Free genealogy records by state
One guide for each state and DC, covering vital records, census, probate and land, newspapers, archives, and county-level tips. Last checked Oct 2026.
| State | Statewide vital registration | |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Statewide birth and death registration began in January 1908. | |
| Alaska | The state office has some records from the 1890s, but many births and deaths before 1930 were never registered. Statewide registration is usually dated to 1913. | check |
| Arizona | Statewide birth and death registration began in July 1909. | |
| Arkansas | Statewide birth and death registration began in February 1914. | |
| California | Statewide birth and death registration began in July 1905. | |
| Colorado | The state office has deaths from 1900 and births from 1910 (some counties earlier). Statewide registration is usually dated to 1907. | check |
| Connecticut | Statewide registration is usually dated to July 1897. Towns recorded births, marriages and deaths long before that. | check |
| Delaware | Published charts date statewide births to 1861 (with a gap from 1863 to 1881) and deaths to 1881. The state office itself only has births from 1942 and deaths from 1974; older records are at the Delaware Public Archives. | check |
| District of Columbia | The District's records start with deaths in 1855 (none were filed during the Civil War) and births in 1874. | |
| Florida | The state office has some births from 1850 and deaths from 1877, but most records start in 1917. Published charts give 1899 as the start of statewide registration. | check |
| Georgia | Statewide birth and death registration began in January 1919. | |
| Hawaii | Registration started in the Kingdom of Hawaii era. Published sources give births from 1842 (or 1853) and deaths from 1859. | check |
| Idaho | Statewide birth and death registration began in July 1911. From 1907 to 1911, the county recorders kept them. | |
| Illinois | Statewide birth and death registration began in January 1916. | |
| Indiana | Statewide death registration began in January 1900 and birth registration in October 1907. | |
| Iowa | Statewide registration of births, deaths and marriages began in July 1880. Early compliance was patchy. | |
| Kansas | Statewide birth and death registration began in July 1911. | |
| Kentucky | Statewide birth and death registration began in January 1911. Kentucky also kept some statewide registers from 1852 to about 1910. | check |
| Louisiana | Statewide registration is usually dated to 1914 (births from July 1914). New Orleans kept records much earlier. | check |
| Maine | Statewide registration began in 1892. Towns recorded births, marriages and deaths before that. | |
| Maryland | Statewide birth registration began in August 1898. Baltimore City births go back to 1875. | |
| Massachusetts | Statewide registration began in 1841, among the earliest in the country. Town records go back to the 1600s. | |
| Michigan | Statewide registration began in 1867. Many births before 1906 and deaths before 1897 were never sent to the state. | |
| Minnesota | Statewide birth registration began in January 1900 and death registration in January 1908. | |
| Mississippi | Statewide birth and death registration began in 1912. | |
| Missouri | Statewide birth and death registration began in January 1910. | |
| Montana | Statewide birth and death registration began in late 1907. | |
| Nebraska | Statewide birth and death registration began in late 1904. | |
| Nevada | Statewide birth and death registration began in July 1911. | |
| New Hampshire | Towns recorded births, marriages and deaths from colonial times, and the state office keeps copies reaching back to the 1600s. Published charts give dates from 1640 to 1901 for when statewide registration began. | check |
| New Jersey | Statewide registration began in 1848. | |
| New Mexico | Statewide birth and death registration began in 1920. Delayed records reach back to 1880. | |
| New York | Outside New York City, statewide registration began in 1880 for births and 1881 for deaths and marriages. New York City keeps its own records. | |
| North Carolina | Statewide birth and death registration began in October 1913. | |
| North Dakota | The state office has some births from 1870 and deaths from 1893, but both are incomplete until about 1920. Published charts date statewide registration to 1907. | check |
| Ohio | Statewide birth and death registration began on December 20, 1908. | |
| Oklahoma | Statewide birth and death registration began in October 1908. | |
| Oregon | Statewide birth and death registration began in 1903. | |
| Pennsylvania | Statewide birth and death registration began in January 1906. | check |
| Rhode Island | Statewide registration is usually dated to 1853. Town clerks recorded earlier events. | check |
| South Carolina | Statewide birth and death registration began in January 1915. | check |
| South Dakota | Statewide birth and death registration began in July 1905. | |
| Tennessee | Statewide birth registration began in 1908, stopped in 1913, and resumed in 1914 for good. Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga kept earlier city records. | |
| Texas | Statewide birth and death registration began in 1903. Compliance was poor in the early years. | |
| Utah | Statewide birth and death registration began in 1905. Some counties kept registers in the late 1890s. | check |
| Vermont | Town clerks had to record births, marriages and deaths from 1779. State-level registration began in 1857. | |
| Virginia | Statewide registration began after June 14, 1912. Virginia also kept statewide birth and death registers from 1853 to 1896. | check |
| Washington | Statewide birth and death registration began on July 1, 1907. | |
| West Virginia | The state office began in 1917. County clerks kept birth and death registers earlier. | |
| Wisconsin | Statewide registration of births, deaths and marriages was required from October 1907. | |
| Wyoming | Statewide birth and death registration began in 1909. |
"check" means the guide flags at least one date or detail we couldn't confirm from an official source.