23230-3023
Tel: 804-285-8954
http://www.vgs.org/

Lower DelMarVa Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 3602
Salisbury, MD 21802-3602
Tel: 410-742-3501
  410-546-0314
http://bay.intercom.net/ldgs/index.html

Virginia Historical Society
428 North Boulevard
P.O. Box 7311
Richmond, VA 23221-0311
Tel: 804-358-4901
  804-342-9658 (Membership)
http://www.vahistorical.org

Virginia Genealogy Information
http://www.virginia.org/site/features.asp?FeatureID=232

Genealogy and History of the Eastern Shore (GHOTES)
http://www.esva.net/ghotes/

VIVA - Virtual Library of Virginia
http://www.viva.lib.va.us/

Valley of the Shadow (Civil War)
http://jefferson.village.Virginia.EDU/vshadow2/contents.html

Virginia Department of Health - Vital Records
http://www.vdh.state.va.us/vitalrec/index.asp